Machines Vs. Beasts

Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath
By Scott Westerfeld 
Young Adult Steam Punk
*A Trilogy 

I read the first book in this series, Leviathan, several years ago, and knew I had to nab the rest of the series to know what happened, but I just got around to finishing it. 

This series is an alternate history of World War I, with elements of steam punk and fantasy. It follows Alek, a young prince of Austria without a throne running for his life. He is part of a Clanker nation, which surrounds itself with metal and machines. 

Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy in the British air service, also plays a crucial role in this series. She is a lover of fabricated beasts, from flying whale-like airships to message lizards, and detests anything metal. 

Fate throws the two together, and they must battle to end the war before it ends everything they know, both metal and beast. 

I highly enjoyed this series! Something exciting is always happening, so the story flies by. The books are also littered with excellent drawings depicting the fabricated beasts, metal creations, and characters so you can better imagine these bizarre things that Westerfeld imagined.

Alek is a bit dimwitted and naive at times, especially in the last novel, but Deryn more than makes up for his idiotic moments. She is clever, daring, adventurous, and basically a 'better' boy than he is. I do get frustrated with many of the female characters in today's world acting like boys. Can't there be a strong, clever girl who's more feminine? I suppose one must look to Jane Austen for that. But overall, Deryn was a great, realistic character (even with all of her crazy stunts); I just wish she didn't have to help/prod Alek so much. 

As I mentioned above, the series moves along at a gallop, which is mostly a good thing. However, I did find myself, especially in the sequel, Behemoth, wishing for the action to slow down a bit so the characters would interact more and grow. There was such a spate of action, that it was hard to keep track, in the second and third books, what was happening, and how everything is connected. Certain events in Goliath seemed random, or that Westerfeld just wanted to put them in the novel because they were cool. 

I enjoyed the first or the last book the best. I like certain characters in the final novel, but not how thick Alek acts. But once you've started the series, there's no going back! You must finish it, or you probably won't sleep at night. This series deserves a 3.5 out of 5, and I recommend it for 10 year olds and up. 

What I learned: Don't judge someone on just their appearance (including gender). Also, fabricated beasts are awesome, and it's really too bad that thylacines are extinct. 

*Westerfeld also wrote the Uglies, Pretties, and Specials series which is deeply provocative and fabulously written.