tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post6628386579846594153..comments2024-03-17T23:41:39.161-06:00Comments on Steampunk Scholar: Leviathan by Scott WesterfeldMike Perschonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-82385986090819957762010-02-07T17:54:56.345-07:002010-02-07T17:54:56.345-07:00I enjoyed the book immensely, even though relative...I enjoyed the book immensely, even though relatively new to the steampunk philosophy and way of thought. I found "the boys own view" a good perspective, but I really wonder whether it is for the early teenage years, and not perhaps better aimed at young adult and older teenagers? not that I would discourage anyone from reading.... it is the kind of book I would have gobbled up at age 12 (instead of the Black Stallion series, perhaps?) I could not put it down.Margravine Louisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14339052676103202439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-51833201819172903352010-02-05T17:52:28.961-07:002010-02-05T17:52:28.961-07:00Alasdair,
I think the world DOES stop making sens...Alasdair,<br /><br />I think the world DOES stop making sense to Alek - the disillusionment of WWI is brought to the macrocosm level through the loss of his parents. Remember too that it wasn't until after WWI that the world really grasped the implications of modern warfare. This is on the front end of the war. Even Pynchon's Chums of Chance retain most of their optimism until they see the terror of trench warfare. <br /><br />Keep in mind it's a YA novel as well. Full-on grit doesn't go over well with the marketing for that age group, for better or worse.<br /><br />I'll have to take a look at both your and Simon's reviews.Mike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-82371189855993676862010-02-05T14:36:13.300-07:002010-02-05T14:36:13.300-07:00Great review, much better than my own, of a fantas...Great review, much better than my own, of a fantastic book. I absolutely devoured Leviathan in the past 4 days.Simon MacDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14749383583517044214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-89752165297550145592010-02-05T09:01:23.230-07:002010-02-05T09:01:23.230-07:00Hello, Gotthammer, first-time poster, long time re...Hello, Gotthammer, first-time poster, long time reader.<br /><br />I wrote a brief review of <i>Leviathan</i> for the Gatehouse Gazette a few months back, and while I liked it, I was mildly disappointed by the story. I may be too steeped in the traditional historiography, but I've always pictured WWI as a great moment of loss, as a period when the world stops making sense to its inhabitants and can no longer be explained or comprehended in any satisfactory form. To me, at least, setting a boy's-own-adventure story in an alternate version of this conflict seems to be avoiding this matter in a way that seems somewhat disingenuous.<br /><br />I also kept wondering about some of the negative implications of Westerfeld's worldbuilding, particularly the Darwinists' blithe assumption that humans are to be exempted from genetic modification for some arcane reason, or the implications for the postwar world, when Europe is dominated by keen-eyed "pragmatists" looking to rebuild civilization from the ground up, and who now have the tools to make a proper job of it. I also had a vague sense that the war machinery/creatures of both sides seemed to be built with only a vague understanding as to what modern war would be like, and that technical resources of both sides could make the conflict much worse. After all, leaps of biology and physics aside, both sides are fighting a WW2-style conflict thirty years early.<br /><br />Still, I liked your take on the book, and I admit that I hadn't really seen those aspects of the book. Of course, as my post above shows, I was looking somewhere else altogether.Alasdair Czyrnyjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13099655864507505796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-28406102669851105522010-02-04T19:54:33.365-07:002010-02-04T19:54:33.365-07:00Awesome cover!! I don't think enough praise ca...Awesome cover!! I don't think enough praise can be given to the illustrator (and whoever designed that amazing cover). In agreement with a previous commenter and the reviewer, the genetic discoveries were more advanced than if they were true to historical timeline, but Westerfield may have been insinuating that these discoveries may have happened sooner if conservatists had not prevailed for a while (as for me, I'm not a believer in Darwin's principles, but I still enjoyed the book).<br /><br />As a teen myself, I am glad that there is books such as Leviathan out there for us. When constrasted with the rich imagery and imagination in Leviathan, Twilght feels empty and really falls flat.smokeyB93https://www.blogger.com/profile/04620643815381303375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-70243796139815825412010-02-04T17:45:32.066-07:002010-02-04T17:45:32.066-07:00Yes, but my read was it was the result of not havi...Yes, but my read was it was the result of not having conservative elements to stand in the way of that...not sure why it struck me that way. Clearly I need to read it again!Mike Perschonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09335943113292616702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1069343736818411279.post-7965262839600242932010-02-04T17:19:07.923-07:002010-02-04T17:19:07.923-07:00I am not sure that its conservative ideology that ...I am not sure that its conservative ideology that failed to halt the Darwinists, rather the Darwin of Leviathan making discoveries regarding genetics far early than in our timeline.<br /><br />That being said, I enjoyed the book immensely and can't wait till the second is released.Sean Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14485575602984697926noreply@blogger.com