Leviathan - Scott Westerfield

There is nothing better than reading a good book and then realizing that both sequels have already been released so you won't have to wait at all before reading the next two books. This is exactly what happened to me with Leviathan. Leviathan is the story of Deryn Sharpe a young girl posing as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Force at the beginning of WWI and Prince Aleksander son of the murdered Arch Duke and Duchess of Austria- Hungary. Alek is on the run from German forces who he has discovered have murdered his parents, and Deryn is hiding her sex, pretending to be a boy, on board the airship Leviathan. They meet after an air battle between German forces and the Leviathan in the mountains of Switzerland.

Leviathan is not just a run of the mill historical fiction story. Westerfield has created a whole new conflict for his readers. In this war the British are using DNA technology in order to fabricate animals and weapons for military purposes. In fact the Leviathan is a hydrogen filled whale that contains entire ecosystems of other animals or 'beasties' as Deryn calls them. The Germans and their allies on the other hand use incredible machines and technology to fight their wars. His descriptions of these fantastical animals and machines are wonderful and the illustrations certainly added to my enjoyment of the book.

If you like historical fiction or alternate history this is the book for you!

Enjoy!