YA fanaticsScott Westerfeld got it very, very right in this smart, slickly crafted re-imagining of World War I.There are a host of inventive creations in this book full of "nicely done," but I want to run the highlighter over the two primary world-building concepts (i.e The Clankers and the Darwinists) because they really struck me as swelling with genius, and their engorgement was made all the more pronounced by the art, which is impeccableness itself). First, the DARWINISTS. So in this alterna [...]

review buffet✥A Review in the Classic StyleBehemoth is the second book in Westerfeld's steampunk adventure series for the little ones. It continues at breakneck pace, following its plucky young protagonists as they hurtle through misadventure, politics, and just the teensiest bit of lovelorn longing, all taking place in an alternate World War I-era Ottoman Empire (vividly and vibrantly depicted as a near-ideal melting pot of cultures). All of the tropes of steampunk remain firmly in place. Ove [...]

This seriesGod damn, this series.I want to go sing its praises across campus, to haul people down to the library and shove copies of Leviathan into their hands, to wander the country like a modern-day Johnny Appleseed scattering lovely books wherever I go.Okay, not so much that last one. But you get my point.But anyhow. I was quite content with the first book, but I'm elated about this one. It's one of those fabulous novels in which it's not just the characters who mature and grow (as all charac [...]

A delightful sequel to the author’s “Leviathan”, an alternative history fantasy that pits the machine-oriented Clankers (Germans and Austro-Hungarian Empire) against biotechnology dominated forces of the Darwinists (Brits and French). Our teen heroes are Deryn, a girl posing as a boy (Dylan) to serve as a midshipman aboard the British bio-airship/dirigible, and Alek, son of the assassinated Serbian Archduke Ferdinand, on the run from the Germans who engineered the murder in this version of [...]

Please Note: This review will contain mild spoilers for Leviathan so if you know want to know zilch avert your eyes please.“Do I look like a ninny?” she asked Alek.“You do indeed, Mr Sharp.”Initial Final Page Thoughts.I’m not supposed to be buying any more books until after Christmas *bites nails* but this series is just too good. It would be a crime not to buy the final book, wouldn’t it? WOULDN’T IT?!High Points.Ninnies. Dummkopfs. Mr Sharp. Beasties. Bovril. Lilit. Costanipole I [...]

DERYN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *grumbles to self about how stupid girls are who are pretending to be boys and don't tell the guy they love that they're actually not a guy when they have a chance to because he's telling her about how a girl seems to have a crush on her*

I think Bovril counts as an excuse to add a book to my "talking cats" shelf. ;)Also, I am going to try to add some images to my review for the vewy first time, so please bear with meBehemoth was even better than Leviathan. Why?1. First up, Alek is my fave still. He was a little less pathetic in this book than the first, which was good and bad. Good because he was taking charge of his life in a way that made me want to stand up and cheer, bad because I thought his snobbishness was super amusing. [...]

YA steampunk (I finally figured out the name of this genre) is engaging. We see Istanbul get quite a bit of notice here. Even though I can't remember hearing too much about Istanbul in history I think it fit pretty well. Most authors I think pick places like Germany, France, and Great Britain as the setting in their books for the WWI era but Istanbul is a place I've neither seen nor heard much about. I knew it was in Turkey *shrug*. And even if Westerfeld changed some of the history (so to speak [...]

Sigh, problemi iz prošle knjige su preneti i ovamo: slabi karakteri koji se i dalje više ponašaju kao idioti u svojim akcijama i razmišljanju. Onda imamao priču koja jeste zanimljiva ali dosta naivna i brzo i likovi lako preživljavaju sve probleme. Sa druge strane sam svet je i dalje fenomenalan, art u knjizi je isto odličan i atmosferu koju stvaraju je takva da vas prosto drži prikovanom da čitate. I sam stil je lak za čitanje, radnja se fino prati, akcija je odlično opisana.Sve u s [...]

3 ½ starsThis is another fun, fast-paced adventure with Deryn and Aleksandr in the futuristic alternate World War I history first introduced in Leviathan. I enjoyed this story just as much as the first installment; I think that my slight lessening of enthusiasm might actually relate to this book’s heavy focus on the Clankers and their technological marvels. I found the Darwinists far more interesting – luckily it seems like the next book is heading into Darwinist Japan (Darwinists and Japan [...]

