An Alternate WWI (50 & 90)

I've come up with another way to stave off those writer's blocks: staying up really late. I wasn't up until 3 last night writing (I was reading book #100) but I was reminded just how much energy I typically have left despite it being the middle of the night. I've been physically incapable of waking up on time for most of the past week and a half. Not even kidding.

(Thank goodness I woke up for my 8:00 exam last Tuesday. I had a dream last night that I forgot the time and showed up in the afternoon.)

But since it's Winter Break and I can do crazy things like sleep in until noon, I've decided to experiment with staying up late to work on my book. I don't seem to get much done in the mornings anyways. At least I'm getting blog posts written!

Leviathan

Okay, first, I discovered a deep love for steampunk. The British/Darwinist clash with the German/Clanker perspective is such a perfect way to retell the World War 1 story. Second, I love Derryn-disguised-as-Dylan Sharp. But of course, I always love spunky girl characters. Especially when they hang out on airships.

As far as plot goes, the narrative basically follows the actual historical timeline. There are some inaccuracies that are necessary to the story - in this book, the character of Alek is introduced as Sophie and Franz Ferdinand's only child (they had several, none named Aleksander). As much as I love when authors stick to the history, I understood why Scott Westerfeld had to make this kid up.

Behemoth

The Darwinists and Clankers are busy fighting in Europe while the crew of the Leviathan heads over to Istanbul. They get their own share of surprises in the diplomatic fight over control of the Ottoman Empire - and in the resulting difficulties, we learn more about the brilliant lady scientist (with all her sneaky plans) the Leviathan has been carrying.

Again, there are some liberties taken with history, but that lets Behemoth include fun things like secret missions and elephant rides. And of course, lots of crazy plotting and antics from both Alek and Derryn. I don't want to say any more because I'd hate to ruin the twists, from this book or the first.

I had no clue what this series was about when I picked it up as part of my 300 book long To Read list. I can't even remember who first recommended it because so many authors and readers were talking about how brilliant Scott Westerfeld is. I get it now. The two books are so much fun to read and so marvelously crafted.

I mean, just look at that map. Yet another great thing about these books is all the beautiful artwork (meant to give the book a 1914 feel). The illustrations are invaluable for picturing some of the complicated machinery and "beasties" that the Clankers and Darwinists use, respectively. And they're pretty :)

More Blessed Word Count: 15,613

(Mind you, I have been doing other researchy stuff, so the word count doesn't reflect any of the work that's gone in behind the scenes, if you will. My notes and stuff take up several documents and thousands more words.)