Review: Goliath

by Scott Westerfeld
Start Date: 20 September 2011
End Date: 20 September 2011
Hardcover, 560 pages
Published September 20th 2011 by Simon Pulse [an imprint of Simon and Schuster]

Summary (from Goodreads):
Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies.

The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy.

Goliath is the third book of the Leviathan trilogy. Read my review of Leviathan.

My Review:
Oh. My. Gosh. Goliath was so good. When I opened the package on Tuesday, I literally screamed. Thank goodness I didn't have much homework that night, because I would not have done it. I read nearly nonstop until I finished. When I talked to anyone about it, I couldn't help jumping up and down and shouting. It's the best book I've read in a very long time.

If you've read the other two books in this amazing trilogy, you won't need much convincing to pick up the third. In Goliath, our two heros travel through Asia and America, a wonderful expansion of Westerfeld's steampunk world. Every location, although different from how we know them, felt true to character in the way the Darwinist or Clanker elements were incorporated.

Also, Westerfeld did a great job as far as Alek and Deryn are concerned. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that I was very happy with how the story progressed, and I felt like he managed to keep both Alek and Deryn in character throughout everything, which was quite impressive.

But although some of the story was spent in dealing with Deryn and Alek's various secrets, there was also plenty of other wonderful elements to the story. All of the supporting characters are great - very well developed - and some unexpected acquaintances show up - some welcome and some less so. And we are introduced to several new characters as well. I won't say who they are, but several are historical figures, which make them very fun to read about.

No review would be complete without mention of the wonderful illustrations throughout the entire Leviathan trilogy, created by Keith Thompson. There are tons of illustrations in Goliath, many of them full-page, and all of them fantastic. It's worth buying the book in print rather than on an e-reader just to get the full impact of the illustrations.

Illustration courtesy of Keith Thompson Art

On a side note, It seems I'm not the only person who loved Goliath. On Tuesday night, Goliath's Goodreads rating was 4.50, which is amazing in itself, but by Thursday night it had risen to 4.51. And by Saturday morning it was 4.53. I suspect it will continue to rise. [Added later: And on Saturday night it's 4.54! Every time I sit down to work on this review, the rating is higher!]

Overall thoughts: Westerfeld once again creates a magnificent story. I gasped, I laughed, I jumped around the room in excitement, and I could not put it down. From of the twists and turns the characters must navigate to the intricate politics of the Darwinist and Clanker world to the seemingly effortless weaving of real historical figures and the wonderful illustrations, Goliath has it all.