Review: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Behemoth is the second in a series that started with Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld of Uglies fame and as you might expect, given that parentage, this is an historical novel with a considerable and thought-provoking twist. So, assume that Darwin not only came up with natural selection but that he also pre-empted Crick and Watson, discovered DNA, or ‘life-threads’ as they are called here, and then set about fabricating all kinds of species to help mankind. Then assume that the new ‘technology’ is only accepted by Britain and her allies, whilst Germany pursues a more historically accurate technological development, albeit, unwittingly influenced by the ‘Darwinist’ fabrications. Now place all that in the historical setting of 1914, and add Alek, the young heir to the Hapsburg throne, and Deryn, a girl pretending to be a (male) midshipman aboard the airship Leviathan.

Leviathan ended with Alek and Deryn, now good friends, baby-sitting a trio of mysterious eggs for the redoubtable Dr Barlow (Darwin’s own descendent) and headed towards ‘Constantinople’.  In Behemoth they reach Constantinople but Dr Barlow’s plans to win over the Sultan, stop the Clanker (the Darwinist term for German) advance eastwards and open up the shipping lanes to supply Russia’s fighters, go catastrophically wrong and it is down to Alek and Deryn to turn things round and keep the Ottomans from becoming another Clanker power.

Historians will be intrigued. Much of the environment of this series is historically accurate, right down the 1914 British Embassy in Istanbul not containing anyone who could speak Turkish! Even the names of some of the characters (Admiral Wilhelm Souchon for example) are accurate. But the means of fighting, the way of living is entirely different because of that mind-bending beastie-fabricating twist.

And this is where the fact that this is an illustrated book becomes so important. In Leviathan Keith Thompson’s monochrome drawings superbly pointed up the difference between the ‘fabs’ and the Clanker monstrosities: one all smooth, sinuous lines, and misty depths; the other sharp profiles and harsh lines. In Behemoth Thompson also gets a chance to depict the Ottoman synthesis of the two technologies, producing haunting images of enormous machines, some with almost human features. There is a delightfully early-twentieth century feel to these drawings, whilst at the same time they are undeniably modern. The attenuated figures and impish faces are reminiscent of Chris Riddell’s Edge Chronicles characters, and some of the battle scenes are pure steampunk, but many of the internal scenes would not be out of place in a Sherlock Holmes story.

Behemoth, likes its predecessor, Leviathan, is chock full of action, mystery, deception, and even the early stirrings of love. It raises fascinating questions about man’s relationship to beasts and the extent to which they should be manipulated for our benefit.  It also probes issues around gender expectations which are still not fully resolved today. 12 year olds would no doubt enjoy the series but the more philosophical and ethical content might be more appropriate to a slightly older audience.

Originally written for writeaway.org.uk