Goliath (Leviathan, #3) in Multiculturalism in YA,Fantasy, Sci FI,Paranormal and fun books ;p

Mar 27, 2011 Kathy (Kindle-aholic) rated it really liked it

Shelves: steampunk

This is somewhere between 4 and 5 stars for me. I had a lot of fun reading it - read the whole thing in one day. Good pacing, action, and I enjoy the characters.

When I look back at the trilogy as a whole, Leviathan is still hands down my favorite book of the three, but I like the resolution and the character progression.

For Deryn, yes secrets come out (but I'm not saying how!) and she learnes that there could be consequences for more than just herself.

For Alek, he's felt so much responisibility ...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Camille Picott rated it really liked it

The Writer's View -- a unique approach to book blogging. For more reviews, visit www.camillepicott.com

This is the last installement in Scott Westerfield's Leviathan trilogy. The series is a YA historical fiction/science fiction. They're a fun romp.

The story is set in WWI. Instead of the Entente Powers (United Kingdom, France, US, Japan, Italy, and Russia for a while) vs the Central Powers (Germany, Autro-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), we have the Darwinists vs the Clankers. Darwinists b The Writer's View -- a unique approach to book blogging. For more reviews, visit www.camillepicott.com

This is the last installement in Scott Westerfield's Leviathan trilogy. The series is a YA historical fiction/science fiction. They're a fun romp.

The story is set in WWI. Instead of the Entente Powers (United Kingdom, France, US, Japan, Italy, and Russia for a while) vs the Central Powers (Germany, Autro-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), we have the Darwinists vs the Clankers. Darwinists believe in better living through biology; they genetically engineer "beastie" warships and weapons. Clankers believe in better living through technology; they have great iron walkers and other weapons the rely on metal and engineering.

All in all, Westerfield's revisioning of the past is spectacular. I love the way he weaves science fiction and fantasy with real history.

Even though the characters were fun and loveable, I for some reason didn't connect with them all that well. I'm not sure why. They're well written and loveable, but they weren't the sort of characters that kept me up at night. I find this to be a pattern in all the Westerfeld books I read. It's probably just me, because I think he's a pretty successful author.

Weaving fun tidbits into historical fiction

I always loved history as a kid. What I love about historical fiction is an opportunity to learn neat little tidbits that I might not find in a history book.

For example, did you know that William Randolph Hearst coined the term "cliffhanger"? As a native Californian, when I think of Hearst, I always think of Hearst Castle and Hearst newspapers. I didn't realize he was into film. He produced a series of short films called the Perils of Pauline. Each segment ended with Pauline in danger. Hearst described these endings as "cliffhangers." I thought this was so cool!

These books are packed with tons of fun facts from history. At the end of each novel, Westerfeld reveals what's true, what's made up, and what's altered. I can't help but admire the amount of research that must have gone into the creation of these books.

At one time, I had hopes of writing a magical realism / historical fiction based on the Ching Dynasty in China. I spent about a year researching. I read dozens of books on Chinese history, architecture, mythology, etc. I even went to China. In the end, I just got so overwhelmed. I felt like I could never pack all the amazing facts into a story, so I shelved the idea. I have a great deal of respect for Westerfeld, who was able to successfully meld speculative fiction and historical fiction.

If you haven't read this series, I definitely recommend it. It's very imaginative and fun. ...more

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Dec 01, 2012 J. Nicole rated it it was amazing

Barking spiders, what a conclusion!

Goliath has you at the edge of your seat the entire way through, and is a brilliant conclusion to the trilogy.

Before Leviathan, I haven't read many books that could be labeled as alternate history or steampunk. But this trilogy has quickly become one of my favorites.

The idea is refreshingly original, and you are brought into a whole new war-torn world of terrifying machines and amazing animals.

The characters are incredibly interesting. (Especially Bovril, who I ...more

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