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4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars

Update 12/20/11 - Bonus chapter to Goliath posted on Scott Westerfeld's blog. Here's the

Barking spiders! What a great way to end a series! I want more!

The third and final book in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series did not disappoint. Set during WWI, our heroes Dylan (actually Deryn, a young woman) and Alek are on board the living airship the Leviathan (a giant floating whale!) as it flies eastward towards the orient and beyond. Goliath is an alternative history and retelling of WWI. History buffs will enjoy this book as they see some of the historical characters of the period appear in this book. Steampunk fans will marvel at all of the contraptions and gadgets. The book is geared towards young adult readers, but many adults will enjoy this book as well.

Westerfeld builds a unique world where Darwinists create machinery and weapons using DNA to battle against the mechanical steam powered contraptions of the Clankers. The Clankers favor machinery on legs rather than wheels. Whimsical creatures populate the pages. There are beasties such as strafing hawks, flechette bats, fighting bears, message lizards and my favorite: the perspicacious loris.

Beautifully detailed illustrations by Keith Thompson make this world come alive. Thanks to the illustrations, I was able to imagine all of the cool contraptions and gadgets developed by the Clankers and even the strange creatures engineered by the Darwinists. I found myself lingering on these pages. I would read a little, flip back to the illustrations, and just stare at them. I must say that my e-reader did not do justice to these illustrations. I think (and your results may vary depending on your e-reader) that a dead tree book may be preferable for this series.

The story is captivating. There are some pretty intense moments, great on the edge of your seat reading. I enjoyed the astute observations of the perspicacious loris. I loved the specialized vocabulary from this book. I might just have to use some of those words, they may come in handy.
Thank you, Scott Westerfeld for writing such an engaging series. My 12 year old reluctant reader is enjoying this series. I fully expect him to start calling his brothers “bumrags� and “dummkopfs� sometime soon.

*Thank you Simon & Schuster Galley Grab for an advanced reader copy of this book*

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