Westerfeld, Scott: Goliath
Goliath (2011)
Written by: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: YA/Steampunk/Alternate History
Pages: 543 (Hardcover)
Series: Book Three (Leviathan)
Why I Read It: These books have been an uber-enjoyable reading experience, and I looked forward to getting my hands on and reading the conclusion. Poor Goliath has been waiting for me to pick it up since September, but thanks to the Mount TBR challenge, I finally found the right time to read it. Discovering how Westerfeld would bring this inventive and marvelous trilogy to a close was something I've been looking forward to for a while!
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as Prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Airforce.) And if they weren’t technically enemies.
The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic onboard: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. Sorry folks, but it is the end of a trilogy, and I want to talk about conclusions. Also, this trilogy is one of those where each book leads directly into the next, so unless you're fully caught up with the series, please skip to "My Rating" and you'll be just fine. Everyone else, onward!
I think one of my most favorite things about this concluding installment was Bovril and the other loris. My imaginary household has increased now to include a loris of my very own, perhaps two so they can chat with each other (they shall join my imaginary rose goblin, my imaginary Aeslin Mice, and my imaginary pixies). But I loved they way they process and traded information, and how Bovril was the one to help Alek understand exactly what Deryn was. Every time Bovril or the other, unnamed one spoke, I couldn't wait to see what was said, because their dialogue tended to punctuation the action or the emotion of the scene, which was awesome.
Seeing Deryn and Alek on the outs wasn't fun, and I'm glad that got resolved relatively quickly, and I loved how devoted Alek became to keeping her secret, even at the expense of revealing his so that she wouldn't get crucified in the papers. I've always seen the seed of the romance that developed, and while I will be a wee bit critical and say I wish we'd had one more book in order for Alek to really come to terms with his feelings for Deryn in order to accept the romance, it's quite the minor quibble. Everything played out well, and I loved how Deryn was able to own her feelings so unapologetically. I also loved how the actions of the book wouldn't have changed if Deryn HAD been a boy (minus the kissing, but you wouldn't have had to leave the kissing out if you really wanted to have fun!). Point being: Alek would've still stopped Tesla the same way, because he would've been so close to Deryn (as a boy) that doing otherwise would not have fit into his character. So the romance, in my opinion, wasn't a necessity in the story. But it was quite the sweet little love story, and I'm glad we had it for flavoring.
I loved seeing more of this Clanker & Darwinist world Westerfeld has created. I was tickled to see how the United States was divided, and very quickly my brain started demanding a Westerfeld steampunk version of Deadwood, with Clankers and Darwinists expanding into the Western frontier. Seeing the name Hearst did it for me, even though the Hearst in this book was the son of the Hearst featured in Deadwood. I don't know what Westerfeld's next project is, but if he did something like this? I might be tickled pink.
And while we're projecting, he could easily do a World War II, although I fear it would be treading similar ground. However, it would be interesting from an alternate history standpoint: if Deryn's and Alek's relationship and meeting changed the course of World War I in this Clanker/Darwinist steampunk alternate history, then how might the course of World War II be different? You wouldn't have to keep the same characters (though I would miss them), the world is so rich and complex that Westerfelt could do a lot with it and I'd be happily entertained.
Anyway, who knows? If you do know, feel free to leave a comment! In the meantime, I'll be contenting myself with the remainder of the Uglies series.
Back to Goliath: I didn't take a whole lot of notes, other than gushing over Bovril, wanting a steampunk Deadwood, and swooning over Alek's sacrifice of his secret in order to keep Deryn's. Though I suppose I should mention Tesla: he's become such a fascinating character, in that every time I see him in fiction, there's always something new and different about the portrayal. I know more about Tesla now (fictional elements notwithstanding) than I ever did when I was in school, and I'm not sure if that's sad, amusing, or both.
At any rate, Tesla's actions made a lot of sense, though I wish he wasn't painted as quite the tragic figure. His belief he could destroy Berlin was, indeed, frightening, and it's a relief that he was wrong despite being stopped, but his device would've destroyed the Leviathan anyway, so at least there's a kernel of danger that never went away, no matter how misguided he was.
As always, the illustrations were lovely, well worth the price of the hardcover, and Deryn remained my favorite character, simply because she's so full of spark and personality. The end of the book wrapped up rather nicely, though I did wonder: how did Count Vogel respond to Alek giving up his title? And why would Dr. Barlow agree to bring Alek on, when he'd be a far more recognizable and notorious figure than Deryn revealed as a girl? I may be missing some undercurrents here, and that's okay. They aren't problems, just wee nitpicks and curiosities.
My Rating: Excellent
This was an utterly enjoyable conclusion on so many different levels. It's a series that started out good but disjointed, but has since become a rip-roaring adventure that's utterly difficult to book down. It may be targeted to YA readers, but you don't have to be a young adult to get absorbed in the fantastic world-building or the excellent illustrations, and Alek and Deryn as a duo are just way too good together to ignore. It's a trilogy that I can easily see myself re-reading one distant day, and I'm really curious to know what Westerfeld is planning next. I still think getting a steampunk Deadwood would be freaking awesome, though Westerfeld may want to market market that for adults if he went the HBO angle. ;) At any rate, I've thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, and it's a must for any steampunk fan.
Cover Commentary: Of the three covers, I think I like this one the best. We get to see Alek and Deryn, and that's appropriate, because the story has always been about them and their adventures and how those adventures intersect. I still say that as a whole, these covers don't do a lot for me, but of the three, this is the best.
Next up: "Movement" by Nancy Fulda