Goliath (Leviathan Series #3)
543
Goliath (Leviathan Series #3)
543Paperback(Reprint)
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies.
The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: Secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is as it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781416971788 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers |
| Publication date: | 08/21/2012 |
| Series: | Leviathan Series , #3 |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 543 |
| Sales rank: | 159,338 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.66(w) x 8.04(h) x 1.48(d) |
| Lexile: | 790L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 12 - 17 Years |
About the Author
Keith Thompson’s work has appeared in books, magazines, TV, video games, and films. See his work at KeithThompsonArt.com.
Read an Excerpt
“Siberia,” Alek said. The word slipped cold and hard from his tongue, as forbidding as the landscape passing below.
“We won’t be over Siberia till tomorrow.” Dylan sat at the table, still attacking his breakfast. “And it’ll take almost a week to cross it. Russia is barking big.”
“And cold,” Newkirk added. He stood next to Alek at the window of the middies’ mess, both hands wrapped around a cup of tea.
“Cold,” repeated Bovril. The creature clutched Alek’s shoulder a little tighter, and a shiver went through its body.
In early October no snow lay on the ground below. But the sky was an icy, cloudless blue. The window had a lace of frost around its edges, left over from a frigid night.
Another week of flying across this wasteland, Alek thought. Farther from Europe and the war, and from his destiny. The Leviathan was still headed east, probably toward the empire of Japan, though no one would confirm their destination. Even though he’d helped the British cause back in Istanbul, the airship’s officers still saw Alek and his men as little better than prisoners. He was a Clanker prince and they were Darwinists, and the Great War between the two technologies was spreading faster every day.
“It’ll get much colder as we angle north,” Dylan said around a mouthful of his breakfast. “You should both finish your potatoes. They’ll keep you warm.”
Alek turned. “But we’re already north of Tokyo. Why go out of our way?”
“We’re dead on course,” Dylan said. “Mr. Rigby made us plot a great circle route last week, and it took us all the way up to Omsk.”
“A great circle route?”
“It’s a navigator’s trick,” Newkirk explained. He breathed on the window glass before him, then drew an upside-down smile with one fingertip. “The earth is round, but paper is flat, right? So a straight course looks curved when you draw it on a map. You always wind up going farther north than you’d think.”
“Except below the equator,” Dylan added. “Then it’s the other way round.”
Bovril chuckled, as if great circle routes were quite amusing. But Alek hadn’t followed a word of it—not that he’d expected to.
It was maddening. Two weeks ago he’d helped lead a revolution against the Ottoman sultan, ruler of an ancient empire. The rebels had welcomed Alek’s counsel, his piloting skills, and his gold. And together they’d won.
But here aboard the Leviathan he was deadweight—a waste of hydrogen, as the crew called anything useless. He might spend his days beside Dylan and Newkirk, but he was no midshipman. He couldn’t take a sextant reading, tie a decent knot, or estimate the ship’s altitude.
Worst of all, Alek was no longer needed in the engine pods. In the month he’d been plotting revolution in Istanbul, the Darwinist engineers had learned a lot about Clanker mechaniks. Hoffman and Klopp were no longer called up to help with the engines, so there was hardly any need for a translator.
Since the first time he’d come aboard, Alek had dreamed of somehow serving on the Leviathan. But everything he could offer—walker piloting, fencing, speaking six languages, and being a grandnephew of an emperor—seemed to be worthless on an airship. He was no doubt more valuable as a young prince who had famously switched sides than as an airman.
It was as if everyone were trying to make him a waste of hydrogen.
Then Alek remembered a saying of his father’s: The only way to remedy ignorance is to admit it.
He took a slow breath. “I’m aware that the earth is round, Mr. Newkirk. But I still don’t understand this ‘great circle route’ business.”
“It’s dead easy to see if you’ve got a globe in front of you,” Dylan said, pushing away his plate. “There’s one in the navigation room. We’ll sneak in sometime when the officers aren’t there.”
“That would be most agreeable.” Alek turned back to the window and clasped his hands behind his back.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Prince Aleksandar,” Newkirk said. “Still takes me ages to plot a proper course. Not like Mr. Sharp here, knowing all about sextants before he even joined the Service.”
“Not all of us are lucky enough to have an airman for a father,” Alek said.
“Father?” Newkirk turned from the window, frowning. “Wasn’t that your uncle, Mr. Sharp?”
Bovril made a soft noise, sinking its tiny claws into Alek’s shoulder. Dylan said nothing, though. He seldom spoke of his father, who had burned to death in front of the boy’s eyes. The accident still haunted Dylan, and fire was the only thing that frightened him.
