biopunk
Biopunk (a portmanteau of "biotechnology" or "biology" and "punk") is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on biotechnology. It is derived from cyberpunk, but focuses on the implications of biotechnology rather than mechanical cyberware and ...
Scott Westerfeld
Scott David Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the ''Uglies'' and the '' Leviathan'' series.
Early life
Westerfeld was born in Dallas, Texas. As a child he moved to Connectic ...
, and illustrated by Keith Thompson. The novel is the third and final installment in the
Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
series after '' Behemoth'', released on September 20, 2011.
Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in hiding Prince Aleksander, and Scottish midshipman Deryn "Dylan" Sharp rescue Serbian inventor
Tunguska event
The Tunguska event (occasionally also called the Tunguska incident) was an approximately 12- megaton explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of June 3 ...
meteorite blast. Along the way, Alek sees through Deryn's male disguise of Dylan on the organic airship ''Leviathan'' while gradually learning of Tesla's motives of using his invented weapon Goliath to end the war on his own. Alek destroys the inventor and his Goliath weapon under German attack in New York, triggering the entry of U.S. into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Plot
As the airship ''Leviathan'' travels over
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, Aleksandar, Deryn, and Newkirk are in the middy's mess with the perspicacious
loris
Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus conta ...
Bovril
Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick and salty meat extract paste similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar, and as cubes and granules. Bovril is owned and distrib ...
, talking about great circle routes. Alek mentions Deryn's father was an airman, but Newkirk says that the airman was Deryn's uncle. A living two-headed messenger eagle from the
Czar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...
heads towards the bridge, interrupting their discussion. A message lizard sends Deryn to the bridge and Newkirk to the cargo deck. Alek goes with Deryn, and there, Dr. Barlow tells them to take the bird to the rookery and feed it. Deryn nearly confesses her secret to Alek, but hesitates to do so thus resisting herself. She quickly asks for a fencing lesson to cover it up. Count Volger tries to expose her gender unless she discloses the imperial message, but drops the attempt after some convincing from Deryn, who dares not to shake the confidence of Alek, who admires 'Dylan' unaware of her masquerade as a boy.
The imperial message is to pick up a crate from the back of a fighting bear, but it is much heavier than expected, overloaded by metal parts and tools, and drags Deryn and Newkirk down into the trees until the crew manages to compensate by dumping clart (waste water) and other supplies. Dr. Barlow orders Alek, Klopp, Hoffman, and Bauer to assemble the metal contraption and keep it secret. The loris shows them how it detects metal with Barlow's necklace.
Flying over Tunguska,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
, they notice the area has been destroyed, trees have been flattened and point in one direction, and many stripped corpses are present, including that of another organic airship. By dropping
dried beef
Chipped beef is a form of pressed, salted and dried beef that has been sliced into thin pieces. Some makers smoke the dried beef for more flavor. The modern product consists of small, thin, flexible leaves of partially dried beef, generally sold ...
at a distance to distract giant starving fighting bears, they rescue
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
just to brandish the British flag, the ''Leviathan'' battles an Austrian ship and two German zeppelins in support of the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
. When one of the engines is shot, both Deryn and Alek arrive to help, and Alek admits he wants Deryn back as his friend. When Dr. Barlow wants Deryn to get new clothes, Alek saves her from discovery being measured by offering himself to the tailor's hands.
In
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Tesla demonstrates the Goliath publicly at a conference in the Imperial Hotel, claiming the sky color will change in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. A quick correspondence with the British royal family confirms the visible colors and orders the ship to New York for Tesla. While crossing the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
in a storm, Alek hits his head protecting Deryn. To keep him awake after a concussion, Deryn kisses him. They promise not to keep secrets from each other, and for Alek to lie protecting her secret.
Arriving at
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
's estate in California, Philip Francis films them. Reporter Eddie Malone is fleeing from Hearst's men, so Deryn helps him escape by letting him onboard. He suggests that Francis may be a German spy because he changed his last name from German. They use Tesla's detector to find arms and film hidden in kitten barrels after dinner and a cliff-hanger episode of the film ''Perils of Pauline'', the adventuresome American female lead, which impresses Alek mightily.
As the ''Leviathan'' crosses
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, one of its engines suddenly stops. Several men who work for the Mexican revolutionary
Pancho Villa
Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...
offer to help them in exchange for sugar. Deryn sends one message about suspicious walkers, then dons gliding wings to investigate. She semaphores C-A-M-E-R-A in time, but injures her knee on landing. Alek gets Pancho Villa's physician, Dr. Azuela, to treat Deryn instead of the ship's Dr. Busk, but Eddie Malone overhears Deryn's secret when Azuela tells Pancho Villa. Pancho Villa and Mr. Francis film the ''Leviathan'' as part of Hearst's movie deal with Pancho.
Alek takes meals and helps Deryn keep her secret from the crew, but Deryn fears punishment in New York when Eddie Malone publishes his article. Alek is planning to stay in New York and help Tesla promote Goliath, and he asks Deryn to stay in New York with him to help Tesla. Dr. Barlow offers Deryn a job with the
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park.
History
On 29 ...
, but retracts her offer fearing a scandal from deception on the British government and the Royal Air Service after learning of Deryn's secret.
Meanwhile, Alek saves Eddie Malone from falling off when a rocket hits the jitney they were leaving on. Deryn, watching from the bridge, gets them to douse the flames with waste water. Alek shows Malone the Pope's letter to his claim to the throne as emperor so the reporter will keep Deryn's secret.
Dr. Barlow shows Deryn the article with Alek's story, not her secret, and offers Deryn the job again. At the Serbian consulate, Lilit (who has been made the assistant to the newly founded Ottoman Republic's ambassador since the events of ''Behemoth'') reappears and tells Deryn about a German water-walker coming to attack Goliath, so Dr. Barlow convinces Captain Hobbes to keep watch. When the ''Leviathan'' sees approaching bubbles underwater, they bomb the escorts, while they leave the largest to land to prove the attack and encourage the Americans to join the war, so she sends a warning by eagle to Alek.
Tesla hosts a dinner at his tower, hoping to do a demonstration that the Goliath can change the color of the
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
sky, but under attack decides to fire for real, despite danger to the nearby ''Leviathan''. Volger uses a smoke bomb for surprise, and Alek has to use Tesla's own electrified cane to kill him. The suppressed energy electrocutes and destroys the water-walker, and the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
enters the war on the Darwinist side when they see the wreckage. Dr. Barlow receives a message that tells her that the sample Deryn stole from under Tesla's bed was from a meteorite, proving Goliath did not cause the Tunguska event.
Alek receives a medal for going with Deryn to fix Tesla's wire on the spine. After the ceremony, Alek and the barely-healed Deryn again climb the spine together. Alek tells her the truth about Tesla's death, declares his love by kissing her, and throws the Pope's scroll overboard. He rejects his past which he has already lost. When he admits to needing a job next, Deryn suggests joining her and Dr. Barlow at the London Zoological Society.
The last chapter is an epilogue in the form of a newspaper article by Eddie Malone. Alek relinquished his royal title as prince, with his only comment being the Habsburg motto: ''Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube'' or "Let others wage war. You, lucky Austria, shall marry." He and Deryn also accepted positions to work with the Zoological Society. "Goliath" by Scott Westerfeld
Bonus chapter
On December 16, 2011; Westerfeld published a bonus chapter to the novel on his website.