Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan

I was browsing through the teen new book section at my library and there sat Leviathan. I had been wanting to read a steam punk genre book and I had read a great review last week, so I added the book to my stack. Quite honestly I remember reading either Pretties or Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and not really enjoying it, though I did need to know the ending, I was not drawn into the world enough to pursue any of the other novels in the series. Nonetheless, the cover jaket summary gave me hope for Leviathan. I spilled tea on a book I was reading and had to layer paper towels and weigh it down with books in order to save it (the book is safe now and being read again). So I look over my stack of library loot and picked up Leviathan. It seemed like a good book for the afternoon.

Review: It was not my favorite book of February. It was a quick read. I think it took me about 3 hours. I read part of it Friday and finished it last night after Olympic coverage. I kept feeling as though the book was striving for its potential, but not quite reaching it. When it concluded I wondered if I had secretly been reading book one of a series. Having looked at Borders I know it is book one. I can forgive the ending now. The following is the trailer from the Borders web page



Summary: Alek is the son of Archduke Ferdinand, and a Clanker. Deryn is a Darwinist British soldier maquerading as Dylan to serve. Clankers and Darwinists are not exactly enemies, but they are definately not friends. At World War 1 in this alternate timeline begins, the lives of our two protagonists converge. Both youngster's have their world expanded, their training tested, and their beliefs questioned.

3 out of 5 stars.
Speculative Fiction Challenge 2010 book

Side Note: I definately want to check out more Steam Punk Novels. I liked the idea of the technologies.