Alek cursed himself as a Dummkopf, wondering why he’d mentioned the man. Was he angry at Dylan for always being so good at everything?
He was about to apologize when Bovril shifted again, leaning forward to stare out the window.
“Beastie,” the perspicacious loris said.
A black fleck had glided into view, wheeling across the empty blue sky. It was a huge bird, much bigger than the falcons that had circled the airship in the mountains a few days before. It had the size and claws of a predator, but its shape was unlike any Alek had seen before.
It was headed straight for the ship.
“Does that bird look odd to you, Mr. Newkirk?”
Newkirk turned back to the window and raised his field glasses, which were still around his neck from the morning watch.
“Aye,” he said a moment later. “I think it’s an imperial eagle!”
There was a hasty scrape of chair legs from behind them. Dylan appeared at the window, shielding his eyes with both hands.
“Blisters, you’re right—two heads! But imperials only carry messages from the czar himself. . . .”
Alek glanced at Dylan, wondering if he’d heard right. Two heads?
The eagle soared closer, flashing past the window in a blur of black feathers, a glint of gold from its harness catching the morning sun. Bovril broke into maniacal laughter at its passage.
“It’s headed for the bridge, right?” Alek asked.
“Aye.” Newkirk lowered his field glasses. “Important messages go straight to the captain.”
A bit of hope pried its way into Alek’s dark mood. The Russians were allies of the British, fellow Darwinists who fabricated mammothines and giant fighting bears. What if the czar needed help against the Clanker armies and this was a summons to turn the ship around? Even fighting on the icy Russian front would be better than wasting time in this wilderness.
“I need to know what that message says.”
Newkirk snorted. “Why don’t you go and ask the captain, then?”
“Aye,” Dylan said. “And while you’re at it, ask him to give me a warmer cabin.”
“What can it hurt?” Alek said. “He hasn’t thrown me into the brig yet.”
When Alek had returned to the Leviathan two weeks ago, he’d half expected to be put in chains for escaping from the ship. But the ship’s officers had treated him with respect.
Perhaps it wasn’t so bad, everyone finally knowing he was the son of the late Archduke Ferdinand, and not just some Austrian noble trying to escape the war.
“What’s a good excuse to pay the bridge a visit?” he asked.
“No need for excuses,” Newkirk said. “That bird’s flown all the way from Saint Petersburg. They’ll call us to come and fetch it for a rest and a feeding.”
“And you’ve never seen the rookery, your princeliness,” Dylan added. “Might as well tag along.”
“Thank you, Mr. Sharp,” Alek said, smiling. “I would like that.”
Dylan returned to the table and his precious potatoes, perhaps grateful that the talk of his father had been interrupted. Alek decided he would apologize before the day was out.
Ten minutes later a message lizard popped its head from a tube on the ceiling in the middies’ mess. It said in the master coxswain’s voice, “Mr. Sharp, please come to the bridge. Mr. Newkirk, report to the cargo deck.”
The three of them scrambled for the door.
“Cargo deck?” Newkirk said. “What in blazes is that about?”
“Maybe they want you to inventory the stocks again,” Dylan said. “This trip might have just got longer.”
Alek frowned. Would “longer” mean turning back toward Europe, or heading still farther away?
As the three made their way toward the bridge, he sensed the ship stirring around them. No alert had sounded, but the crew was bustling. When Newkirk peeled off to descend the central stairway, a squad of riggers in flight suits went storming past, also headed down.
“Where in blazes are they going?” Alek asked. Riggers always worked topside, in the ropes that held the ship’s huge hydrogen membrane.
“A dead good question,” Dylan said. “The czar’s message seems to have turned us upside down.”
The bridge had a guard posted at the door, and a dozen message lizards clung to the ceiling, waiting for orders to be dispatched. There was a sharp edge to the usual thrum of men and creatures and machines. Bovril shifted on Alek’s shoulder, and he felt the engines change pitch through the soles of his boots—the ship was coming to full-ahead.
Up at the ship’s master wheel, the officers were huddled around the captain, who held an ornate scroll. Dr. Barlow was among the group, her own loris on her shoulder, her pet thylacine, Tazza, sitting at her side.
A squawk came from Alek’s right, and he turned to find himself face-to-face with the most astonishing creature. . . .
The imperial eagle was too large to fit into the bridge’s messenger cage, and it perched instead on the signals table. It shifted from one taloned claw to the other, glossy black wings fluttering.
And what Dylan had said was true. The creature had two heads, and two necks, of course, coiled around each other like a pair of black feathered snakes. As Alek watched in horror, one head snapped at the other, a bright red tongue slithering from its mouth.
