Should I read it?

[Sarah]

You absolutely will not be disappointed by this book! It is a very amazing and well written story, much the same as the rest of Westerfeld's books. The characters are well developed and interesting, even the non-main characters have well developed personalities. The alternate history of WWI with the Clanker and Darwinist powers is an awesome idea and it is very cool. And, I have to say, that compared to the popular trilogies in the media today that have ended in the third book poorly, Goliath, the third book in this series, ended extremely well. There were no loose ends or abrupt, there you go we're done, ending. There was also no disappointment in what happened at the end.

I think that you would really enjoy the Leviathan trilogy if you've enjoyed the Uglies series and Peeps.

[Davytron]

Oh god burn it with fire. It's so bad. Brutal. Excruciating even. Don't get me wrong, the idea is amazing. There is some pretty great artwork throughout the book, too. But the characters are completely unlikable and the writing is quite poor. It seems more appropriate for the 9-12 crowd as opposed to the teen crowd in which it is marketed.

Clearly people have differing opinions! Read it for yourself and report back here.

[Sarah]

Davytron wrote: "Oh god burn it with fire. It's so bad. Brutal. Excruciating even. Don't get me wrong, the idea is amazing. There is some pretty great artwork throughout the book, too. But the characters are comple..."

Just wondering, not in an argumentative way, why you thought the characters were unlikable?

[Briana]

I liked the series personally, mostly because of the action in the book along with the bits of romances. Each chapter leaves you wanting more and even reading the "slow" parts doesn't leave you just flipping pages. The art work is amazing in the whole series and it is an interesting take on the first world war =)

[Sahar]

I loved the series! It was soooo awesome! I liked way better than I did "Uglies" or all his other series.

[Jesse]

Its really good, If your into history I highly recamend it!

[Tatajana]

I loved all 3 books, their action packed, an interesting work of historical fiction, and the romance part of the book is adorable

[Sandy]

My favourite series of the years, I loved Uglies but I loved this series a lot more. If you like adventure filled books then I believe you will enjoy this one and I loved the characters. Read an online excerpt and see how you like it if you're still not sure.

[Sandy]

Nina wrote: "wow, thanks. Is it at all sci-fi?"

Not like how the Uglies series is sci-fi but Leviathan is a steampunk series and steampunk is a subgenre of sci-fi so yes.

There are new animals and creations created from the genetic splicing of animal DNA or fabriacated animals and technological advances in war machines and other devices.

[Solenoid]

I liked the characters, and the idea is obviously awesome, but I felt like barely anything happened in the first book--like they were purposefully dragging it out to get you to read book #2, which I found totally irritating.

[Tatajana]

the first book I give maybe an 8(cuz like Solenoid said, it did drag on), but the other two a 10

[Rikki]

Just read it! Lots of people have different opinions and you can't hardly ever tell if you should read it or not. Read it. It can't hurt. It can only help, can't it?

[Sandy]

Here you can read an excerpt of Chapter 1 from Leviathan

[Valerie]

Yes, you should totally read it!

The writing does seem a bit rushed, I found some fridge logic, and what I call a dangleing detail in Goliath (the first book was just fine, I didn't find any distracting mistakes). But, Westerfeld isn't a poor writer (as displayed in Uglies), so I blame it on his editor.

Story-wise, it's brilliant, and original. The characters are very likeable and balanced, they have wonderful flaws. Deryn is over confidant, and Alek is naive, and a terrible liar (and it's very well-portrayed, and he suffers for it, his plot is propeled by his inability to blend in). I like the alternate history bit of it, to.

I sense that it would appeal to a wide range of readers, boys and girls, men and women. Unlike much of the YA fantasy, this story actually has strong ideas behind it, like gender equality, and what would happen in a world with advanced genetic engineering (though, I wish the author would touch on that a bit more, I wanna know more about the monkey luddites!).

I find that it's well-researched, to. There are actually a lot of facts in the book, and the author notes the things that are changed, and what really happened in WW1.

Overall, Leviathan is great.

[Joe]

Nina wrote: "Out of 10, how would you rate the book then?"

