Goliath

I don't use the word "heteronormative" lightly, but.....

(Ugh.)

Apart from the increasingly annoying Certified 100% Heterosexual Relationship that Westerfeld made central to the story, this was pretty good. It really didn't need the romance driving it; "romance" mostly just tosses a hat over gaping ridiculous plot developments like Alek literally throwing away his royalty (very punny; I'm still wincing), and Alek having an actual consistent political position (if that's too much to expect from a teenager, then how does Dylan have such freedom of action in her relatively low-on-the-totem-pole military rank?). Story itself was a little disjointed and strung-together, but it worked, and overall I really like Westerfeld's warping of history. show more I am still confused about Dylan's rank; the first two books make it seem like she was more of a cabin boy, but she always had a lot more latitude than I expected, even accounting for the "bell captain" effect (where the people who carry out the orders have a kind of power that the people giving the orders do not).

I liked the characterization of Tesla, although maybe it helps that I find his adoring present-day fan club annoying.

The social barriers Dylan ran up against, even with Dr. Barlow, were really painful to read. Maybe I took it too personally. I kept having flashes to [b:Monstrous Regiment|386371|Monstrous Regiment (Discworld, #31)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347894977s/386371.jpg|25787074]; I would have loved to see how Dylan was going to keep living her dream, or how other women were dealing with things-as-they-were. Which begs the question, is Dylan going to keep living as a man? Some hints are certainly dropped in that direction. Isn't that going to create some sticky social issues if she and Alek pursue their romantic relationship?

If so, Westerfeld isn't going to be the one to tell us about it. I've liked his work for a long time, his books are generally thoughtful and don't talk down to his young readers, but right now I am incredibly disappointed in him. Either he knew what he was doing with his queer subtext and was too cowardly to make it text/caved to the editors, or it was all just a joke to him. show less

Summary: After the events of the Ottoman Revolution, the great airship Leviathan heads east, although not to Tokyo, as midshipman Deryn Sharp and the rest of the crew initially assumed, but into the wilds of Siberia. They're there to pick up the scientist Nikola Tesla, a clanker scientist who has invented a weapon - Goliath - that is so powerful that it can level entire cities. Tesla plans to use Goliath - or the threat of it - to stop World War I, a motive that is dear to the heart of Alek, heir to the Austrian throne, who feels the war is his family's fault. But Deryn's got more on her mind than scientists and weapons, since she's been masquerading as a boy to serve on the airship, and she doesn't know how much longer her true show more identity - or her feelings for Alek - can remain a secret.

Review: I had somewhat of a mixed reaction to Goliath: as a continuation and end to the Leviathan series, it was wonderful; as a novel in and of itself, I don't think it's Westerfeld's best.

Let's deal with the second point first. All of the books in the series have been thoroughly action-packed, and Goliath is no exception. However, in the other two books, the action was central to the main plot of the story, while in Goliath's case, the plot was more character-centric. That's not a bad thing, at all, and the character development and emotional core of the story was excellently done. But it did have the effect of making the novel feel somewhat episodic and disjointed, more like a string of set pieces than a single flowing chain of events. Each piece was well-done, and things moved along at a good clip, but I did occasionally find myself thinking things like "Wait a minute, weren't we just in a battle with Japanese sea monsters? What are we suddenly doing in Mexico?" Westerfeld's inventive world-building is one of the best things about this series, but it did feel like Goliath was rushing a little to make sure that the entire rest of the globe got its due.

But the good news is that, on the whole, I was much too absorbed in Deryn and Alek's story to mind the occasional jumps in the action. With this series, Westerfeld's done one of my favorite things: he puts sympathetic characters in an impossible situation, one that I can't possibly see how it can be resolved satisfactorily, and then pulls out an ending that is unexpected, entirely satisfying, fits the story, and doesn't feel cheap. Deryn's been a great protagonist from the start, confident and capable, but I thought Alek really came into his own in this book. Watching their relationship grow and change has been one of the pleasures of this series, and Westerfeld handled it excellently as always - particularly important, since it formed the central plot of this novel, more so than the others. I'm sad to see the series end, of course, but if it had to end, this was a great way to do so.

Finally, while I did miss the illustrations, I'm so glad that I listened to this series as audiobooks. Alan Cumming does a great job with the narration, his skill with accents really bringing all of the characters to life... plus I love his interpretation of the Perspicacious Lorises. (Also, I just love the Lorises in general. Missster Sharp! They're totally going on my Christmas List.) 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Readers of Leviathan and Behemoth will likely not need my urging to read Goliath as well; newcomers should start at the beginning, but the series as a whole is wonderful imaginative fun that should appeal to historical fiction and steampunk fans alike. show less

Everything that made the first two books excellent can be found here, plus new cultures to explore in this Clanker/Darwinist reimagining of history, plus several characters' personalities are explored more deeply, plus an extremely matter-of-fact treatment about how Deryn and Alek feel about each other. The romance is written true to the characters and not to any stinking stereotypes, and for that Westerfeld wins a fifth star. This is a trilogy that excites where lesser series would exhaust.

In the final book in the Leviathan trilogy, the gigantic airship sails around the globe from Russia to Japan to New York City, all in adherence with demands of the mad inventor who claims that his weapon, Goliath, can end the war. In the midst of all of this travel, Alek finally learns that Dylan is in fact a girl, whom we've known all along as Deryn. As he grapples with this new truth about his best friend, he must also make decisions that could affect the entire course of the Great War.

