Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Ever wondered what it would be like to soar through the skies on a giant blimp, or pilot a massive, destructive machine? If so, then Goliath by Scott Westerfeld is the book for you!

Now that we're done with that cliche beginning, I can tell you a bit more about this book. The entire Leviathan series is based around World War I, with its own little twists, of course. Anyways, earth is divided up into two main powers: Darwinists and Clankers. Darwinists use animals for everything; they even mess with their DNA to make them more efficient. Clankers are the exact opposite. They live in an extremely mechanical world, where machines do all the work, and people simply pilot and maintenance them. As you can imagine, neither of these powers exactly agree with the 0ther.

The whole war that they face in this book started when one of Austria's noble families were assassinated. Their son made it out alive, however, with a few trusted servants. This boy's name was Alek. He traveled across the Clanker country, avoiding enemies and waiting for the war to stop so he could claim the Austrian throne. the reason he couldn't in the first place is because his mother was not of royal blood. However, Alek's parents were able to get a scroll that ultimately gave him the throne of Austria, provided people believed it.

Now we switch gears and focus on the other main character in this story: Deryn. Deryn was a girl living in Britain, a Darwinist country. Girls weren't allowed to serve in the army; especially not in the sky. Deryn, with her tomboy characteristics, wanted to serve in the military and fly through the skies, just like when she was younger. Her dad was killed in an air accident, and that fueled her love of the air. Remembering this event pushed her to do something insanely reckless: pretend to be a boy. She did so very easily, claiming her name was Dylan, and soon becamepart of the crew of the Leviathan, the most powerful ship in the British army. Deryn's ship crashed in the alps, unfortunatley, putting the crew in a dire situation.

Just when all hope was lost, Alek showed up, stocked with enough food to nurse the dying Leviathan back to health. Eventually, Deryn and Alek became friends, despite the fact that Deryn was a girl. They continued to have many exciting adventures, revealing many secrets to each other, and basically strengthening their bond. Before long, Deryn came to a disurbing conclusion: she was in love with Alek. Goliath focuses on that relationship.

The book starts with Deryn and Alek flying on the Leviathan. The ship receives a special mission: deliver a mysterious package to a man living in Siberia, and take him and his crew on board. They recieve the package and find something curious in it. There's a huge amount of meat, and a dismantled metal contraption. Alek and his small crew put the machine together, and find that is a primitive metal detector of sorts. Nobody knows why this machine is important to the enigmatic man. When they reach Siberia, they find that every single tree is knocked down, all facing the same direction. Bones are scattered everywhere, yet another sign that a fearsome weapon was here. Eventually, they find the crew they are looking for. There are bears around, so the ship lures them away by dropping meat far away from the crew's camp. Meanwile, Deryn and a few other officers drop down and help the man and his crew prepare to board the Leviathan. During this time, Deryn learns the mysterious man's name: Mr. Tesla. He claims that he has a weapon that is powerful enough to stop the war in its tracks. Is he trustworthy? What about the machine in the package? What exactly does Mr. Tesla have in store for the world? These questions are all answered in Goliath.

I found this book very memorable for many reasons. It ends and extremely compelling series, for one. All three books are tied together flawlessly, each story leading into the next. Nothing that happened in this book would have occurred if the previous events hadn't played out exactly as they had. Another reason is that this book doesn't hurry anything. Everything feels very natural. Deryn and Alek don't even meet until the first book is halfway over. When they do, Deryn feels nothing for him. It's not until the end of the second book that Deryn actually begins to like Alek. From then on, their relationship increases until Alek finally discovers that she's a girl.

As far as the opinions of the author goes, I have mixed feelings. I strongly agree with one of his main beliefs that women should have the same opportunities as men. Deryn pretends to be a boy the entire series just so she can serve her country. Nobody should have to do that just to fufill their dreams, especially when they're helping their country at the same time. One major thing that I disagree with is destiny. Alek believes that everything that happens to him is for a reason, and that he can't change what destiny has in store for him. Deryn thinks that's a load of garbage. I'm on Deryn's side. While there may be some sentient being watching over Alek (or us, for that matter), it certainly isn't controlling our actions, or making things happen to us that forces us to take a certain path.

**SPOILERS**
Beyond this point, I talk about what happens at the end of this book. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and skip this part.

A very big issue in this book is love. Deryn and Alek love each other in the later half of the book. In the end, each of them sacrifices something major in their lives in order to stay together. While this is very touching, it doesn't really take into account everything that it should. For one, they're both only fifteen when they decide that they should abandon their lives and live together forever. I know, there really aren't many books that don't end with the protagonist falling for another main character. However, this book is much more extreme. Alek throws the scroll claiming him as the heir to Austria into the ocean, basically letting that country fall victim to its neighbors. Plus, Deryn ditches her family and the ship to follow Alek, when they have no idea what will happen to them. That's the only time I felt that this story was weak.

**END OF SPOILERS**

I can't argue that this book is bad. I just can't. It's excellently written, with a strong plot full of twists. It has a plethora of likeable and charming characters, and some good ideas to boot. It may have a weak ending, but it does leave quite the impression, and you'll think about it for a while. There's simply no way to say "no" to this book. It certainly fills the shoes of the previous books, and you can't help but feel satisfied by it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who asks about it, although I would warn them of the weak ending. Because of that, I'm forced to give this book at least an A.