Scott Westerfeld is going to have to start writing another gargantuan book series pretty soon. I just finished Goliath, the third book in the Leviathan series, and I am going to go into Westerfeld withdrawal by November. Also, between this series and Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series, I've become a tad crazy for the steampunk stuff. Someone pointed out to me that the Leviathan books are not technically steampunk, as the engines described in the book don't run on steam. I don't care. So, don't tell me again that I'm mislabeling the series. At Powell's Books, they put Behemoth on the shelf in their steampunk display, so hah!
Goliath begins right where Behemoth left off: World War I rages on across Europe and Asia. It's Clankers vs. Darwinists in this revisionist version of the Great War. Aleksander, the heir to the Austrian throne, has just helped lead a revolution in Turkey and is back on the British airship Leviathan with his best pal, Dylan Sharp. By now, Dylan's secret- that he is, in fact, Deryn Sharp, a girl in disguise- is no longer quite so secret. People seem to be finding out or figuring it out left and right. But as long as the crew of the Leviathan doesn't know, Deryn is fairly certain she can stay on and continue to fly, which has always been her dream. It's when Alek finds out she's not who she says she is and worse, that she's in love with him, that things get a bit wonky.
In the meantime, the Leviathan is on a mission to Siberia to rescue the brilliant scientist Nicolas Tesla, who claims to have built a weapon so powerful that merely showing it to the world will stop the war. Anxious for peace, Alek falls in beside Mr. Tesla, against the better judgement of his advisors and friends. Alek feels that ending this war is his destiny, his great legacy, and no one can talk him out of going along with Tesla's plans. What Alek refuses to acknowledge is that Tesla is a bit of a madman, and his motives may not be as peaceful as Alek thinks.
As the Leviathan crisscrosses the world from Tokyo to Mexico to New York, Alek and Deryn meet a host of historical figures: Tesla, William Randolph Hearst, even Pancho Villa. How far will Tesla go with his weapon Goliath? Is he, and in turn, is Alek, willing to raze an entire city to show the weapon's power? And how can Alek, a royal heir fall for Deryn, a commoner?
Goliath is a fit ending to Westerfeld's action-packed series.The plot zooms along, as was the case with the first two books, though the characters take more time for quie
YIPPEE and YAHOO!! Or, I should say, Barking Spiders!! Am I ever excited!! The final book in the Leviathan trilogy has just arrived. It's Goliath by Scott Westerfeld a
nd I've been waiting a long time for this. If you haven't read Leviathan or Behemoth, stop wasting time and go get them now. Macht Snell!! as the Clankers would say. Boy, oh, boy, I know what I'll be doing this weekend!!
PS--if you want to say my review of Leviathan, click here; click here 
for the review of Behemoth. (BTW, I'm writing this on Friday and setting it to post on Saturday so I don't step on Friday's post about Michael and his book. Go look at it!)
Well Happy New Year all out there who dwell in "The Land of Blog." I did not intend to but it seems I have started my new year with some spooooky books. Oh well, here are two books I recently finished reading and hope you will give them a try if you have not already.
The Curse of The Wendigo by Rick Yancy - This book is a follow up to the most awesome "The Monstrumologist." To see my review of that book click
HERE! As in the first book young Will Henry is in the service of Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, a well respected Monstrumologist (a scientist who studious dark creatures that go more than bump in the dark). Dr. Warthrop is approached by a women he loved long ago after her husband goes missing in Canada. Her husband, who also happens to have been a close friend to the Doctor, had been tasked by there former mentor Dr. Von Helrung to prove the existence of the mythical Wendigo (He Who Devours All Mankind: a creature that starves even as it endlessly hunts and feeds on human flesh). Dr. Warthrop eventually agrees and he and Will journey into the wilds of Canada in search of his lost friend. This is an intensely frighting book as the protagonists struggle against a monster that may be real or a trick of the mind. The intensity level for this book is set to 11 and does not go down until all is said and done. Who will live? Who will die? Who will remain sane? Mr. Yancy is on par with Stephen King in presenting a story that is so frightening, yet you must keep turning the page to find out what happens next. Really great stuff!!!!!
As with the previous book I feel obligated to warn all that this is probably not for young children. This book contains some extremely gory scenes in addition to just being down right frightening. It scared the living "you know what" out of me and I'm far from being a child. So before starting to read this book make sure it is cool with your parents and you are not frightened easily.
Just to give you a taste of what these books are like, check it out:
There are two books I'm wanting to get my hands on right now the first is
Behemoth. If you read Scott Westerfeld's
Leviathan, than you are probably are already ahead of me. If you haven't read either, you are in for a treat. The sequel released last week, but my library hasn't yet ordered it despite my begging and pleading. We do have the audio book on the way, which I hear is great, but the illustrations done by Keith Thompson are so great that I want to get my hands on a print copy.
Behemoth continues the alternate history story of an Austrian prince who is running for his life from the Germans. The prince must trust in people he would normally consider enemies to survive.
The second book is
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan and it comes out tomorrow. This book is on order for my library, so I am going to resist the temptation to just run out to the store and buy it. This book is the first in the new Heroes of Olympus series that takes place with the next generation of demigods after Percy Jackson's adventures. If you don't know who Percy Jackson is, you have some awesome catching up to do.
I don't know how this sneaked up on me, but the second book in the Leviathan series comes out next week!! It's called Behemoth and the release date is Tuesday, October 5. The first book, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, was one of very favorites of 2009, if not one of my faves of the last two or three years. It's an alternative history story that asks what might have happened if the British and the German/Austrian armies of World War I had evolved radically different technologies. Scott Westerfeld uses this fascinating concept to tell a terrific story. Not only did Leviathan have the incredible Darwinist blended animals (including attack bats that poop iron spikes!) and the deadly Clanker machines, but it also had escapes, air battles, secret missions, and one massive thing that explodes! What more could a guy want in a book? So, naturally, I want to read this next one. The library system has already ordered copies. I've put one on hold and you can too. (it's easy--go to the library's home page and look up Behemoth on the catalog. Be sure to have your library card handy) I'm usually on top of new books and reserve them early but waited too long and now I find myself 14th in line. Oh, well, it could be worse--the Harry Potter books had 600 holds on them six months before they came out! So don't miss Behemoth!! Barking spiders, you'll enjoy it!
PS--click here to see my review of Leviathan.
PPS--some of our brother readers at the SMS Guys Read blog got an advance copy and have already reviewed it. Take a look at their site and be sure to scroll down.
We simply can't stand it at our house--we're going to B and N and get a copy of The Lost Hero with a gift card i got for a summer birthday. But I WILL wait patiently for my copy of Behemoth to come in, even though I'm 14th on the list. The Iron Guy must--wait--IMpatient--I mean, patiently--for--his--copy!!
lol - one of our pages was just bugging me about Riordan's book, reminding me that he put his name down (yes, Brian, you are first on the list) and will we get it the day it comes out and can I make sure it gets catalogued right away and Brian, shouldn't you be, I don't know, shelving or something?
(P.S. Don't tell him it's actually already here, I need him to at least get a cart done.)