Goliath does everything I wanted for the conclusion of this fantastic series. The creatures and contraptions continue to be brilliant, the characters encounter exciting adventures and grow as individuals at the same time, and the plot is riveting. Also show more highly worthy of mention are Keith Thompson's brilliant illustrations which are absolutely beautiful and so richly detailed. While I did see some plot points coming, when you have a female character disguising herself as a boy, that is to be expected. I appreciated Westerfeld's approach to his alternate history and the choices he made. The ending, which can always be tricky in a trilogy, is also very well-done, being neither too saccharine nor too open-ended. Instead, I was very happy with how we left Alek and Deryn as they sailed away on the fascinating airship that is the Leviathan. show less

This final installment of the Leviathan trilogy had me on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire time. If Deryn's secret wasn't on the verge of being discovered then Alek was in danger or the engines were smoking or some other calamity. This part of our story takes us from Siberia to Japan to the USA, introducing a number of memorable new characters and visiting old friends along the way. And Bovril the perspicacious loris was endlessly adorable. There were far more historical figures this time around, making Westerfeld's "what actually happened" epilogue even more interesting. You know, I don't really care for steampunk or alternate histories or books about war - fictional or otherwise - but I really, really loved this trilogy. I show more loved the characters, how you're never quite sure who knows what or whom to trust. I loved the technology, the mix of science and fantasy involved in these genetically engineered critters. I loved the story, the adventures, the romance, the suspense. And the ending was quite satisfying, which is saying a lot considering how many loose ends were flapping about prior to it. Highly recommended. show less

Goliath is the conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy, an alternate-history WWI steampunk YA adventure series in which Franz Ferdinand’s fictional heir Alek attempts to stop the ongoing war while travelling around the world on the living British airship Leviathan, assisted by able young cadet Dylan Sharp – actually Deryn Sharp, a boy in disguise. Goliath greatly expands the scope of the story, with the Leviathan travelling across Siberia and Japan, crossing the Pacific and eventually reaching North America. It’s probably objectively the best book of the series.

Unfortunately I found the trilogy as a whole underwhelming. It’s competently written, and Westerfeld clearly has a marvellous imagination, but much of it too show more often feels like a publisher’s ideal YA series rather than something more original or daring. We check off all of the following cliches: noble child on the run learning to live amongst common people, girl who dresses up like a boy to serve in the military, fetishisation of British naval service, scheming journalists and foolish millionaires, an inevitable romance between the two leads, and cute animal sidekicks which eventually prove irrelevant to the plot. And the alternate history setting, which was put to good effect in Leviathan and Behemoth, becomes tiresome in Goliath, as Westerfeld takes us on a roll call of all the era’s famous figures. Nikola Tesla is integral to the plot and is put to good use, but by the time the Leviathan went on a Mexican detour purely, it seemed, for the purposes of meeting Pancho Villa, I was starting to get annoyed.

I suppose what I didn’t like about the Leviathan trilogy was that it never really surprised me. Can’t we have YA fiction where the main leads don’t fall in love just because they’re of the opposite sex? Can’t we have strong roles for female characters that don’t involve putting on trousers and doing boy stuff? Can’t we have characters’ fears about punishment or consequences actually realised, instead of everything turning out OK at the end of each book? We can, of course, and there’s plenty of YA fiction out there that does that (I feel like a broken record going on about Philip Reeve, but I’m also thinking of John Christopher – who, to be fair, had the benefit of writing YA fiction before the term itself was invented by publishers as a marketing angle). And I don’t want to suggest that genre subversion is a mandatory prerequisite for successful YA fiction. I’m just trying to put my finger on why, despite many points in its favour, I found the Leviathan trilogy ultimately unsatisfying.

Anyway, that’s just my take. Although I think it’s true that nobody’s ever too old to read YA fiction it’s also important to remember that I’m no longer the genre’s target audience. If you’re looking for fun young adult fiction, or are stocking a school library or your kid’s Christmas stocking, by all means give this series a try. I thought it was okay, and a lot of people loved it more than me. show less

Such an amazing ending to an amazing trilogy. I stayed up WAY too late finishing it last night because I could not wait to get to the end. There's not a whole lot I can say without spoiling the previous two books, but if you enjoyed either of those, this will not disappoint. And as usual, the artwork is spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that I bought The Manual of Aeronautics, and it's waiting for me at my apartment. It came a few days ago but I didn't want to even look at it until I finished the trilogy, so it's still in its box.

The mix of history and fantasy in this series is perfection. At the end of each book there is a short afterward in which Westerfeld clarifies which parts of the story are true, and which parts he changed, show more and why he did so, and what the effects of his changes might be down the line. (I can't get too detailed without spoiling.) WWI history is admittedly one of my weaker areas, but after reading this series I will never forget what happened, and who was on which side, because I've seen it all through Deryn/Dylan and Alek's eyes. Nor will I ever stop dreaming about Keith Thompson's amazing drawings or the incredible creatures and contraptions that Westerfeld created. I need my own Perspicacious Loris. Like really bad.

(For anyone who has read the Pretties series and is thus avoiding the Leviathan series: They're nowhere near the same thing. This is WAY better.) show less