Floating Jellyfish And Flying Machines

So among other random things, I have realized that most of the books I am reading are sequels.  On top of that I realized I haven't done ramblings on any of the original books, so to remedy that for at least one book here is the complete and utter long winded rambling of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.  I was not sure what I was getting into with this book.  I love this authors world building skills and have yet to be disappointed by any of works so that was a point in his favor.   On the other hand as much as I like steampunk (and I really love steampunk) I have had a hard time getting into to it in book form.  Part of it is that steampunk to me is so very visual, it is a bit hard to convey it without sounding like a parts or fashion catalogs...but more on that in a different post.  Needless to say I was wondering where on my love it or leave it scale this book would fall into.  Shall we find out? As always SPOILERS AHEAD.

This book is an alternate history, set in a World War I type of era.  We see that there are three main groups occupying Europe at the moment.  The Darwinist who have learned to manipulate genetics and turn various living creatures into vehicles and tools.  The Clankers who have captured the power of steam and can create just about anything from metal and gears.  The Neutrals who essentially are people and places who have not been converted/captured to one side or the other yet.  We start by meeting teenage Prince Aleksander (known as Alek) the son of Archduke Ferdinand making a daring escape with a few trusted advisers  in a walker, which is a huge metal man type of machine that doubles as a tank.  We learn that his parents have been murdered and he is next on the list.  We then meet a young Scottish woman named Deryn who's dream it is to fly.  She takes on the name of Dylan and with her brothers help joins the British Air Service.  We
switch back and forth between these two learning about each one and the world they live in.  Alek learns how to pilot and repair his walker and other machines, all while trying to find a place to hide.  Deryn ends up on a huge living ship called Leviathan which incorporates whale DNA among other things to create a huge living airship. While on board Deryn meets Dr. Barlow a woman who has been instrumental in the DNA creation of various ships and tools.  She is now transporting mysterious eggs, which must be protected at all costs. The airship is attacked by German clanker airplanes and the while they were defeated the airship suffered much damage.  The ship crash lands in the hiding place of Alek and his band.  Alek and Deryn convince everybody to work together to use parts from the walker to help fix the airship.  In the process both Deryn and Dr. Barlow learn the truth of Alek's identity and in return show him the eggs.  The ship is repaired just in time to escape the German Herkules (a giant clanker machine) and head towards Constantinople.  This ends the first book in the series.
As you can probably tell by my brief (for me) synopsis the plot was pretty straight forward.  The author sticks pretty closely to the events that led up to the real Great War (which is what WWI was called originally).  The plot is fine, nothing mind blowing but solid and moves forward at a good pace. The characters are also solid. I especially like the character of Dr. Barlow as she maintains the perfect balance of femininity, class and brains.  The real appeal to me in this book is the world building.  This in general is what I read Scott Westerfeld for, his stories are always good, usually with some social commentary, characters are solid with enough variety to keep from getting to bored, but to me his strength lies in the way he creates his worlds.  In the Uglies series I kept going back over and over into this world he created, wanting to keep exploring it.  He again gave me that feeling of a complete world, with its own culture, rules and flair.  Iespecially was entranced with the Darwinist Beasties.  I still have dreams of riding in a Huxley which is essentially a floating jellyfish that has been modified into a single person hot air balloon.  I thought this was a great twist on the steampunk idea.  Not only to have the Clankers steam powered machines (which were all pretty cool and epic) but to add a bit of a twist with the animalistic nature of the beasties.  The author created a world where the reader can live in long after they have finished the book.  The plot of the book feels like one of any number of stories that can be told in this world, and I like it.  Don't be fooled by the size of the book.  The font and margins actually make it bigger then it reads and it is chock full of the coolest illustrations by Keith Thompson.   I could totally see this book being made into a Miyazaki animated film.  I would totally recommend this for any steampunk fan, Scott Westerfeld fan, or fans of a really well built world who like a little adventure.  I give it 7 out of 10 floating jellyfish

What type are you a metal Clanker or a a animal Darwinist?  Do your prefer to soar in the clouds, or speed over land?  Is it weird that I regularly have dreams about floating jellyfish?