Author: Scott Westerfeld
Series: Leviathan #1
Would you rather oil your machines... or feed them?
This is the big question in this alternate-universe steampunk World War I. Leviathan follows Alek, son of the assassinated Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, and Deryn - aka Dylan - a girl disguised as a boy in the British air force.
The Germans, Austrians, Russians, etc. are referred to as "Clankers," because they rely on machinery - think the walkers from Star Wars. The British and French are the Darwinists, relying on the science of evolution to generate war machines that are actually alive. The Clankers and the Darwinists don't trust each other, never have, and war has long been brewing. This is the story of how it finally starts - and how Alek and Deryn are thrown together because of the enormous Darwinist airship Leviathan.
I really enjoyed the alternate history presented in this book. I'm a fan of steampunk, and the way the political history and world parallel ours but with different science is totally cool. And the characters are a lot of fun - even if I had hated the story (which I didn't), I would read the next book just for another couple hundred pages with Alek and Deryn.
Also, despite the fact that it's set against a backdrop of war, Leviathan really isn't a war book. The focus is a lot more on the characters and their small story than it is about the war they're caught up in.
I definitely plan to read book 2. Check this one out if you haven't :)
