I got this handsome hardcover, signed by the author, at a local Savers thrift shop, for another release copy.

I really loved Scott Westerfeld's book Peeps, and was glad to give his steampunk books a try - nudged on by a pair of Unshelved guest "book club" strips by Angela Melick (see them here; "you had me at 'steampunk'"!).

And it's a very entertaining story! On the brink of WWI, Alek, the son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, has to go on the run with a handful of loyal supporters after his parents are assassinated. They flee in a two-legged "walker", a heavily armored machine. At the same time, in England, young Deryn disguises herself as a boy so she can join the air corps - which fights using genetically-altered lifeforms as transport, communication devices, and war machines. This casts the war itself into a struggle between the Clanks and the Darwinists as much as between nations.

There's a good mix of individual achievement as the main characters learn more about themselves and their situations, and despite the alternate-history/SF aspects there's enough real-world history and biology to reward the reader who recognizes the references. [And, I hope, to intrigue some readers into doing a bit more research!]

I liked the descriptions of the hybridized creatures, including the Leviathan itself - a kind of whale converted into a living dirigible, that generates its own hydrogen largely by consuming the honey produced by an on-board swarm of bees... OK, sounds weird, but the bees can forage for themselves on any flowering plants in the area. I didn't try to do the math as to how many bees would be required, though; perhaps an exercise for the reader? {grin} And when the crew talks about being in the guts of the ship they're not being figurative. [I did find it sad to see the injury and destruction of the various life forms during the first battle, but of course animals have been used in plenty of real-world battles too.]

When Deryn and Alek first meet, their prejudices about their own crafts are obvious, and it makes for an interesting discussion of the pros and cons of machines vs. life forms - especially as both are showing their flaws at the time. Would you prefer to be in a walking tank smelling of kerosene and axle grease or a flying whale smelling of methane and dung (and both smelling of unwashed people!)?

This edition has illustrations that, while not essential, do help to depict the various war machines and life forms. It's an easy read, with a blend of action, humor, tragedy, and suspense - and with plenty of characters to like. Recommended!

[There's a TV Tropes page for the book here with some amusing info - and occasional spoilers, most of them masked, but still, read with caution. And for some delightful steampunk arts and crafts, see the EPBOT blog here.]

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2019 Female Empowerment/Feminism release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2019 Science Fiction release challenge. ***