Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the events of the past were carried out with seemingly strange concepts from the future? Scott Westerfeld does just that in his novel Leviathan, putting a whole new twist to World War I. In his book, the Great War is played out by the Allies (known as the "Darwinists", who use "fabricated" animals as their transportation), and the Central Powers (the "Clankers", who utilize futuristic machinery far more complex than today's technology). The book tells a story from two perspectives: Deryn Sharp's, a teenage girl disguised as a midshipman for the British; and Alek Ferdinand's, the runaway heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Deryn Sharp, who recently suffered through her father’s death, ends up studying the Darwinists’ fabricated animals in extreme detail and pursues a career as an airman, despite being barred from serving due to her gender. She then decides to join anyway, but in disguise and under a false name, Dylan Sharp. As part of being recently admitted into the army, she was able to receive the opportunity to ride one of the fabricated animals, a “Huxley” (a giant jellyfish-like transport similar to a hot-air balloon). However, a thunderstorm brews and the wind blows her off course toward France, but the gargantuan whale airship Leviathan and its crew rescue her and take her on board.
Meanwhile, Alek Ferdinand, the son of the deceased archduke of Austria-Hungary, is on the run from his own people, who have now turned against him. With only a few crew members and a run-down "Stormwalker" (one of the Clankers ingenuous creations, controlled by body movements), he manages to slip past several German machines and scouts, including the monstrous Herkules, an 8-legged contraption the size of a military base loaded with several turrets and weapons. He uses the advice of his small but smart crew to keep low when traveling, whether he is inside the Stormwalker or outside surrounded by civilization.
The two eventually meet as the Leviathan is bombarded with enemy bombs and falls to an extremely remote location in the Swiss Alps. With absolutely no food to keep the Leviathan and its crew running, the crew members have no choice but to ride out the conditions until rescue transportation arrives. However, Deryn, while looking for civilization past the crash zone, ends up meeting Alek, who happens to be passing through that section of the Alps. At first, the two have a conflict that nearly ended up with everyone in the crash zone perishing. However, they eventually find a way to cooperate and agree to aid the Leviathan for the time being.
Alek, under the guise of a local from a village not far from the crash site, was soon interrogated by the captain of the Leviathan as well as several high-ranking crew members, and they found that despite being from one of the Clanker nations, he did not pose any threat to the Leviathan. A few days later, both Deryn and Alek were heading towards the rescue ship to bring back necessities when enemy airplanes spot the Stormwalker and open fire on it. Alek uses his quick wits to avoid being hit while taking down all of the airplanes.
After returning to the Leviathan with all of the needed supplies, the two help with the repair job, along with the rest of the crew members, and soon, the airship is fully functional and ready to go. Alek says his final goodbyes as he flees further from his enemies as Deryn and the rest of the Leviathan's crew head toward Constantinople for reasons unknown (for now).
What I enjoy the most about this book is the obscure but unique genre of steampunk. Its key characteristic is the combination of past and future. These types of novels often change the era that the event took place, the atmosphere of the event, or both. They also take place in the very world that we live in, except with fantasized elements, as demonstrated in Leviathan. As a reader formerly unfamiliar to the exact characteristics of the steampunk genre, I am very impressed with the style of this novel, as it mixes fantasy and history into the equation. Had this same storyline been used without the elements of steampunk, it would not have the power it originally delivered.