Multiply their rating on the site by 2. :)

[Alyssa]

It's a fun world. If you like a lot of young adult fiction, you will most probably like these books. I admit the characters and the plot did seem a bit rushed but I feel that way about a lot of young adult novels. Either way, no harm in giving it a try.

In terms of rating it, I give it a 9 for the worldbuilding and maybe a 6 or 7 for the writing. I would love to see more stories set in this alternate history.

[Brit]

Loooooved this series, just as much as Uglies. I was pretty skeptical at first--I thought they were geared toward younger kids, but I'm 22 and I thought they were awesome. I'm also not a big fan of alternative history and still found the book enjoyable. I'd definately read them, the series is a solid 9 for me. =]

[Marla]

My favorite Westerfeld series is Midnighters which starts with The Secret Hour. I liked Peeps and Uglies too. I liked Leviathan and Behemoth, but it is very different and would appeal to a different reader.

Midnighters is more paranormal and I recommend it for people who like Horowitz's Gatekeeper's series. Uglies is sort of a BladeRunner type sci-fi book. Peeps is a cool vampire story. And Leviathan is an alternate history steampunk, which reminds me of Oppel's Airborn. So I like all of his series, but I read all sorts of genres.

[Samantha The Escapist]

This was simultaneously my first alt history and my first Westerfeld novel. (note: not my first steampunk though)

I loved the three. This one does drag a little as others said, and I found the youngness of the main characters pretty distracting at first but honestly it was just something *I* had to get over because they're certainly mature enough.

The world is so expansive, across the series they visit many places and meet a lot of familiar people (particularly in the third) and I found it to be, overall, among the most immersive pieces I've ever read.

The only thing to keep in mind is that one of the most common complaints I've noticed is the dryness of the mechanical descriptions or even some of the biology of the darwinists (though that's not really hashed out a whole lot in actual scientific detail) Many found this boring, but I found it fascinating. Likewise the ever-present politics. If you don't find the WW1 part of the premise at ALL appealing it may not be the book for you.

[Sage]

If you enjoyed Peeps and Uglies (like I did) then you'll love Leviathan.

[Claire]

Loved it. I have read the first two, planning on reading the third.

[Lindsay]

It does have a pretty cool premise. The whole setup is the idea that the world has divided into Darwinist and Clanker powers around the early 1900s. And, if you're into history, it does offer a neat alternative reality.

Some things were pretty predictable - especially when you have a story in which the main female character masquerades as a male - but still entertaining.

[Larry]

Read it. The book is written for that age group that reads Harry Potter. For the record Im 49 and I enjoyed it. Its not going to be a steamy romance pardon the pun. Its a fun read and moves well and bonus there are some great illustrations.

[ℂᖺαᖇᒪἷ℮ ⊰1017 &Tardis⊱]

NO THESE BOOKS ARE SO AMAZING

I LOVE SCOTT WESTERFELD

[Leah]

I've never read anything else by Scott Westerfeild, but I loved these books! They were the best books I'd read in a really long time. I love the world that Westerfeild created, and that's it's alternate history, because I love history. And it's cool to see what the world would be like under different circumstances. I loved the writing, and found it easy to read. And the "slow" parts, with no action, weren't slow at all. I loved the characters too. When I was doing nothing, I often found myself thinking of how awesome the Alek and Deryn are. And I think someone said this before, but I agree, all the characters are well developed, not just the main ones. So overall, I'd probably give it like a 9 or a 10. I just think everything about them is intriguing. Alek being a prince, trying to disguise his identity, Deryn having to pretend she's a boy. And I think the whole plot and idea of Scott Westerfeild's alternate world is just so amazing and intriguing.

So the bottom line is READ IT!!!!

[ℂᖺαᖇᒪἷ℮ ⊰1017 &Tardis⊱]

YES! I agree with Leah

[Sarah]

yeah, it may seem a little slow before the two main characters meet up, but once you get to the end of that book, you'll want to finish reading the triliogy

[Robin]

I loved it. I mean, some of it was a bit boring, but the rest made up for the boring bits. I mean, I'm pretty sure you'll like it if you've liked Scott's work before.
As for the argument that I've heard before-that it's not a good example of Steampunk-I disagree. I've read a fair amount of Steampunk, and Scott did an amazing job with his concept.

[Jmart]

Heck yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!