Leviathan (Westerfeld novel)

For other uses, see Leviathan (disambiguation).

Leviathan
Author(s)	Scott Westerfeld
Illustrator	Keith Thompson
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Leviathan Trilogy
Genre(s)	Steampunk/Historical fiction
Publisher	Simon Pulse
Publication date	October 6, 2009
Media type	print (hardback)
Pages	448
ISBN	978-1416971733
OCLC Number	290477162
Followed by	Behemoth

Leviathan is a steampunk novel written by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated by Keith Thompson. It was released on October 6, 2009. The book won the 2009 Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

It is the first in a young adult fiction trilogy set in an alternate version of World War I, wherein the Central Powers (Clankers) are characterized by their use of mechanized war machines, while the Entente Powers (Darwinists) are characterized by their use of living creatures evolved specifically for war. The main characters are the teenage son of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and a Scottish girl with dreams of joining the Air Force.

The first two chapters of this book were released with Bogus to Bubbly: An Insider's Guide to the World of Uglies.

Plot

The story begins in 1914, with Alek being awoken in the middle of the night at the royal palace by his fencing instructor, Count Volger, and his Master of Mechanics, Otto Klopp. Claiming a training exercise, they take him with them on board a Stormwalker (a bipedal, diesel-powered walking war machine) and have Alek practice piloting it. However, when Alek becomes suspicious of where they are going, Volger reveals that Alek’s parents (Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Princess Sophie) have been murdered and they must flee Austria or he too risks being murdered. The archduke’s death has already sparked a war between several nations, and it would be all too easy for them to make Alek simply “disappear”. In Austria, Alek and his companions make their way through the countryside, hiding in barns and gathering what meager supplies they can from local villages until they reach an old fortress hidden high in the Swiss Alps which has been prepared by Volger and the Archduke for this situation.

Meanwhile, a young girl, Deryn Sharp, is staying with her brother Jaspert in London. Her father died in a ballooning accident and her mother and aunts want her to grow up a proper lady. Deryn dreams of being part of the British Air Service and to serve on one of the great airbeasts like the Leviathan. In order to do so, she must pretend to be a boy ("Dylan Sharp"). To pass the starting exam, she is forced to take a ride in a Huxley (a combo of a jellyfish and hot-air-balloon) to prove her air-worthiness. However, while in the air a storm hits, severely tossing Deryn and the Huxley about, and they narrowly survive. After she is left stranded over the North Sea, she is thrilled when she and the Huxley are rescued and inducted into the Leviathan, a massive and the most famous air-beast, which is mainly made after a whale, but is actually a massive ecosystem. She comes to enjoy being part of the crew, and makes friends with the Monkey Luddite Newkirk. The Leviathan's mission is to transport a top British scientist (“boffin”) and a secret package to Constantinople. Deryn (known as the boy "Dylan" by the crew) is surprised to learn the boffin is a woman, Dr. Nora Barlow, and is afraid she will discover her secret.

In the air over Europe, the Leviathan comes under attack from German airplanes. The crew fights back and manages to defeat the planes, but not before the great whale’s hydrogen bladder is severely punctured. The airship crash-lands in Switzerland on the very glacier where Alek’s group is hiding. Alek and Volger witness the crash, but Volger insists they do nothing to interfere, as they will risk giving away their position to the Germans or being captured by the British.

Alek is unable to stomach letting the crew of the Leviathan suffer out on the ice, and secretly leaves the fortress to bring medicine to the crew of the fallen ship. The first person he finds is an unconscious Deryn, who had fallen from the rigging during the crash. Alek revives her and claims unconvincingly to be a Swiss villager. Deryn is suspicious of him and sounds the alarm, resulting in Alek’s capture. Alek continues to insist he is just a bystander trying help, but the captain refuses to release him and instead leaves him under Deryn’s charge. The secret cargo brought by Dr. Barlow is revealed to be eggs of some kind, though most were destroyed in the crash.

Alek's "family" comes to his rescue, and battle would have erupted between the two if Deryn's quick thinking in bringing Alek to the front and holding him as a hostage hadn't brought everyone to the table to talk under a flag of truce. Realizing their differences are outweighed by their similarities, Alek offers a sizable chunk from their food storage so the ship can replenish its hydrogen supply and take off again. However, as they travel back to the Leviathan, two German zeppelins appear and send out commandos to capture them. Unfortunately, one of the zeppelins escapes, and the Stormwalker is severely damaged by an aerial bomb, making it impossible to stand up and repair.

