Borvil's Behemoth (Mild Spoilers)

The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what's ahead.*

Behemoth was everything a sequel should be in my opinion: different in all aspects. Location wise, character wise and conflict wise. There wasn't much conflict in Leviathan other than Alek, who couldn't be caught, and the Leviathan's getaway. Behemoth is soaked in it, on the other hand, and the location made the experience all the better.

Set in early twentieth century Istanbul, as Westerfield mentioned in the author's note, unlike in real world history, the revolution was unsuccessful the first time around leaving the sultan's position still intact by the time the First World War came around. Changing that little bit of history was such a great decision; having this whole mess take place in a city that's rife with anarchists and German controllers wouldn't have been half as fun. The uncertainty (regarding the revolution and such) of the city ensured that the readers see that it's rich with so many customs and cultures that even with instability and invaders its multicultural traditions are left virtually untouched. I think that's what gave this book just one star just because. It's not just the culture of those living in Istanbul but I also learned some fabulous German. Who knew you didn't need a glossary to understand it?

I've read some reviews on Goodreads that say that they disliked the fact that Westerfield introduced this other character into the mix. I say, hurray! More conflict! It was particularly funny after Alek's certain revelation about said character towards Deryn and its ending, which made me squeal with delight as I read by the pool. Alek and Deryn's relationship grows a little deeper in this book as well as Alek tells her the last of his secrets and Deryn starts to feeling the beginning pangs of angsty guilty about her own little secret. I was really hoping though that she would tell him. There was this one moment (which Deryn agreed with me afterwards) in which I was hoping against hope that she would tell him but then ... Sigh. We can't always get what we want.

The pacing was excellent in this book. With every little thing that was wrapped up, a bigger problem presented itself. That kept me on edge the whole time I was reading and the ending blew me away. It's going to be angst fodder now that right after Deryn's fully accepts the fact that she's in love with the little prince, she hears how Alek will never ever marry a commoner and give his children the same fate the marriage of his parents gave him. And then the punches just keep coming! My mouth literally dropped at the penultimate page. It was the last thing I expected to happen. But I was placated by the hope that Alek and Deryn's journey might end in Japan. It's the Taisho period! Who doesn't want to see princely Alek tripping over his kimono? Though I have little doubt that Deryn will be doing the same.

The third book in the series, Goliath, comes out September 20 2011. Want. So. Badly. I also confess to stalk Scott Westerfield's blog in comfort that I'm not the only one doing so.

All in all=☆☆☆☆☆

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

Deryn's Leviathan

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

Let me just start off by saying that I love Scott Westerfield. I've read every single one of his books and I even remember squealing with delight when I saw that he had incorporated manga in his Uglies-sequely book, Extra. He's a fantastic author. But I've always been so scared to read Leviathan. I'm not sure if it was the book cover or the fact that the characters were so young (which has never put me off before), I just didn't know why. I mean it was Scott Westerfield. In any case, the reason I chose to pick it up was because I was tumbling on Tumblr and I saw this amazing piece of fan work and I had to find out where it was from. I was surprised to see it was Deryn and Alek from Leviathan. The rest is history.

Just to be clear, I regret being this late in the game.

Leviathan is honestly one of the most incredible books I've ever read. Yes, even including the classics. It has to be in my top ten. It's the world building that got me. The first few pages didn't fully capture me until I reach Deryn's part. The originality and the description - God, I have never been in so much awe of an author before. How he managed to make this entire world so realistic, as if I was reading a part of history, is a testament to how great of a writer he is. Just like Alek, I was disgusted at first by the thought of fabricated animals and then fascinated because that's essentially what scientists are doing now. What really hit home with me was how easily comparable this book could be to the world now, about the nuclear powers all holding equally dangerous weapons and always seem like they're on the verge of war. Maybe I'm being a little bit over the top but this is the Westerfield world that I think will stay with me forever.

The relationship between Alek and Deryn was so cute that they made me smile every time they appeared together in a scene. I loved Alek more because of the way he interacted with Deryn, who was sold to me the moment I read that she just bested a whole group of boys at something that girls weren't even allowed to do. One thing that rubbed me wrong about this book was the swearing.

No, it wasn't the kind of swearing you'd read in say If I stay or Before I fall. Westerfield switched our slang for that of the early twentieth century. Unfortunately, it didn't really ring true because I felt like he just wrote with our everyday words and then changed them. I could see what bum-rag meant and barking and for the record, I get this feeling that to older readers bum-rag won't feel as authentic as say clart. Also, the swearing was jarring and I really didn't know how to get over that fact.

Despite that issue, I am still in awe of this book. It's yet another masterpiece and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

All in all=☆☆☆☆☆

*Summary provided by Goodreads.