“God’s wounds,” he breathed.
“Like we told you,” Dylan said. “It’s an imperial eagle.”
“It’s an abomination, you mean.” Sometimes the Darwinists’ creatures seemed to have been fabricated not for their usefulness, but simply to be horrific.
Dylan shrugged. “It’s just a two-headed bird, like on the czar’s crest.”
“Yes, of course,” Alek sputtered. “But that’s meant to be symbolic.”
“Aye, this beastie’s symbolic. It’s just breathing as well.”
“Prince Aleksandar, good morning.” Dr. Barlow had left the group of officers and crossed the bridge, the czar’s scroll in her hand. “I see you’ve met our visitor. Quite a fine example of Russian fabrication, is it not?”
“Good morning, madam.” Alek bowed. “I’m not sure what this creature is a fine example of, only that I find it a bit . . .” He swallowed, watching Dylan slip on a pair of thick falconer’s gloves.
“Literal-minded?” Dr. Barlow chuckled softly. “I suppose, but Czar Nicholas does enjoy his pets.”
“Pets, fah!” her loris repeated from its new perch on the messenger tern cages, and Bovril giggled. The two creatures began to whisper nonsense to each other, as they always did when they met.
Alek pulled his gaze from the eagle. “In fact, I’m more interested in the message it was carrying.”
“Ah . . .” Her hands began to roll up the scroll. “I’m afraid that is a military secret, for the moment.”
Alek scowled. His allies in Istanbul had never kept secrets from him.
If only he could have stayed there somehow. According to the newspapers, the rebels had control of the capital now, and the rest of the Ottoman Empire was falling under their sway. He would have been respected there—useful, instead of a waste of hydrogen. Indeed, helping the rebels overthrow the sultan had been the most useful thing he’d ever done. It had robbed the Germans of a Clanker ally and had proven that he, Prince Aleksandar of Hohenburg, could make a difference in this war.
Why had he listened to Dylan and come back to this abomination of an airship?
“Are you quite all right, Prince?” Dr. Barlow asked.
“I just wish I knew what you Darwinists were up to,” Alek said, a sudden quiver of anger in his voice. “At least if you were taking me and my men to London in chains, it would make sense. What’s the point of lugging us halfway around the world?”
Dr. Barlow spoke soothingly. “We all go where the war takes us, Prince Aleksandar. You haven’t had such bad luck on this ship, have you?”
Alek scowled but couldn’t argue. The Leviathan had saved him from spending the war hiding out in a freezing castle in the Alps, after all. And it had taken him to Istanbul, where he’d struck his first blow against the Germans.
He gathered himself. “Perhaps not, Dr. Barlow. But I prefer to choose my own course.”
“That time may come sooner than you think.”
Alek raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant.
“Come on, your princeliness,” Dylan said. The eagle was now hooded and perching quietly on his arm. “It’s useless arguing with boffins. And we’ve got a bird to feed.”
© 2011 Scott Westerfeld
Reading Group Guide
A Reading Group Guide to The Leviathan Trilogy By Scott Westerfeld About the Trilogy It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship and the most masterful beast in the British fleet. In this striking, futuristic rendition of an alternate past where machines are pitted against genetically modified beasts, Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides in the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, and together they embark on an around-the-world adventure, one that will change both their lives forever. In addition to the three novels, there is The Manual of Aeronautics, a lavishly illustrated, full-color companion. The Manual of Aeronautics is a guide to the inner workings of the Darwinist and Clanker powers. Loaded with detailed descriptions and elaborate illustrations of Darwinist beasties and Clanker walkers, weapons, transport, and uniforms, this manual highlights the international powers that Deryn and Alek encounter throughout their around-the-world adventures. This guide draws back the curtain and reveals the inner depths of Westerfeld’s fascinating alternative world. Book 1: Leviathan About the Novel Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn war machine and a loyal crew of men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. With World War I brewing, Alek’s and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected ways, taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever. Prereading Activities 1. The Leviathan trilogy is an example of steampunk. Some students may be unfamiliar with steampunk, or they may have read stories or seen films that fit the category but do not realize it. Here is a brief description: Steampunk is a literary genre or sub-genre of science fiction that features steam-powered machinery inspired by the industrialized Western civilization during the nineteenth century. Such machinery may be fictional like those found in this series by Scott Westerfeld, or in the works of H. G. Wells. See http://www.steampunk.com/what-is-steampunk/ and http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/ for further background information and to learn more about Steampunk. Some terms cited in the story will likely be unfamiliar to most readers. Ask readers to use reference books or electronic research sources to find out as much information as they can about the following: boffin, bulbous, emissary, fortnight, iridescent, Luddite, propaganda, skulduggery, solidarity, sustenance, translucent, and tremulous. 