Leviathan

I discovered Leviathan through a very catching ad campaign they ran on YouTube. I think it was the first, and the last, book advert I’ve actually seen in video form (other than somebody talking about their book).

It had me intrigued and I’ve waited for the book release with impatience, I think I got it quite close tho the release date. Being a steampunk fan, I got captivated by the cover¹.

The story is a uchronia of the first world war, where the axis’ engineers unlocked the full potential of diesel engines and built massive mech-like war machines. On the other side, Charles Darwin discovered not only evolution, and DNA, but also a way to manipulate it and grow modified “beasties”.

I loved this book, and reread it several times. It is an easy read, and a steampunk-bait. Characters are likeable, and antagonists are introduced later in the series. This gives the series a cooperative vibe of us against them. It definitely cheapens the plot, but sometimes one does not want to be boiling with rage while reading about a villain succeeding almost to the very end.

Clankers are also less developed than Darwinists, the beasties are described in more detail and their inner workings are quite fascinating. There is more to a living ecosystem which is at the same time a beehive, a whale, and a zeppelin than to a big boat with cannons.

❦

This setting would make for a great RTS game, with the two very different factions, but one can only dream. At least we got a passable TV series now (though I found it a little bit lacking, I was expecting more).