Okay, so forget about Gregor numbers 4 and 5 for right now. I have to tell you about an incredible book that is the start of a new series by the author of Peeps and the Uglies series Scott Westerfeld and is illustrated by Keith Thompson. It’s coming out late next week or early the following week. It’s called Leviathan. Where to begin…well, at the beginning, I guess. Our story takes place in 1914, in Europe, both continental in the Austrio-Hungarian empire and in Britain, so if you know your history, people and agendas and incidences are primed for the start of World War I. Enter the prince of the aforementioned Austrio-Hungarian Empire, Aleksander Ferdinand and his being secreted away in the middle of the night by a band of faithful men…meanwhile, enter Deryn Sharp, a girl who wants only to be an airman in the Royal Navy and of course, she is an exceptional one to boot, but well, as in Eon: Dragon Reborn (another must-read that came out last December), the Navy at this time only accepts male cadets. Disguise is the name of the game for Deryn, who cuts her hair and walks with a swagger (or tries to at least). She ends up as one of the crew of the Leviathan as they charter a renowned scientist to her destination in Constantinople. Alek and his men are making their way for neutral ground, as his own people, the Austro-Hungarians and the Germans are after him. But for both parties, unexpected incidences and choices occur to throw them into the same dire and chaotic mess together. Secrets abound, political agendas are ingeniously wielded by the author, and the two are on an adventure that will change them, and Europe, and the world forever. But did I forget to mention the main character?
Let me explain. The Axes powers put philosophy, faith, and military ingenuity in their Clankers, steam-chugging, iron machines that funny enough look like creatures. Meanwhile, the Allies put their faith in fabricated animals. Known as Darwinists, the Allied powers such as Britain have engineered creatures for man-made purposes such as war and combat. Enter the Leviathan, a whale-like living ecosystem that functions militarily as an airship. Its function as a catalyst for much of the plot of the story cannot be understated. There are just so many interesting, fascinating creatures and clankers in the book, you’ll just have to read it to get a feel and a sense for how imaginatively real, complex, and alive these weapons of war are. Speaking of life or narrative vibrancy if you will, the writing by Westerfeld is just so lively in its combat descriptions, matter-of-fact, but lively at the same time, especially when the opponents have weapons like nothing on this earth! Each character, and maybe it’s because of the crucible of war, is rich with his or her own agenda, his or her own fears and acts of bravery to combat those fears that it makes for highly compelling reading. Moreover, Keith Thompson’s illustrations that accompany the narrative enrich it so and are, to me at least, quite sleek and expressive, capturing, magnifying the scene in my head that I found them to be an asset rather than a liability as sometimes pictures can be (e.g., movie characters who don’t look like the person we have envisioned and come to love in our own heads).
Published by Simon & Schuster, they are giving a book summary and trailer (using Thompson’s illustrations) on their website.
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