Title: Goliath (the conclusion to the Leviathan trilogy) (view the trailer)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: Steampunk alternate history
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The gist: The final installment in a cross-dressing love-triangle trilogy set smack-dab in the middle of an alternate World War I, in which it’s the Darwinists (the British and their allies) vs. the Clankers (Germany/Austria-Hungary and their allies) playing with fabricated creatures and walking machines.
Cover art: I prefer the illustrated version of the characters within the book personally, but my real complaint with the cover is that the height of the characters was confused. Also, they are wearing modern zippers, which is anachronistically jarring, although forgivable considering it is an alternate history.
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Art: Keith Thompson is a fantastic artist, but he seemed more focused on portraying characters and action scenes rather than bringing the Clanker inventions to life and displaying the wonders of fabricated beasts. There did seem to be a few more of the mechanical wonders portrayed in the final book, but there was a noticeable shortage of Darwinist creations, with the exception of the recurring characters of the Perspicacious Loris and the thylacine. This is frustrating for me as an art enthusiast, because what I want to see illustrated are the more difficult to imagine bits, as opposed to characters and high-action which avid readers are likely already adept at visualizing for themselves.
Summary:
Alek and Deryn are aboard the Leviathan when the ship is ordered to pick up an unusual passenger. This brilliant/maniacal inventor claims to have a weapon called Goliath that can end the war. But whose side is he really on?
While on their top secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn’s deeply kept secret. Two, actually. Not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy…but she also has feelings for Alek.
The crown, true love with a commoner, and the destruction of a great city all hang on Alek’s next--and final--move.
The best part: I absolutely love how Westerfeld does romance. It's so adorably not gushy and gooey, but focused on actual partnership with mutual respect and equality.
The worst part: I could pick and point out that some bits about birds are not quite accurate, but the real worst part is that this is the last book and I am not ready for their adventures to be over.
Characters: The characters are as delightfully intriguing as ever and it’s unbelievably satisfying for the two protagonists to finally not have any secrets between them.
Plot: The final book in the trilogy focuses more on dramatic revelation and non-stop action than the steampunk aspects that drove the first two books. It also introduces the character of Nikolas Tesla, who (in this alternate version of history) is responsible for much of the world’s technology. As in the previous books, Westerfeld includes an end note which clarifies the actual events from his created world, making this the perfect companion reading for those studying the First World War.
Setting: The story largely takes place on the Darwinist airship Leviathan, but as in the previous books the whale-ship takes our characters on travels to many different places. This time we get to see Darwinist Russia and the neutral United States, which, much like in real life, is a mixture of technologies.
Writing style: I don’t want to say Westerfeld’s writing is perfect, but if I did it wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate. He is absolutely a master of his craft and readers will happily follow him through WWI, to the ends of the earth, and back again.
In which I babble: I’ve also reviewed Leviathan (book 1) and (book 2).
Additional books by author: A complete listing of Westerfeld’s work can be found here.
Publisher: Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Release date: September 20, 2011
You can purchase the book here.
