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Title: Behemoth
Author: Scott Westerfield
Genre: YA steampunk (book 2 of 3)
Thingummies: 5
Synopsis: The refugee heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a British airship officer who's actually a girl in disguise try to ignite a revolution in Istanbul to keep the Germans from pulling the world into WWI in an alt-history full of giant mechanicals and bioengineered monstrosities.
Thoughts: Book two in Westerfield's steampunk trilogy picks up where Leviathan left off, and picks up the pace. Deryn falls for Alek and Alek tries not to fall to his death as he is forced to escape the British airship before too many more of his secrets are discovered. Of course, plenty (although not all) secrets are revealed anyway in the fairly non-stop action.
While not perfect, Westerfield does a very good job of describing Istanbul. It's a place and a time that is exotic to both his protagonists and the majority of his readers, but he manages not to Other the place too badly. Lilit, the primary Turkish character, gets development equal to other secondary characters, and practically walks off with some scenes without becoming a caricature. The Turkish people suffer from not having technology as advanced as some of the other empires, but their tactics, personalities, and use of the technologies they do have are as sophisticated as any of the British or Austrians. It's a hard line to walk, and it's not absolutely perfect, but Westerfield does manage to sidestep many of the possible pitfalls of Orientalism.
Meanwhile, our protagonists continue to grow up, but continue to make new and exciting mistakes. We get to see more of the incredibly detailed and lavish world Westerfield has created, from the iron golems of the Jewish neighborhoods to the endearing perspicacious loris. I suppose the one possible complaint is that it's not very realistic that the political situation should so closely mirror our world's when the technology is so incredibly different. But Westerfield does do a good job of coming up with new explanations for the old status quo. Of course it's essential not to cut off the Russians' supplies--they need to feed the fighting bears.
For a book full of battles (with some real and tragic consequences), this is a joyous romp through an alternate version of a period of history I find fascinating anyway. I can't wait to read the final one.
Author: Scott Westerfield
Genre: YA steampunk (book 2 of 3)
Thingummies: 5
Synopsis: The refugee heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a British airship officer who's actually a girl in disguise try to ignite a revolution in Istanbul to keep the Germans from pulling the world into WWI in an alt-history full of giant mechanicals and bioengineered monstrosities.
Thoughts: Book two in Westerfield's steampunk trilogy picks up where Leviathan left off, and picks up the pace. Deryn falls for Alek and Alek tries not to fall to his death as he is forced to escape the British airship before too many more of his secrets are discovered. Of course, plenty (although not all) secrets are revealed anyway in the fairly non-stop action.
While not perfect, Westerfield does a very good job of describing Istanbul. It's a place and a time that is exotic to both his protagonists and the majority of his readers, but he manages not to Other the place too badly. Lilit, the primary Turkish character, gets development equal to other secondary characters, and practically walks off with some scenes without becoming a caricature. The Turkish people suffer from not having technology as advanced as some of the other empires, but their tactics, personalities, and use of the technologies they do have are as sophisticated as any of the British or Austrians. It's a hard line to walk, and it's not absolutely perfect, but Westerfield does manage to sidestep many of the possible pitfalls of Orientalism.
Meanwhile, our protagonists continue to grow up, but continue to make new and exciting mistakes. We get to see more of the incredibly detailed and lavish world Westerfield has created, from the iron golems of the Jewish neighborhoods to the endearing perspicacious loris. I suppose the one possible complaint is that it's not very realistic that the political situation should so closely mirror our world's when the technology is so incredibly different. But Westerfield does do a good job of coming up with new explanations for the old status quo. Of course it's essential not to cut off the Russians' supplies--they need to feed the fighting bears.
For a book full of battles (with some real and tragic consequences), this is a joyous romp through an alternate version of a period of history I find fascinating anyway. I can't wait to read the final one.
