Booklog: Leviathan (Westerfeld / Thompson)

Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan (illustrated by Keith Thompson)

In the opening weeks of World War I in an alternate universe of giant clanks and genetically engineered fighting beasts, Prince Aleksandar, morganatic son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, finds himself on the run from assassins with his tutors in a Cyklop Stormwalker, while Deryn Sharp is congratulating herself on pulling a successful Sweet Polly Oliver and winning a berth on the Leviathan, the British Air Service's first great hydrogen-breathing aerobeast. But when the Leviathan crashes near Alek's refuge in neutral Switzerland, his attempt to help the survivors unmasks him to Deryn and the mysterious Dr. Nora Barlow, who persuade him that their only hope of surviving their respective pursuers lies in cooperation. This is fun -- it took a few chapters to really get rolling (the penalty of having to introduce both point-of-view characters separately), but once it did, it kept me turning the pages till the end. (The lovely pictures don't hurt, either.) I enjoyed the idea that Darwin discovered genetic engineering as well as evolution and that the continental European powers went all steampunk in response. The author's grasp of real-world history helps to handwave the Mad Science, as does his presentation of a range of ethical and aesthetic responses to it, from squick to enthusiasm. Alek and Deryn are also convincing, if slightly caricatured, products of their backgrounds. I perked up in particular at the way Deryn's gender performance of Dylan is mildly overdone, to the point where she perceives it as hard work and even Alek notes that his new friend is rather emphatic. Romance may be in the offing here, but it's well down the road (Alek hasn't got a clue yet) and, given the tragic history of Alek's parents' marriage across a far smaller social gulf -- not to mention Deryn's ambitions in the Air Service and Alek's status, as yet unrevealed to the world, as his grandfather's legitimate heir -- I rather doubt it would go the way of happily ever after. A sequel, Behemoth, is just out this year. Recommended for steampunk and alt-hist buffs.