Review: Leviathan

Scott Westerfeld cut his teeth on the popular science fiction series, The Uglies, describing a not-quite-perfect future in which adolescents are surgically modified to be beautiful, but stupid. Demonstrating that he is definitely not afraid to switch gears, Westerfeld has leapt from the future to the past for his next creation, commencing with Leviathan, which the author describes as “Edwardian biotechnology versus Teutonic machinery. With airships.” This bizarre fusion of improbable technology and Victorian-era culture is known as steampunk, a genre originally pioneered by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne and popularized in the early 90’s by William Gibson’s seminal The Difference Engine. Steampunk, closely related to the cyberpunk genre, has largely been an adult field for the last two decades, but several prominent releases in 2009 promise to bring this exciting subgenre of science fiction to the teenage market’s attention. Leviathan is a vivid imagining of a fantastic history, and serves as an encouraging beginning to Westerfeld’s latest series. While the protagonists are somewhat underwhelming, the fast-paced action and brilliant setting ensures that Leviathan is a boisterous read, quick but very memorable.

Easily the strongest point of the novel is the fascinating premise: Leviathan opens in Europe during the summer of 1914, the dawn of World War I. However, in this alternate time-line, scientific progress advanced much faster than our own familiar history, in both mechanical and biological sciences. Westerfeld explains the factional divisions of WWI Europe as technological in origin (see the map I’ve attached below). The Allied forces of Russia, France, and Britain comprise the Darwinists. English scientists have used the discoveries of Charles Darwin to leapfrog far past our modern understanding of genetic engineering; in Leviathan’s version of events, Darwin discovered DNA, called “life threads,” sometime in the late 1800s, instead of the actual discovery of DNA’s structure in the middle of the 20th century. The British military is assisted by chimerical creations: hybridized wolf-tigers, hydrogen-breathing jellyfishes serving as hot-air balloons, and massive airships, such as the eponymous, whale-like Leviathan, actually a cleverly balanced aggregation of hundreds of species working in tandem. On the other side of the battlefield are the Clankers, represented by Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary. Their military utilizes immense, diesel-fueled, mechanical walkers, with different models using two, six, or even eight legs. One of the real pleasures of reading Leviathan is that these marvelous contraptions feel like authentic parts of this world. Westerfeld postulates a history filled with futuristic toys beyond our wildest dreams, a world in which flocks of flechette-spitting bats do battle with machine-gun-wielding zeppelins and the British navy uses a real-life kraken to attack German vessels. Put simply: genetically engineered monsters battling diesel-fueled aeroplanes and walking tanks? Yes, please!

The narrative alternates between the fictional son of Franz Ferdinand, escaped in a military Stormwalker after his noble father was assassinated, and the girl Deryn Sharp, disguised as the boy Dylan Sharp so she can serve in the British Air Service. Of the two children, Deryn is the more interesting; she is driven, intelligent, and has an intriguing past that is never fully explained. Aleksandar Ferdinand begins the novel as a whiny, spoiled child, very frustrating to read, but as Aleksander struggles with the burden of his noble heritage and his desire to do the right thing, he gradually becomes more sympathetic. Still, the children feel a bit like cookie-cutter templates and their interactions are often awkward or predictable. The protagonists are assisted and guided in their adventures by, respectively, a noble fencing instructor, Count Volger, and a Victorian lady scientist, Dr. Nora Barlow. At times, I wished the narrative lingered longer on the tutors, who are clever, intelligent, and cunning, not to mention properly well-mannered. However, the characters in Leviathan really aren’t the stars of the show; Deryn and Aleksander get the job done, even if they don’t quite feel fully realized.

Westerfeld’s writing is clean and simple, more serviceable than spectacular. The entire story is told from the points-of-view of the two children; a lot of back-story and explanation that I would have enjoyed is glossed over. The narrative is action packed and easy to follow, with the story starting on a fast note and never bothering to slow down. I imagine that younger readers will appreciate the simple plot structure; nevertheless, as an adult reader, I found myself wondering what was going on behind the scenes. Where was Dr. Nora Barlow when she wasn’t peppering Deryn with endless questions, and what exactly was happening in the querulous Count Volger’s head? During an aerial battle between Clanker aeroplanes and the Leviathan, what was occuring around the airship, not just topside, but in the command room, or the engine room? With half-a-dozen characters and only two viewpoints, the lack of detail was sometimes frustrating. In terms of length, Leviathan (the novel, not the airship) weighs in at 440 pages, but the print is quite large–I’m not kidding, really large, maybe 200 words per page–with lots of illustrations, so this is a deceptively short novel. The art from Keith Thompson, scattered liberally throughout, is stylish and helps to illustrate the fanciful inventions described in the prose. Leviathan is fast-paced and exhilarating, but as a veteran of epic fantasy and mind-bending science fiction, I couldn’t help but wish Westerfeld had provided additional complexity within his rousing tale.

Ultimately, Leviathan is a brief but entertaining tale that will surely appeal to younger readers with vivid imaginations. Even those of us experienced with more elaborate constructions are sure to acknowledge the marvelous artistry necessary to fabricate this clever history. I especially appreciate the work that Scott Westerfeld dedicated to ensuring this historical world felt plausible and accurate; while clearly a fantasy, any novel that starts younger readers speculating about world history or evolutionary science can’t be a bad thing. Additional themes for a younger read to chew on include the conflicting history of men and women in the military, the condemnation of certain branches of science, and the disconnect between the aristocracy and the citizenry (a particularly sharp line reflected on the irony of the prince being elegantly fluent in several languages, but basically unable to speak with the common folk of his own country). While the plot was mostly foreseeable and the protagonists a bit stereotypical, the novel was still loads of fun. Westerfeld ends his tale satisfactorily, and the denouement leads directly toward the next volume. As a gift to an imaginative younger reader interested in history or science, I can’t recommend Leviathan enough, and for an older reader looking for a break from epic, ten-volume series filled with dark portents and grim struggles, Westerfeld has crafted a light-hearted and exhilarating jaunt that will surely entertain with its fantastic imagery. I can’t wait to see what inventions await in Behemoth, the sequel arriving later this year.

Plot: 7
Characters: 6
Action: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
Artwork: 9

Overall (not an average): 7.5/10 (and more like an 8.5 for younger readers)