Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan #3
After aiding and abetting a revolution in Istanbul, Deryn and Alek are off to Russia to pick up some mysterious cargo. As part of a grand scheme to end the war, they head east from there for the United States, and eventually, New York. But can their friendship survive the revelation that Deryn is a girl? And can two teenagers really stop a world war?
Goliath was a very quick read that I quite enjoyed. Many of the same highlights of the previous two books apply: endearing characters, dramatic and exciting action, and a generally fascinating world make this series a pleasure to read.
Alek finally figures out that Deryn is a girl early on in this one, which is good because I was getting rather sick of that particular device. I thought the revelation and reaction were well done and believable on both their parts. Alek's fixation with his "destiny" to stop the war, however, is even more pronounced in this book and got a little tiresome after a while. Personally I prefer Deryn's "screw destiny" attitude.
Plotwise, Goliath basically continued the story of Leviathan and Behemoth. I won't say I predicted the ending of the story, but it wasn't exactly shocking either. Nikolas Tesla was an interesting addition to the crew and that particular plotline turned out rather more interesting than I expected. William Randolph Hearst's schemes, on the other hand, and those of his journalist employees, could have been better laid out - that aspect sort of died off without any real explanation.
Overall, this was a good series. It was a fun, light-hearted story that skillfully mingled history and imagination, filled with clever and intriguing characters. I definitely recommend this series if you're looking for some interesting alternate history fun.
Plot: 3 cupcakes
Characters: 4 cupcakes
Style: 4 cupcakes
Overall: 4 cupcakes
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