Leviathan

By: Scott Westerfeld

Narrated by: Alan Cumming

The first novel in a masterful trilogy about World War I with a steampunk twist by #1 New York Times bestselling author Scott Westerfeld.

It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides of the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure…one that will change both their lives forever.©2009 Scott Westerfeld; (P)2009 SImon & Schuster

...brilliant story and excellent performance...

Leviathan is a wonderful tale of an Austrian prince (Alek) and an English girl posing as a boy (Deryn/Dylan) so she can join the airforce. The fantastic creatures and machines just bring this story to the front of any line-up. I am reading the sequel (Behemoth) in hardcover and you just lose the personality of a lot of the characters. Alan Cummings voices are wonderful and bring the book to life. Darwinists follow the exaggerated work of Charles Darwin while the Clankers use futuristic war machines. Stormwalkers versus Elephantines, Air Beasts versus Land Frigates! Battles that should be in a movie! I love this book from start to finish.

This is a great book with a brilliant story and excellent performance.
5 stars overall for a wonderful story and performance.

Enjoy!

Great story for a young reader

Would you listen to Leviathan again? Why?

Yes, I enjoyed the imaginative story line, and the author has taken care to expand the story to include information needed to make this alternative universe understandable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like stories about young women who are self possessed and confident, and the main character in this story is believable.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I really enjoyed the interplay between all of the characters. The story line was simple and uncomplicated, but very imaginative. This is a story for young people, about young people interacting with the world. I can imagine just about any preadolescent or early teen girl getting into the story, and what appears to be the series that will come from it.

Any additional comments?

If you have a preteen girl who is imaginative, and I believe that most are, and you do not object to feeding her imagination, this would be a good choice for her. Young men will likely enjoy it as well.

Barking spiders, but this is awesome!

Oh man, when I picked this up I had no idea what FUN I was getting into. Alan Cumming has by far and away delivered one of the absolute best performances I have experienced with Audible. This book and its sequels are packed with witty dialog (full of accents!) and tons of action and Alan Cumming narrates with such enthusiasm and skill that you just can't help but be drawn into all of it.

Aside from the narration, I absolutely love every bit of the story itself. As another reviewer states, you've got to get the physical copy to enjoy the illustrations if you're a fan, but there's so much to love here even without the eye candy -- clever characters you want to root for, a fascinating spin on real-world history, and of course, the beasties and contraptions. This is a wonderful specimen of alternate history and the steampunk genre, with a squick of romance thrown in. It is marketed as a young-adult series and there's definitely nothing wrong or inappropriate with that, but I'm an adult and I enjoyed the hell out of it. This series is top of my list, not just for Audiobooks, but for books in general. Do not miss out!

a compelling twist on history

Loved it! Imaginative and inventive. Voice acting well done. looking forward to the next book!

I love this book

This is such a great book I also have the hardcover, which I recommend if you want to see all the amazing illustrations. Great read for YA and even adults, there is something for everyone.