My wife and I are both massive bookworms at heart. Two small children and a puppy, and a mountain of DIY/refurbishment to do restrict our reading to a book a week, rather than the book a day we'd prefer!Ever since our youngest was born, my wife has felt kind of frazzled! There's just so much to do and her attention span for complex novels has deteriorated. She wants 'popcorn' reads. I've been sitting there going, "Read Leviathan. Read Leviathan. It's exactly what you want. You'll love it. Read L [...]

7/5/2016I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Leviathan, just like last time. It gets a little bogged down in introducing new characters and in discussing Ottoman politics in 1914. But on the whole, it's an absolute blast and I love it.3/9/2012Plot summary: Deryn and Alek are still on board the Leviathan, heading for Istanbul. With hopes of stopping the Ottoman Empire from entering the pending war through a mysterious gift for the Sultan, the stakes for the crew of the Leviathan are high. Whe [...]

Alek and Deryn grow closer in their friendship and much to Deryn/Dylan’s horror, she worries about feeling more than that. Near the last half of B, someone else enters the picture. (Let's just say that that was different.) One of the funnier parts of the book was when Deryn thinks she's going to get a declaration of love from him; she doesn't.Alek takes a more active role in this book. In the first he was rescued, manipulated into driving a walker. Here most everything that happens to him is b [...]

Behemoth is the second book in Westerfeld's WWI steampunk Clankers vs Darwinists alt-U romp. It's packed full of Bechdelicious goodness, from the main character (a cross-dressing midship(wo)man for the Darwinists), to a Turkish anarchist revolutionary, to a rather splendid and dapper "lady boffin" and a Nene with an interesting mobility device. Behemoth is a whole pile of fun, has a heap of marvelous critters and machines, and has as a bonus plenty of fabulous black and white illustrations that [...]

Just tell him you're a girl already.

Steampunk with an alternative history of WWI.What happens when an author takes a historical event like WWI and tweaks a few little details? Let’s just say he adds a few imaginative gadgets, contraptions, and “beasties.” What if the main characters are both orphans with secrets? Behemoth is the second book in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series. Set during WWI, the world is a little askew. The Allies (mostly the British) are known as the Darwinists. All of their weapons and machinery are [...]

4.5 of holly shit this was amazingReally good sequel.Muy bueno, al igual que el primero, te mantiene leyendo ya que cada capitulo hay mas y mas y mas acción, en verdad, estos personajes no tienen descanso jamas! Creo que las ilustraciones en este libro fueron mucho mejores, ya que vemos mas maquinas que personas en ellas, lo cual es genial ya que es muy difícil de verlas en tu mente, aunque como que me esperaba al Behemoth mas impactante, osea te hablan de el desde el principio del libro, la g [...]

Behemoth, the second installment in the series was a letdown compared to it's predecessor. Even the wonderfull world of clankers and beasties could not improve the story and narration.The novel is set immediately after the end of book one and we travel to Istanbul to witness a revolution. The plot was interesting and captivating for the most part. There are however, many things which are questionable.As this is a YA and the readers targeted are young minds the author doesn't spend much time to m [...]

Behemoth in two words: Barking awesome! ^__^Westerfeld has crafted an amazing story, accessible to children and adolescents, but with gems for adults as well. These books are the sort a child might read as a grand adventure story, and when they return later, a little older and wiser, and they may well be struck by how stark its themes truly are. There is a lot of care taken in explaining the underlying tensions that would erupt into the Great War, using simple enough terms to illustrate the poli [...]

The continuing adventures of naval crew and girl-in-disguise Deryn and secret-heir-to-the-Austro-Hungarian-Empire Alex. This time, in Istanbul! With a continued mix of steampunky ships and genetically engineered beasties, including giant airships. And bats who poop razors. Plucky kids in their early teens, battling to take down empires!Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.In the meantime, you [...]

Book TWO in the "Leviathan" series.This is another intriguing installment and flows seamlessly from the first book.This story line deals more with the politics of the war than with Walkers and the Leviathan itself. The story centers in Istanbul, which is not yet part of the war, but desired by both sides, and full of its own unrest.Alek must decide how much involvement he wants to take in the actual shaping of the war, or if he should hide out and wait for it to end before he makes his move. Sim [...]

