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attackfish) wrote2011-11-14 10:16 pm
attackfish) wrote2011-11-14 10:16 pm
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Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld: WWI with Giant Walking Metal Statues
Unlike Leviathan, I bought the book version of Behemoth, so I got to read it all at one go. This meant my grandmother didn’t buy it for me, and I didn’t have Alan Cumming’s wonderful narration, but I got Keith Thompson’s magnificent illustrations to make up for it. Sadly, this is the second time I have written this review as my computer lost the first one, aww.
As Alek, grandson of the Hapsburg emperor, Deryn, a girl serving as a midshipman in the British air navy in disguise, and the crew of the Leviathan sail into the capitol of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, war is brewing on the continent, and unrest is brewing in the city streets. Though the empire is nominally neutral, its sympathies lie with the clanker powers and worse, the treacherous actions of Churchill and the British government drive the Empire closer and closer to war with the Darwinists. But Alek has other things on his mind. It is only a matter of time before Austria and Great Brittan are officially at war, and if he doesn’t want to become a prisoner, he must escape while he still can.
In Leviathan, Westerfeld created a world rich in detail and full of wonderful main characters. Deryn and Alec again are two of the most enjoyable parts of the book. Now that they’re together, there isn’t any of that annoying switching back and forth between storylines, though they still switch off for points of view. It’s easy to tell whose point of view is whose, because Alek always refers to Deryn as Dylan in his head, something that underscores a poignant and sometimes hilarious, but always fascinating part of their relationship, because even as Deryn’s crush on him deepens, he has no idea she’s a girl, and he’s just filled with admiration for her swaggering boyness.
There are moments these days when I wonder if a romantic subplot (and sometimes less “sub” than “plot”) is the price I pay for having a female main character. Although Behemoth has a romantic subplot or two, they’re so well done that I don’t mind. Deryn has real reasons for not being able to tell Alek how she feels (the fact that he might tell someone, and she would be kicked out of the air navy, for one) and Alek has interesting ideas about a woman’s ability to be badass that just annoy her to pieces. Meanwhile, Deryn is a nice looking boy, and now that they’re in port, there are girls around to notice. Besides, they have such a wonderful friendship, that I wouldn’t object to it becoming a romance. Also, Alek doesn’t somehow unconsciously know Dylan’s really Deryn and isn’t attracted to “him”. Since that’s a trope I can’t stand, I’m glad to see there’s none of that.
It’s also wonderful to watch Deryn’s anxiety about her performance, and the way Volger saw right through her, and who knows, who doesn’t, and how she juggles all of this.
Westerfeld never lets the reader for a moment think the Ottomans are being unreasonable for wanting to side against the Darwinists, or that the nations of our heroes are blameless. There’s an undercurrent to the way the British characters, and to a lesser extent our Austrian characters talk about and interact with the Ottomans that shows that they just really don’t think much of them, an attitude that let the British do things like take their money to build a warship and then never deliver.
Westerfeld can write adventure like nobody’s business. No matter how dark the storyline may become (And while it doesn’t match the Uglies trilogy, it could get pretty heavy) the fast paced plot just sweeps the reader along. Once his stories start, they just don’t stop, for anything. He is able to disguise worldbuilding and characterization inside the wild plot so that it satisfies both readers who want a fast plot and readers who want a lot of character drama. This series (so far) is just so much fun, which means they aren’t just for people like me who love to read. I have the feeling they could lure most kids into reading them.
Lilit’s name though gave me pause. Although it means “little dove” in Armenian and isn’t exactly an uncommon name, it felt too much like it had been chosen more for its modern feminist associations, and felt a little forced. Also, although golems appear in the Talmud, their cultural significance and protective symbolism is mostly an Ashkenazi thing. It doesn’t strike me as all that likely that the walkers protecting the Constantinopolitan Jewish ghettos would have been so named by their Sephardi and Mizrahi charges in a city where such walkers were given names of great symbolic importance to their communities.
Also, there is a feeling of condescension in Westerfeld’s narration with regards to the citizens of Istanbul. The elephants all the way down joke was definitely part of this. It’s generally used to show someone being mired in primitive beliefs, which is especially jarring next to how progressive Zaven, and his family are. It’s moments like that which create a sense that the people of Istanbul are just a little less peoplish. Westerfeld admits in his author’s note that he made the Young Turks’ revolution fail so that Deryn and Alek could play a role in the overthrow of the Ottoman Emperor, but it would have been really nice if they didn’t have all the wonderful ideas and let the local revolutionaries be more vital to their own success. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
Oh man, I can’t wait to get started on Goliath! Really, burning can’t wait!
