Leviathan

By: Scott Westerfeld

Narrated by: Alan Cumming

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. The Leviathan is a living airship, the most formidable airbeast in the skies of Europe.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's 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

Riveting and delightful

I long enjoyed the type of science fiction that eventually came to fall under the umbrella called Steampunk, but I have not always been satisfied with those newer books explicitly written as Steampunk after the genre gained popularity. Leviathan is a happy exception. It features some classic Steampunk icons (airships, mechanical contraptions, alternate history, etc.) but it also features a fascinating concept unusual for Steampunk, technology based on biological engineering. That concept has been explored before in science fiction, but in Leviathan it becomes the central organizing principle of entire societies, the "Darwinist" nations, in opposition to societies built around mechanical technology, the "Clanker" nations. The difference in the choice of technologies is not just superficial. They are based on and also perpetuate fundamentally different world views of the two types of societies. Those perspectives inform the character development and character interactions throughout story.

At its heart Leviathan is the story Deryn/Dylan, the teenage Darwinist commoner who conceals her gender to pursue a dream of serving in the British Air Service, and Alek, the young Clanker aristocrat shunned by a family that rules an empire but who is caught up in their machinations that have brought the world to war. It is through the compelling story of these two and their foes and allies that we are introduced to the imaginative world that Scott Westerfeld has created. The world he has fashioned is an historical alternate of ours that diverged in the mid 1800s and continued to evolve until his story introduces us to it on the eve of World War I. The story and the world he imagines could have very well been set instead in some entirely fictional place. I still would have found it enjoyable. The element of alternate history only added to the story's interest for me. It was made more vivid by the pepperings of details drawn from Westerfeld's historical research.

And if all this wasn't enough, I found Alan Cumming's narration absolutely riveting and delightful. He breathes life into the dialog and narrates like a master story teller.

Excellent performance of a great story

What made the experience of listening to Leviathan the most enjoyable?

Alan Cumming does a fantastic job of performing this story. He has a great range of accents so you really get a sense of the characters when they speak. He effortlessly switches back and forth from narration to Scottish to German and back again. His narration is very nuanced, flowing very well.

What did you like best about this story?

The story itself lends itself very well to the audio format. Without getting into a lot of dense backstory or explanation, the author still manages to portray his fantastical alternate history of a British Empire based on genetic manipulation clashing with a steampunk "Klanker" German alliance for a new version of World War I. The story manages to stay "real" and grounded in its characters while staying true to its science fiction.

What about Alan Cumming’s performance did you like?

Accents, accents, accents! They were, if not true to life, exaggerated just enough to fit in with the story's sense of pulpy adventure (ala Indiana Jones).

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"Not the World (War) You Know"

Keeps you interested in the story

Would you listen to Leviathan again? Why?

Yes. I will relisten to this book before I go on to book 3.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Leviathan?

The death of characters is always memorable. Great afterword from the author.

Which scene was your favorite?

The battle of Istanbul.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The War Widens.

steampunk at its best . . . a blend

of history / alternative timeline and adventure. Well worth a listen, reminds me of early sci fi of my youth.

Really liked this one!

Jasper Fforde prepared me for the alternate history novel, so I accepted this quickly. Really presents some wonderfully crazy concepts involving genetic manipulation. The story, presented by the wonderful narrator, really made it live. You could almost say "You are there!" Very entertaining.

Good for the mind's eye

Inventive alternate reality story line that kept me interested. Well crafted descriptions inspire great mental imagery throughout.

It's nice to read a story that has not yet been visualized into film or TV. I think I enjoyed this more trying to create a look for everyone in my head... which is how it used to be for all books (lately I find one read a lot of things that have already been converted into video).

Fantastic

Great story and awesome reader. Lots of action. Most importantly I would say it had fun history mixed up with a very creative world.

Not sure if I'll get the other two

As a "young adult" novel the only thing that saves it for me is its Steampunk nature. The young characters are ok, but the adult characters unlike say Harry Potter's Snape, Dumbledore and Hagrid pale to white if not invisibility in comparison. Fun but not particularly compelling or thought provoking.

Barking crickets!

What other book might you compare Leviathan to and why?

It fits in great with the other books in this series. LOVE the characters, Westerfield brings wonderful characters to life.

What about Alan Cumming’s performance did you like?

The accent he affected for the Clankers was a bit distracting but grew on me.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh, definitely!!

Barkin' Good Time!

I highly recommend this well-written story filled with adventure and intelligent humor. The characters are tremendously appealing, particularly the spunky and unique herione. It also features abundant references to, and elements of, history and geography, which make it all the more engrossing and entertaining. The narration by Alan Cumming is masterful, as he brings to life multiple characters and voices of varied nationality.