SoI think this might just be better than Leviathan.Leviathan is a must-read before you tackle this monster book. The story begins in the middle of the day on the great airship Leviathan but within a few pages, a battle is raging, and there's no time to explain to newcomers what is going on - that Dylan and Deryn are, in fact, one person and the feminine pronouns are no mistake; that Alek is actually Prince Aleksander, heir to the recently-assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand; and why the Leviat [...]

If you have never read a book by Scott Westerfeld, you really ought to. He is the singularly most creative writer in young adult literature bar none. In Behemoth, his sequel to Leviathan, we rejoin Alek, the son of the recently assassinated Franz Ferdinand and secret heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire and Devyn, the young British air-corps officer with a secret. (She's a GIRL!) In this clever steampunk reimagining of World War One the Central Powers of Europe are known as "Clankers", builders [...]

Loistava kirja. Aivan loistava.Tämä trilogia, hyvät ihmiset, on yksi luovimpia mitä olen ikinä lukenut. Leviathan oli hyvä, mutta Behemoth on erinomainen. Juoni vei mukanaan alusta asti ja olin täysin investoitunut tarinaan. Se täytyi lukea mahdollisimman nopeasti loppuun.Deryn ja Alek all the way! Nämä kaksi ovat täydellisiä toisilleen! Alek tosin luulee Deryniä edelleen pojaksi ja kutsuu tätä Dylaniksi ja Deryn puolestaan kammoaa ajatusta kertoa totuus Alekille, koska pelkää m [...]

Continuación directa del primero de la saga, esta segunda parte continúa las aventuras de los protagonistas por esta Primera Guerra Mundial alternativa con bestias darwinistas fabricadas por ingeniería genética versus Tecnologías mecánicas hijas del steampunk. Una vez creada la ambientación en el anterior libro este no ofrece nada realmente nuevo. Agradable de leer, pero sin sorpresas.Si has leído el anterior –Leviathan- leerás este con gusto, pero id rebajando las expectativas. Muy r [...]

*3.5 stars*This series is getting better and better! Behemoth was action-packed and I couldn't stop reading, so so so good. I'm also slowly trying to be more attached to the characters, I still had some problems with it. But so far so good, can't wait to read the last book!

Without a doubt, Westerfeld's Leviathan was one of my favourite books from last year, so when the second book came out I ordered it straight away - I just had to get it in my hands. I'm not going to give much of a plot summary if I can help it; I don't want to spoil it or provide too many details. Always hard to discuss successive books in a series!Behemoth begins more-or-less straight after Leviathan ended, with the air ship and its heroes, Deryn (still disguised as a boy called Dylan) and Alek [...]

I gobbled this book up in about three days!!! It was great. I am really excited and interested to see how this trilogy ends. So much has happened since the end of Leviathan.The First Lord of the Admiralty has "borrowed" the Osman and its companion (known only as the Behemoth) from The Ottoman Empire. To keep the peace between England and The Ottoman Empire so that The Ottoman Empire doesn't join Germany's (the Clankers') side in the war, Dr. Barlow is taking fabricated eggs to the Sultan. After [...]

Full review to come when I have time to write it, but for now, here'sDAVE'S FINAL JUDGMENT - THE DEFENSE - The Clanker's steampunk monstrosities and the Darwinist's genetically-manufactured Beasties are incredibly imaginative - Many fascinating characters, especially Deryn & Alek- Story is very fast-paced and exciting - Mythology of this alternate history is enthrallingTHE PROSECUTION - Ultra-convenient plot-twists can be hard to swallow at times - Considering the great chemistry between Der [...]

Tra la la la la. Well, I honestly don't have much to say. I feel like I've probably exhausted the whole "OMG I LOVE SCOTT WESTERFELD AND EVERYTHING HE WRITES" thing, but *shrugs* OMG I LOVE SCOTT WESTERFELD AND EVERYTHING HE WRITES. I can't say that this series is my favorite of his I still love Uglies and Midnighters the best. Although, I think these books have the most effective use of world building. (Of course, the world building in Uglies is amazing, too.) I love the idea of this alternate [...]