Goliath (review)

Westerfeld brings to a thrilling and fitting conclusion his alternative history of World War I, pitting the German-led, mechanically dependent Clankers against Britain and her allies, the Darwinists, who employ a technology based on genetically engineered biota (see Leviathan, BCCB 12/09, and Behemoth, 12/10). Having assured that the Ottoman Empire would not join forces with the Clankers, the airship Leviathan now makes its way toward Japan, determined to “assist” its ally in fighting off its enemies and demonstrate that this is essentially a European war with European interests most at stake and the British will take the lead in battle. They’ve picked up a peculiar and ultimately dangerous passenger, Nikola Tesla, who claims to have developed an electrical weapon so powerful that a nonlethal demonstration of its potential should be enough to bring enemies to armistice. Alek, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is a believer, despite the advise of his handlers, but in an eleventh-hour showdown with Clanker amphibious walkers, he is forced to kill the scientist to save Leviathan and, most importantly, his dearest friend Dylan, whom he now knows to be Deryn, a girl in midshipman disguise. Alek’s discovery of Deryn’s identity comes early enough in the novel to allow the erstwhile buddies to struggle their emotional way through the implications of forbidden romantic impulses between prince and commoner and to realize fully that Deryn must keep up her ruse in the interest of critical British diplomacy. The introduction of other such historical notables as William Randolph Hearst, Pancho Villa, and “girl reporter” Adela Rogers St. John advances rather than tangles the dynamic plotting, and readers familiar with the catastrophic event that leveled the region near Tunguska, Siberia will be delighted to see how Westerfeld fits it into his storyline. As Leviathan completes its eastbound circumnavigation of the world, Alek and Deryn find a path through their personal dilemma that will leave the audience thoroughly satisfied. New, intriguing employment awaits them with one of the series’ more enigmatic characters, and the myriad possibilities for future fieldwork leave the door ajar for Westerfeld to rejoin them later, should he so choose. Oh, please, choose.