BEHEMOTH by Scott Westerfeld

August 9th, 2011 - Simon Pulse
Synopsis: The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker Powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead.

Well........ the SEQUEL!!!! BEHEMOTH has actually been out longer than the above publishing date, because the date I found was for the reprint edition.

Anyway, on to the review!

BEHEMOTH is everything I could have wished for, and more! LEVIATHAN was awesome, and this was only better!

I really don't want to pull a fanboy with these books, but they're just so good!!!!!

What I loved about BEHEMOTH is it's setting: Constantinople. It was such a festive and interesting place to put a story. The way eastern culture was combined with steampunk was fantastic! It was so cool to read (and see thanks to the gorgeous illustrations) about these amazing mechanical walkers that regulated the ghettos and about more Clanker machinery, secret uprisings, and more Darwinist fabricated beasts.

Well, sorry this review was so short! I need to get back to my NaNo novel! Also, I just changed the layout of the blog and I'm excited with it, so I might procrastinate by looking at the new pretty design.

Also, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Eat turkey! Shop on Black Friday!

Peace, love, and unicorns,

-Aaron

p.s.~While writing this, I remembered this song from Mona Lisa Smile-which I recently watched. Anyway, this song is lots of fun, but it wasn't until I was almost done writing this and listening to this fifty times that I realized it was about Constantinople, which is where BEHEMOTH takes place. Weird.