Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second installment of Scott Westerfeld's alternative history trilogy. In this book Aleksandar, or Alek, an heir to the throne of the Austrian Empire, is on the British airship, Leviathan, a living airship made from the combined genes of whales and other animals, on his way to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. With him are his Austrian companions Count Volger, Klopp and Hoffman and the British crew including a young woman named Deryn who has disguised herself as a young man named Delyn.

Together they try to keep the Ottomans from joining the German and Austrian side of the Great War raging in Europe between their "Clanker" war machines and the British, French, and Russian "Darwinist" animal creations.

This is typical Steampunk high adventure with narrow escapes, conflicts over divided loyalties, and new mysteries to be solved.

Recommended for everyone who, like me, enjoys the Steampunk genre.

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