2. Have students work in small groups to research and present a multimedia presentation on the causes of World War I. Discussion Questions 1. What is Alek doing at the opening of the story that foreshadows events to come? 2. Why does Alek sleep with a knife under his pillow? 3. What kind of relationship does Alek have with Count Volger and Otto Klopp? 4. What was Alek warned of by his father? 5. What shocking news does Count Volger share with Alek? 6. What is Deryn Sharp’s “mad scheme”? 7. Why are Monkey Luddites afraid of Darwinist beasties? 8. What is unique about the Huxley ascender? 9. Why does Alek refuse to believe his parents are dead? How does Count Volger convince him? 10. What kind of airship is the Leviathan? Why was it fabricated? 11. Why does Count Volger tell Alek he matters more than anyone he knows? How did Alek’s father prepare for the coming war? 12. Why does Alek resent the way Count Volger treats him? 13. What does Alek come to appreciate about his men? 14. What is Alek’s inheritance? 15. How does Deryn convince the Leviathan’s officers to make her a temporary middy on the ship? 16. What does Deryn enjoy most about the bosun’s lectures? 17. Why do fabrications make Midshipman Newkirk nervous? 18. How does Deryn feel about Newkirk’s war talk? 19. Why does Alek doubt the headlines he sees in the newspapers about Europe’s solidarity against Serbia? 20. Who does the Leviathan take aboard as a passenger, and what is its destination? 21. What does it mean that the Leviathan is “aerostatic”? 22. Why is Deryn sent to meet Dr. Barlow? 23. What is Dr. Barlow’s unusual traveling companion? 24. What is Deryn concerned that Dr. Barlow might do? 25. What prevents Alek and the Stormwalker from reaching Switzerland? 26. What does Alek do with his saber? 27. What role do bees have on the Leviathan? 28. Where does Count Volger take Alek? 29. What secrets does Count Volger reveal to Alek at the castle? 30. What is Alek’s reaction to the sight of the Leviathan? 31. What awful stories had Alek heard about Darwinist creations? 32. Under what circumstances do Alek and Deryn meet? 33. Why does Alek say it was “madness to try to cross the gulf between his world and theirs”? 34. How does Alek react when he discovers he is inside an animal? What do Dr. Barlow and Dylan think of his reaction? 35. How is hydrogen for the Leviathan produced? 36. Why is Alek surprised about the Leviathan heading for the Ottoman Empire? Postreading Activities 1. Have students work in small groups to research the following references in the novel and share their findings with the rest of the class: Balkan Wars, battles of Nelson, Charles Darwin, DNA, theories of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Aldous Huxley, Maxim gun, thylacine, and Zeppelins. 2. Look at the map of Europe by Keith Thompson and discuss its symbolism. 3. Create a chronology of events from the story. 4. List what animals are mentioned in the novel and describe their role and/or impact in the story. 5. Compose an acrostic poem describing Darwinist or Clanker. 6. Create a crossword or word search puzzle based on animals, beasties, characters, events, and machines in the novel. See http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/ and http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/. 7. Illustrate a favorite incident or scene from the novel. 8. Retell a favorite episode from the novel in your own words. 9. Create a WANTED poster for Alek. 10. Design a map of Deryn’s and Alek’s respective journeys with captions and images highlighting important events. 11. Identify three problems in the story and explain how they are resolved. 12. Write a “How to” guide for an activity depicted in the story, such as running in a Walker or riding safely in a Huxley. 13. If you included yourself in the story, who would you be? Why? 14. Create thumbnail sketches of characters from Leviathan, including both physical and character traits. Label the character traits you attribute by citing dialogue or events from the story. 15. Write a brief essay in which you explain the differences between Clanker and Darwinist societies. Book 2: Behemoth About the Novel The Behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker Powers. Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory. Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead. Prereading Activities 1. Some terms cited in the story will likely be unfamiliar to most readers. Ask readers to use reference books or electronic research sources to find out as much information as they can about the following: amenable, automaton, colonnade, conspicuous, countenance, halberd, imperious, impertinence, improvisation, keelhaul, luminous, maelstrom, malady, nascent, parley, perspicacious, primordial, scimitar, sinuous, surreptitious, translucent, tumult, undulating, vitriolic, voluminous, and wan. 2. Have students work in small groups to research and present a multimedia presentation on the major conflicts that occurred in one of the World War I theaters of engagement: Africa, Middle East, Eastern Front, Pacific, and Western Front. Students should cite all sources consulted. Discussion Questions 1. What does Deryn observe about Alek when they are fencing? 