Thanks to the diplomacy of Dr. Barlow and a bright idea from Alek, the two groups decide to combine their technologies and leave together as one group. Alek also admits his true origins to Deryn/Dylan and Dr. Barlow when he realizes he let a few too many things slip. The Austrians dismantle the Stormwalker and use its engines to replace those lost by the Leviathan. The Austrian engines prove to be much more powerful than its previous ones, propelling them quickly away from danger and the deadly Herkules (Clanker Ship).

In the aftermath, Dr. Barlow reveals information about a fabricated ship in England that was sold to the Ottoman Empire but then taken back (even though it was paid in full) by Winston Churchill, thus creating rivalry among the British and the Ottomans. The novel closes with the Leviathan continuing its flight towards Constantinople with Alek watching the mysterious eggs that will hatch into some unknown fabricated species.

Main characters

Deryn "Dylan" Sharp: After her father is killed in a ballooning explosion, Deryn longs to be in the sky again with the freedom that came with it as her mother and aunts try to dress her up and force to her be a proper lady. Deryn spends the remainder of her inheritance to come to London and live with her brother, where she studies to take the Midshipman exams to get into the British Air Force like her brother, but the toughest part is acting the role of boy, which she'll have to pull off in order to be accepted. It's her lucky day when her airman test goes awry and she is scooped up by the Leviathan and finishes her tests up there in order to serve aboard as a Middie. She is able to best many of the Middies at learning the ropes because she went up so frequently with her father and because she pays attention during class. She does her best to hide that she is a girl from everyone on board, though the observant eye of Dr. Barlow has noticed the lack of a beard on her chin, though has attributed it to Deryn lying about her age rather than being a girl. As she gets to know Alek, she realizes that she owes him her life and, after he hugs her, that she may even have feelings for him, though she quickly tries to squelch that.

Prince Aleksander Ferdinand of Hapsberg: As a boy who is in line for the throne of Hapsburg, Alek is in serious danger when his parents are killed. He spends the better part of this book on the run. He is intelligent, and capable of operating a Stormwalker. He is also fluent in various tongues, such as English, French, Latin, and German. His hubris tends to get the better of him at times, and puts them in danger many times in the book. Note: This character is fictional. Archduke Ferdinand did not have a son named Aleksander.

Wildcount Volger: A rather stingy man, Volger has done an excellent job of pretending to disdain Alek and his common birth, though in fact he knows that his father has altered his previously left-handed marriage to Alek's mother (a marriage where any children born cannot inherit) to a full marriage, making Alek heir to his uncle's throne. Volger is a schemer, and had prepared for such an event as the death of Alek's father and nearly always has a plan. He is quite shrewd and trains Alek in fencing and politics, never allowing the young Prince to better him.

Dr. Nora Darwin Barlow: A female boffin is rare according to Deryn's reaction upon meeting Dr. Barlow, proving just how exceptional the doctor is in her field as well as her family: she is the granddaughter of Charles Darwin, whom the Darwinists are named after. She is also quite clever in general, figuring out various secrets with her observational skills and abilities in speaking languages. She is the creator and caretaker of a number of mysterious eggs that will hatch into a creature of her making and a weapon to bear against the Clankers.

Otto Klopp: Alekzander's "master of mechaniks." He is sometimes referred to as Alek's tutor. He is a commoner who uses a more aristocratic accent when talking to Alek and his family and can pilot the Stormwalker and other mechanical beasts with ease.

Factions

Clanker: Countries that use steam-driven iron machines are referred to as Clanker nations. The machines themselves and their users are also referred to as Clankers. The main Clanker nations are Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Central Powers. Though officially neutral, the Ottoman Empire is considered a Clanker nation as they believe Darwinist creations are against God. Characters who are part of this faction include Alek, Otto Klopp, and Wildcount Volger. The name may be a spoof of Central, the name for the alliance of these country.

Darwinist: The Darwinist countries currently consist of Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Algeria (a colony of France), Serbia, and Japan (Note: has Clanker technology as well). These factions employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. An example is the Leviathan, a whale airship of the British fleet. Characters who are part of this faction include Deryn Sharp and Dr. Nora Barlow. Named after Charles Darwin, who help develop the theory of evolution and, in the universe of the book series, discovered DNA, called Life Threads in their world.

Neutral: The Ottoman Empire, despite being a society with a Clanker-oriented economy, has yet to enter the war.

