Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld – Review

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Young Deryn Sharp used to enjoy her “tomboy” life with her father, but when he dies in an accident, she seems destined to a “woman's fate” unless with the help of her older brother Jaspert, junior officer in the Royal Air Force, she will manage to become “Dylan” Sharp and get admitted as a “midshipman”.

However at the middy trials, things do not go quite as expected, though “Dylan” keeps “his” head and manages to stay alive in a flying misadventure, only to be rescued over the Channel by Leviathan of the title; since “he” was brave and the rest of the exams are easy with “his” preparation – the flying part has always been the make or break – Dylan remains aboard Leviathan as a middy and later when the ship is sent on a grand mission, Dylan becomes ship guide, cabin “boy” and all around gopher (including “not-quite-dog” walker of pet Tezza) for mysterious scientist Nora Barlow who seems to command a lot of power and influence “despite being a woman”.

And so the adventure begins and it's a non-stop page turner to the end, with great inventiveness and superb illustrations that accompany the text. Both main characters are plucky and endearing and their adventures will keep you turning the pages and wish for more. The plot so far is somewhat predictable but the inventiveness of the novel, the superb and clear prose style and of course, “Dylan” and Alek make “Leviathan” one of the best lighter sff novels of the year and one the big positive surprises of the year for me.

In many ways reading like one of the many superb Jules Verne novels that enhanced my childhood, but with prose, sensibilities and “inventions” reflecting our current 21st century, I highly, highly recommend “Leviathan”.

via Fantasy Book Critic: “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu).