Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
In this latest installment Alek tries to make himself useful by aligning himself with the inventor Tesler, who claims that he has invented a machine that can waste an entire city with the push of a button. Tesler proves to be unstable and more interested in his own glory than the lives of others. Alek is the only person who can stop the destruction of the entire country of Germany, but will he decide to preserve his enemy?

Deryn continues to prove her airman skills time and time again. It was only a matter of time before someone discovered she was a girl. What will happen now that her true identity is revealed not only to her closest friends but to a nosy reporter looking to break the next big headline?

The last and final installment of the Scott Westerfeld’s steampunk trilogy is full of adventure, new sights and fun. So, this last book took interesting turns that I did not expect, namely that our main characters ended up meeting Pancho Villa, and spending a lot of time in America. My favorite chapter of the entire book is when you are trying to figure out if Alexander has guessed that Deryn is a girl or not. Westerfeld teases the reader throughout the entire thing, and it is hilarious! The entire book is worth a reread just for that chapter alone. I got to say that my favorite book of the entire series is Leviathan. This book didn’t have the dramatic character arcs of the first book, and that wild serendipitous feel of first adventure and accidental meetings. Goliath does have a dramatic, satisfying, and romantic ending that will have your insides mushy with happiness. I will recommend this series for a long time to come. It is beautiful, original, and just plain good writing. Please, go enjoy this wonderful trilogy.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

"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."
(summary from goodreads)

Scott Westerfeld’s second installment of his steampunk WWI series was as enjoyable to read as the first book. This time much of the book takes place in the city of Istanbul. Dylan and Alek and the crew of the Leviathan are put smack dab right in the middle of a huge political and military tangle for power over the city. We finally get to discover what strange creatures Dr. Barlow is carrying across the entire continent of Europe as a peace offering to the sultan of Istanbul.

Alek, meanwhile, gets himself in a tight spot when Britain finally declares war on Austria-Hungry and Germany. The hospitality of the Leviathan crew can no longer protect him, and so he flees into the streets of Istanbul and finds what allies he can to elude capture and to make plans for the future. As he wanders around the city we get introduced to a whole new crew of walker machines and their intriguing owners.

This book is full of plot, awesome characters, and one of the most interesting and unique settings I’ve come across in a long time. While I did miss reading about the ship Leviathan and found the huge new beastie a little disappointing because it had so little screen time this was still an awesome read. This is a series I would recommend to everyone. I can’t wait for the next book to come out!


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Midnighters Book 3: Blue Moon by Scott Westerfeld

Midnighters Book 3: Blue Moon by Scott Westerfeld

When the world freezes into “blue time” in the middle of the day instead of in the middle of the night The Midnighters are confused and a bit panicked. Soon they find out that there is a rift between the Midnight Realm and the real world. The Rift is getting larger and causes “blue time” to happen at strange time. It also causes a little girl to become captured by the darklings. So, the crew must go and rescue the girl before she becomes darkling food. During the rescue Rex realizes that his new powers cause the darklings to recognize him as one of their own. This results in Rex being tempted to join the darklings, but also in them sharing their plans with him another night while they are trapped in the middle of the desert. Rex has trouble remembering the plans, as the old-darklings hid them in his mind, but the Midnighters know that they must work hard to close the rift or humans will once again become prey to huge army of darklings.

The way I feel about Blue Noon is much similar to the way I feel about the other books in the series. The characters were solid, consistent, and strong, the plot kept me engaged, and had a few twists. The setting continued to throw the characters for a few loops. After all, Bixby may look ordinary, but really it’s the strangest place on Earth. I really liked how all the characters had to work together to pull of winning the darklings. Each of their powers is crucial at some point in the book to their success against the darklings. I sort of didn’t where all the characters ended up at the end of the book, but there is a sense that the Midnighers continue. They start to reach outside of Bixby with their new knowledge of the midnight time and contact other Midnighers.

Midnighters is still not my favorite series written by Westerfeld, Blue Noon didn’t absolutely blow me away, but it remains, as the others in the series, a pretty enjoyable YA read for sci-fi/fantasy lovers of either gender.

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Midnighters: Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

In this sequel to midnight hour Jessica and her friends continue to learn more about the midnight hour and how it works. Unfortunately they are learning that the darklings may have a way to communicate with humans, and these humans are out to kill the Midnighters. In order survive they must unravel the secrets behind Bixby’s past and their own powers.

So, I remember being sort of iffy on the first book in these series. It was good and enjoyable, but not amazing. I think this book impressed me a little bit more. I really love the story line with Dess and how she finds out more about Bixby with her math power. She takes all the geographical coordinates in the town and finds places that are hidden from the darklings. Yet, she also finds places that the darklings naturally hang out. That was an interesting story-line to me. In addition Melissa learns how to control her mindcasting powers better, and this time we get to see how her power helps her to find out some of the darklings plans and feelings. Don’t want to spoil too much but Rex also gets an interesting new ability at the end of the story. So, next time I check out books at the library book three of this series will be on my list.

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Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld.

Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma.
Time freezes.
Nobody moves.
For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour -- only they are free to move about the midnight time.
These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School.
Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her before she can use it.
A story of courage, shadowy perils, and unexpected destiny, the secret hour is the first volume of the mesmerizing Midnighters trilogy by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld. (summary from back of book)

As I mentioned before the hubby liked this one more than Uglies. I still liked the Uglies series better, but this was still an enjoyable read. It is interesting to watch each of the midnighters deal with their powers, and deal with the threat of the darklings. I also like the spin that the darklings have been haunting man since prehistoric times, and are ancient creatures. I think it is interesting that the characters have to learn about the prehistoric origins and history of Bixby as a result. It gives the series a different feel than a bunch of other stories. The beginning of the book was a bit boring for me, but I eventually got really into the story and enjoyed all the nerdy high school characters. Not as fun as Uglies, but still a solid entertaining read.

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Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

So, I’ve been curious about Westerfeld’s latest release Leviathan, first, because I loved his Uglies series, and second, because I heard it was steam punk. All my friends tell me they love steam punk, and I have no idea where they were finding all this steam punk stuff to love. It’s like the invisible genre everyone loves, but won’t let you in on the secret of where they are finding all this stuff. So, finally an easily accessible steam punk novel from an author I really like. Score! It gets better though because the book is awesome in many ways. First, the cover is unique and kind of shiny, and the map inside looks cool too. The illustrations throughout the book just add to the whole effect. This is a heavy, nicely presented book that I love to see on my shelf or heft in my hands.

The setting has an alternate history feel to it, as it begins just as WWI is about to break out on Europe. This Europe is technologically different from traditional history. The British Darwinists war machine is based off of genetically engineering “life strands” (DNA) of animals and creating fantastic beasts. Jelly Fish are altered to breathe hydrogen and float into the sky. A living, breathing whale becomes a zeppelin war machine. The German and Austro-Hungarians wage war via huge technological robot creatures called walkers. So there is there cultural warfare of biology vs machinery threaded throughout the entire book.

The book opens as Aleksander Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, confronts the tragedy of his parent’s assassination, the event which sparked the beginning of WWI in our history books. It also sparks war in Aleksander’s world, and turns him into a fugitive. A few of his father’s loyal men help him escape out of the palace in a walker. They evade Germans capture, trying to enter neutral territory where they will be safe to hunker down and wait out the war.

The other story thread involves Deryn Sharp, a girl who has disguised herself as a boy so she can join the British air service. She has a true passion for flight, and disguising herself is the only way to reach her dream. She becomes a mid-shipman aboard the Leviathan, a huge whale-zeppelin hybrid ship. The captain has orders to take a mysterious Dr. Barlow and her precious cargo to the Ottoman Empire as quickly as possible.

So, I adored this book! It was so much fun to read. The book is as much as about exploring this interesting, dynamic setting as it is about these two unique characters. I thought Deryn was hilarious, and I loved her. She takes no crap from anyone, and her comments on the strange practices of boys are hilarious. Aleksander is also a fascinating character, as a noble he’s proud and arrogant, but he’s also smart and clever. He has a knack for running Clanker technology, and it’s fun to watch him master the controls of his walker under the tutelage of his trustworthy crew. Yet, he is also headstrong and stubborn and this trait leads him into trouble when he risks everything to help Deryn’s crew.

I’ve already written a ton and I haven’t even told you half of what I liked yet! As with his Uglies series, Westerfeld masterfully weaves slang, and witty dialogue into his novel to make his imaginary world feel authentic and complex. His characters feel natural and realistic in their settings, and truly this book is an example of why I love to read fantasy. I would recommend it to everyone. I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out! Behemoth 2010!

Book Review:Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Book Review
Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Aya is young teen trying to find her place in the world left over after Tally Youngblood destroy the specials control of the planet. In her town popularity is everything. Popularity rankings get you bigger houses, nicer clothes, and tons of influence. Aya tries to imitate her older brother and “kick” important news stories in order to get popular. She hooks up with a clique called the sly girls, while secretly planning to kick their story and become famous. These girls hate popularity and go on adventures out in the woods. They do anything to get a high, like surf on the top of high-speed trains and parachute from the sky. Then one night the girls discover an arsenal full of metal rounds in it. Aya has discovered the story of the century! A story that even gets Tally Youngblood involved.

I liked this book even more than I liked specials. I was really worried about not liking the fact that main viewpoint character had changed, but now I think it probably should have been done. It was wonderful to get a fresh young perspective on this new world and all the technology happenings. For better or worse, the fact that Tally is a Special make her a less empathetic character. It was nice to see her in this book along with the old crew. This story takes place in a different place than the last book. It is placed in some kind of futuristic Japanese society, which adds a whole new flavor to the slang and dialogue of the story, which has always been one of my favorite parts. This book does not disappoint. Go read it!