Switzerland can be considered politically neutral as it is mentioned in the book several times that it is the last place for fugitives and that just by being there, the British are breaking the terms of its neutrality. Their economy seems to be Clanker-based.

America is mentioned as neutral in Behemoth, with a fusion of Clanker and Darwinist technologies. The country is split between the two, Clankers in the North (Based on its industry), Darwinist in the south (Based on its agriculture). The country joins the war by the end of Goliath on the Darwinist side, three years earlier than in our world's history.

Portugal, Spain and Italy appear to be Darwinist nations that have yet to join in the war.

Clanker Machines

• Stormwalker- a two footed walking contraption designed for combat. Alex and his men used one to escape to Switzerland, and gave its engines to the Leviathan ship to escape.
• Zeppelin- a dirigible balloon designed for air travel, transport and combat. The Germans use several to try and destroy the Leviathan.
• Dreadnaught- a vast land ship with side mounted cannons. It's mostly made for combat can be used for travel, it has six legs, and it contains a deck on the bottom for its scouts.

Darwinist creations

• Leviathan- A large, fabricated airwhale that Deryn and Alek had been traveling on. It is a large ecosystem, having the whale, cilia for flight, bacteria to make hydrogen, bees to make honey, and strafing hawks and fléchette bats for battle.
• Minotaur- An airship similar to the Leviathan where Deryn's brother Jaspert serves.
• Huxley- Giant jellyfish-like creatures fabricated from the life threads of the Medusa jellyfish. Hydrogen breathers used to scout overhead.
• Message Lizards- Fabricated lizards used aboard the Leviathan and other Darwinist creations and buildings. They only repeat what they hear.
• Strafing hawks- The Leviathanss main defence. When armed (winged?) with aeroplane nets (Acidic spider webs) they are capable of slicing through metal.
• Fléchette bats- Bats fabricated with moth and mosquito threads. They are able to ingest and release metal spikes in 'the usual manner'. When used for attacks, fléchette bats follow the beam of a spotlight until the crew turns the light red, which 'scares the deadly clart right out of them'.
• Hydrogen Sniffers- Dog like creatures breed to sniff for hydrogen leaks on an air ship.
• Kraken- A sea beast designed for ocean battles.
• Perspicacious Loris- A perspicious creature, either designed or by accident, born intelligent. Only two knowns exist, Borvil and the unnamed one. They seem to be more intelligent than at first sight.

Reception

It received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, and was compared to works by Hayao Miyazaki, Kenneth Oppel and Naomi Novik, but promised that the novel could "stand—or fly—on its own." It also gained a starred review from School Library Journal, who said it was "Full of nonstop action" and that "This steampunk adventure is sure to become a classic." The ALSC selected it as a 2010 Notable Children's Book and the YALSA listed it on their 2010 Best Books for Young Adults. In addition, Leviathan won the 2009 Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

Historical liberties

The novel is an alternate history story of events around World War I. The author closes the book with an explanation of what events were real and which were fictional.

• In reality, the Archduke and the princess were shot while riding in a coach during the day. In the novel, they survive this attempt and a bomb attack, only to be poisoned that night.
• It was once speculated that the Austrian and/or German government arranged for the death of the Archduke either as an excuse for war, or for their distaste for his politics. This theory was discredited much later in the 20th century.
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand actually had three children, not one, and none of them were named Aleksander. However, like Alek, these children did not inherit their father’s land or title due to the nature of their mother’s heritage.
• The Archduke really did petition the Pope to have the conditions of his morganatic marriage adjusted, but in reality he was unsuccessful.
• In the novel, Charles Darwin not only made discoveries into evolution and biology, but also DNA and genetics and how to manipulate them, which is what allowed the creation of the fabricated creatures used by the British. Exactly how fabricated creatures are made is never explained. In reality, DNA was not discovered until the 1950s, and even in modern times, only very simple, small organisms have been created.
• Dr. Nora Barlow was a real person, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin. However she was not a zoologist, nor a diplomat.
• Dr. Barlow’s pet, Tazza, a thylacine, is a real animal and would have been alive at the time of the story. They were hunted to extinction by humans, and the last known thylacine died in 1936.
• The first armored fighting vehicle did not enter battle until 1916, and used treads like farm tractors instead of legs, a fact that Alek openly mocks in the novel as "ridiculous".
• The fabricated animals called "Huxleys" are named after Thomas Henry Huxley, a renowned biologist known as Darwin's Bulldog for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.