Author: Scott Westerfeld
Reader: Alan Cumming
Bonus: Endnote read by the author detailing what is fact and what is fiction

Short Review: In this stunning follow up to Leviathan, Alek and Deryn continue on their intricate path through the steampunk inspired alternate World War I created by Westerfeld. In this rollicking adventure we weave through the back streets of Istanbul, eggs are hatched, some secrets are revealed while others stay safely hidden.

Long Review: The fear of the sequel is quite reasonable. Many of us have been let down after long waits for the next installment of some amazing volume. Fear not – this sequel is the real deal. This is the type of sequel that makes you wish the next one was sitting right behind it on the shelf – but sadly we must wait until September 2011 for the third in the trilogy, titled Goliath.

Behemoth retains our favorite characters and introduces a few new ones. I especially love the strong women and girls in this book. Westerfeld manages to have such a great mix of male and female characters, not to mention just a great story, that this should appeal to young adults of both genders, as well as adults who enjoy alternate history or steampunk.

I don’t want to give away any of the fabulous twists and turns, but I can’t resist repeating that the bulk of the story takes place in and around Istanbul. It is a fabulous rich backdrop to this chapter of the story with lots of ornate detail (the author traveled there to get a first-hand feel for the place) as well as a great mix of cultures and languages.

The reader is still fabulous and takes on all the assorted new accents necessary. I love when the voices are so distinct that I know who is speaking without needing to be told. While I know that I am missing out on the beautiful drawings in the paper version of the book – I still feel like I have the chance to paint the tale with my own imagination while listening to Cumming’s adept reading.

The story gives us a chance to get better acquainted with both Alek and Deryn/Dylan. While the first book spent more time setting up the story and all the supporting characters necessary, this book gives us a chance to just watch Alek and Deryn/Dylan grow and evolve as they work their way around all the obstacles in their paths. We also get new beasties large and small (or should I say gargantuan and petite?) – and of course there are more clanker machines, bigger and more fabulous than ever.

As a special treat at the end we get to hear Westerfeld himself explain which parts of the story are history and which parts he made up.

If you haven’t read Leviathan, I would begin with that book first — but I wholeheartedly recommend this book without reservation.

Audible sample available.

Author: Scott Westerfeld
Reader: Alan Cumming

Short Review: Fun and captivating steampunk adventure set in an alternate World War I Europe. Strong male and female leads should keep both genders interested and a very talented reader makes the story zoom along.

Long Review: This book was fabulous. I will admit that it took me a little time to get pulled in, but once I was firmly entrenched in the steampunk world Westerfeld has created I wanted to stay. I was slightly heartbroken when it ended, consoled only by the thought of a sequel surely already in progress. (Note: I originally listened to this before the sequel came out – but it has been available since October, 2010: Behemoth (Leviathan Trilogy))

This is the story of the Clankers, who build fast, loud and greasy machines, and the Darwinists, whose merge and create new species to spec. This is also the story of a boy and a girl, each swept along by history and entangled by the war. The boy is a prince with no place to go. The girl is dressing as a boy to serve her country. I loved the number of details from the early 1900s that Westerfeld worked into the story. At the same time he is clear about his alternate time-line, a world war in which Clankers and Darwinists are struggling for power.

This is an adventure story full of chases, narrow escapes, battles, malfunctioning gear, explosions and long cold nights. I don’t want to give any more specific details because I think you will enjoy the story more with less knowledge going in.

The reader does an excellent job, both with voices and narration. This is the sort of reader who just fades into the background while you get enveloped by the story.

Audio sample available.