But I would not want to have a loris for a pet. They strike me as kind of creepy, actually.
Scott Westerfeld can be found online at scottwesterfeld.com. Keith Thompson, the series illustrator can be found at keiththompsonart.com.
As Alek, grandson of the Hapsburg emperor, Deryn, a girl serving as a midshipman in the British air navy in disguise, and the crew of the Leviathan sail into the capitol of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, war is brewing on the continent, and unrest is brewing in the city streets. Though the empire is nominally neutral, its sympathies lie with the clanker powers and worse, the treacherous actions of Churchill and the British government drive the Empire closer and closer to war with the Darwinists. But Alek has other things on his mind. It is only a matter of time before Austria and Great Brittan are officially at war, and if he doesn’t want to become a prisoner, he must escape while he still can.
In Leviathan, Westerfeld created a world rich in detail and full of wonderful main characters. Deryn and Alec again are two of the most enjoyable parts of the book. Now that they’re together, there isn’t any of that annoying switching back and forth between storylines, though they still switch off for points of view. It’s easy to tell whose point of view is whose, because Alek always refers to Deryn as Dylan in his head, something that underscores a poignant and sometimes hilarious, but always fascinating part of their relationship, because even as Deryn’s crush on him deepens, he has no idea she’s a girl, and he’s just filled with admiration for her swaggering boyness.
There are moments these days when I wonder if a romantic subplot (and sometimes less “sub” than “plot”) is the price I pay for having a female main character. Although Behemoth has a romantic subplot or two, they’re so well done that I don’t mind. Deryn has real reasons for not being able to tell Alek how she feels (the fact that he might tell someone, and she would be kicked out of the air navy, for one) and Alek has interesting ideas about a woman’s ability to be badass that just annoy her to pieces. Meanwhile, Deryn is a nice looking boy, and now that they’re in port, there are girls around to notice. Besides, they have such a wonderful friendship, that I wouldn’t object to it becoming a romance. Also, Alek doesn’t somehow unconsciously know Dylan’s really Deryn and isn’t attracted to “him”. Since that’s a trope I can’t stand, I’m glad to see there’s none of that.
It’s also wonderful to watch Deryn’s anxiety about her performance, and the way Volger saw right through her, and who knows, who doesn’t, and how she juggles all of this.
Westerfeld never lets the reader for a moment think the Ottomans are being unreasonable for wanting to side against the Darwinists, or that the nations of our heroes are blameless. There’s an undercurrent to the way the British characters, and to a lesser extent our Austrian characters talk about and interact with the Ottomans that shows that they just really don’t think much of them, an attitude that let the British do things like take their money to build a warship and then never deliver.
Westerfeld can write adventure like nobody’s business. No matter how dark the storyline may become (And while it doesn’t match the Uglies trilogy, it could get pretty heavy) the fast paced plot just sweeps the reader along. Once his stories start, they just don’t stop, for anything. He is able to disguise worldbuilding and characterization inside the wild plot so that it satisfies both readers who want a fast plot and readers who want a lot of character drama. This series (so far) is just so much fun, which means they aren’t just for people like me who love to read. I have the feeling they could lure most kids into reading them.
Lilit’s name though gave me pause. Although it means “little dove” in Armenian and isn’t exactly an uncommon name, it felt too much like it had been chosen more for its modern feminist associations, and felt a little forced. Also, although golems appear in the Talmud, their cultural significance and protective symbolism is mostly an Ashkenazi thing. It doesn’t strike me as all that likely that the walkers protecting the Constantinopolitan Jewish ghettos would have been so named by their Sephardi and Mizrahi charges in a city where such walkers were given names of great symbolic importance to their communities.
Also, there is a feeling of condescension in Westerfeld’s narration with regards to the citizens of Istanbul. The elephants all the way down joke was definitely part of this. It’s generally used to show someone being mired in primitive beliefs, which is especially jarring next to how progressive Zaven, and his family are. It’s moments like that which create a sense that the people of Istanbul are just a little less peoplish. Westerfeld admits in his author’s note that he made the Young Turks’ revolution fail so that Deryn and Alek could play a role in the overthrow of the Ottoman Emperor, but it would have been really nice if they didn’t have all the wonderful ideas and let the local revolutionaries be more vital to their own success. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
Oh man, I can’t wait to get started on Goliath! Really, burning can’t wait!
But I would not want to have a loris for a pet. They strike me as kind of creepy, actually.
Scott Westerfeld can be found online at scottwesterfeld.com. Keith Thompson, the series illustrator can be found at keiththompsonart.com.