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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, on their way to Istanbul. It is the First World War, and Istanbul is supposedly neutral but extremely strategic, so both sides are trying to sway the Sultan and Ottoman Empire to their cause. The city is an exotic, multi-cultural, cosmopolitan place, with a mix of Darwinist creations and Clanker machines in the streets and homes of its people.

Once there, Alek manages to escape before his true identity is discovered, with the Germans hot on his trail; and Deryn accompanies the "lady boffin", Dr Barlow, to the Sultan's palace to gift him with one of the precious eggs the Leviathan has been carrying. The Empire's neutrality is slipping fast, though, and it soon becomes clear that the Clankers have the upper hand here. It is up to Deryn to make sure the Behemoth, a vast sea monster that is their only hope against the powerful Clanker ships and their lightning towers that can pull airships down, gets into the harbour, while Alek connects with an underground resistance group in the city and finds himself helping to strategise with them. War is coming fast to Istanbul.

There's so much to love in this series: the alternate world; the imaginative creations and steam-driven machines; the characters and the way they talk; the historical period (WWI isn't often used for YA fiction, or many other types); the grand scale. Then you have Thompson's stunning illustrations that I gushed over so much in the first book - they're no less gorgeous here, and really bring the world to life.

The setting is fabulous - Turkey (and Istanbul) is one of my top 3 countries to visit (along with Morocco and the Czech Republic), and while I have more Turkish books on my shelves, unread, than I've got around to, every time I get to read a book set there (like the recently-reviewed Theodora by Stella Duffy), I thirst for the details. The city of Istanbul was vividly alive here, and the embellishment of machine and Darwinist creations was perfectly suited to its eclectic, vibrant bustle.

Deryn is still my favourite character and one of the most heroic characters I've come across, but I found myself appreciating Alek more here - the glimpses of compassion and maturity we got in Leviathan have provided solid ground to build on, and the development of his character is satisfying and believable as he comes into his own element.

It's hard to know where the story is going to go from here, except perhaps the restoration of Alek to his rightful position - though if I remember correctly, and considering Alek's existence is fiction (Franz Ferdinand had no children), I'm actually hoping there's something more interesting in store for him. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Dylan - his true identity can't remain a secret forever, especially in light of her feelings for Alek - and Count Volger knows. Oh there's lots to look forward to in the third and final book, Goliath!

I have to admit that I'm not bothered by this cover - mostly I love the colours, the graininess and the illustration of - is it Alek? I'm not actually sure! That would be a mite unfair since I think he was on the cover of the first book. But compared to the other editions I've seen, I much prefer this cover and don't find it atrocious like other reviewers do.