I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Goliath
by
Scott Westerfeld
steampunk in a hardcover edition on September 20, 2011 and has 543 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Behemoth
Third and last in the Leviathan children’s steampunk series inspired by the events leading up to World War I and revolving around the friendship between the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and an aviation midshipman, er, -woman.
My Take
This was a bit slow to get started especially compared to the first two in the series but I thoroughly enjoyed Westerfeld’s extrapolation of history as he combines it with the politics of technology whether it’s Clankers or Darwin. The contrast between the two is fascinating with the Clankers using metal, electrikals, anything man-made while the Darwinists tweak organic life forms to perform the same feats.
Interesting to bring Nikola Tesla into this and push Edison into the background while playing up the showmanship of the time. The take Westerfeld had on Hearst and his San Simeon estate with his obsession with creating his own news was pretty funny as well.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It was too sweet! And just when I was enjoying the light relief provided by the perspicacious lorises! Still and all, between the main plot of preventing war, the lesser plots made this a fun read. Dylan trying to hide the truth of her sex as she glories in the excitement of working on an airship. The interactions with Alek as she tries to tell him the truth. The adventures resulting from their interactions with the outside: Tesla, the Austro-Hungarian battleship, Hearst and his film crews as well as Pancho Villa’s surprises, followed by the attacks in New York keep things hopping.
With just a hint of Young Frankenstein…
The Story
Fresh from aiding the Ottoman Empire rebellion, the Leviathan is sent to Japan as a show of support only to get sidelined to Siberia to rescue Nikola Tesla where he and his men have been stranded as Tesla completes a test. it’s a dangerous rescue as Tesla is insistent upon carrying all his luggage in the face of marauding bears and an overloaded Leviathan.
Their opportunity to wave the flag and “prove” that only the British can save the day comes up quickly followed by a demonstration by Tesla that encourages the British to order Leviathan to New York so that Tesla can further his experiments on Goliath. A course that proves perilous what with sabotage over Mexico and attacks in New York and the threat of Dylan’s exposure to the world.
The Characters
Deryn/Dylan Sharp is a girl masquerading as a boy in order to work on an airship. Passionate for her work and a clever, innovative middy, Dylan is a real lifesaver in so many ways.
His Serene Highness Prince Aleksandar “Alek” of Hohenburg is the only surviving member of his immediate family since his granduncle, the emperor, conspired to have his parents, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, murdered. Alek is carrying a special dispensation from the Pope recognizing him as the legitimate heir to the emperor. Count Volger is Alek’s tutor/minder as well as fencing instructor. He always has his eye on the main chance for Alek. Pretty lucky for the kid, really. Other attendants include Bauer, Hans, and Klopp who help keep the Clunker engines on Leviathin operating.
Fellow crew on the Leviathan includes Newkirk; Dr. Busk, the ship’s surgeon; and, Mr. Rigby, the bosun.
Dr. Barlow is the boffin they picked up in London back in Leviathan with her pet thylacine, Tazza, whom Dylan walks every morning. Bovril is one of the two surviving secrets with a constantly evolving mindset.
Mr. Hearst, Miss Adela Rogers, one of his San Francisco paper reporters, and Philip Francis, a newsreel reporter; Eddie Malone, the reporter from their Ottoman adventures (see Behemoth); and, Pancho Villa and his men who take advantage of Hearst’s sabotage of the Leviathan. Lilit (also from Behemoth) makes a brief appearance to pass on a warning.
The Cover and Title
The cover has the feel of an old oil portrait with its slight crazing and the style used to portray the aristocratic Prince Alek in his leather and goggles and Middy Dylan in her aviator jacket, helmet, and goggles. The background has a metallic sheen to it with its green-yellow sifting clouds and a Darwin flying machine in the upper right corner. Chains and gears frame an emperor’s crown in a horizontal border just below the middle with a raised-type effect for the title and author’s name.
The title is the entire focus of the story, a Goliath of a weapon.