2. Why does Deryn think it is unfair to think of Alek as an enemy? 3. Why does Alek have reservations about joining in the attack on the ironclads? 4. What are the fléchette bats? 5. In what way is the Leviathan an ecosystem? 6. What new weapon does Klopp see the ironclad armed with? What can the weapon do? 7. What is the “diplomatic ruckus” that the Leviathan is sent to Constantinople to sort out? 8. What bad news does Captain Hobbes share with Alek? How do Alek and Volger respond to the news? 9. What is Deryn’s impression of Constantinople? 10. According to Dr. Barlow, how are the Ottomans different from other Clankers? 11. In what way are Americans an “odd bunch”? 12. What is “the biggest story in Istanbul”? 13. What does Alek see hatch in the machine room? How is his reaction to it different from other Darwinist creatures? 14. What is Dr. Barlow’s explanation of a behemoth? 15. What prompts Dr. Barlow to gasp in horror in the sultan’s throne room? 16. What offer does Dr. Barlow make to the sultan that shocks Deryn? 17. Why does Alek decide to talk to Malone? 18. Who is Zaven and what group is he a part of? 19. What is important about the Dardanelles Strait? 20. Why does Deryn feel like more of a spy than a soldier? 21. In what way is the Orient Express “a strange crossbreed of Ottoman and German design”? 22. Why is Deryn suspicious of Bovril? 23. Why does Dylan disagree with Alek’s idea of telling the Committee of the new developments? 24. What is Lilit’s plan to destroy the Tesla cannon? 25. Why does Deryn find it “hardest of all . . . being so close to Alek, while still hiding from him”? 26. What does Volger’s news of the pope’s death mean for Alek’s plans? Postreading Activities 1. Have students work in small groups to research the following references in the novel and share their findings with the rest of the class: Winston Churchill, Constantinople, Dardanelles, Gallipoli Campaign, Gibraltar, Guy Fawkes Day, Orient Express, Ottoman Empire, Suez Canal, Nikola Tesla, Young Turks. Students should cite all sources consulted. 2. Look at the map by Keith Thompson and discuss its symbolism. How do the images reflect events in the story? 3. Create a chronology of events from the story. 4. Have students use atlases or globes to locate the places where events in the story occur. 5. Illustrate a favorite incident or scene from the novel. 6. Retell a favorite episode from the novel in your own words. 7. Design a front-page newspaper story chronicling one of the major events in this novel. 8. Write a letter as if you were Deryn to her brother describing some of her adventures. 9. Write a couple of paragraphs in which you predict what will happen in the next novel concluding the trilogy, Goliath. Book 3: Goliath About the Novel Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war and crown. Falling in love would be much easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl, and if they weren’t technically enemies. The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board. Secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is as it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy. Prereading Activities 1. Some terms cited in the story will likely be unfamiliar to most readers. Ask readers to use reference books or electronic research sources to find out as much information as they can about the following: apparatus, ballast, capacitor, disreputable, epaulettes, ferrous, Herculean, inundation, mayhem, phantasmal, precarious, presumptuous, sextant, subterfuge, torrent, truncheon, and yackum. 2. Have students work in small groups to research and present a multimedia presentation on the outcomes of World War I. Students should cite all sources consulted. Discussion Questions 1. Why do the Leviathan’s officers still see Alek and his men as little better than prisoners? Why does he feel like “deadweight”? 2. Why does the appearance of the imperial message eagle give Alek a feeling of hope? 3. What is Alek’s reaction to the sight of the eagle? 4. Why does Alek wish he had stayed in Istanbul? 5. What does the two-headed eagle symbolize? 6. Why does Deryn not want Count Volger to reveal her secret to Alek? 7. Why is the Leviathan heading for Tsingtao? 8. What more is there to the lorises than meets the eye? 9. Who does Deryn discover in the fallen forest? 10. What does Tesla reveal to Deryn about the wrecked airship? How does Deryn react to what he says? 11. Is Tesla able to repulse the bears? 12. What are some things Tesla invented? Why is it significant that he is a Serb? 13. What kind of weapon is Goliath? 14. What is the mysterious object Deryn discovers? Why is it important to Tesla’s invention? 15. What is Alek’s reaction to finding out Deryn is a girl? What does he finally realize about her? 16. How does Alek react to Tesla’s confidence that his weapon will stop the war? 17. How is the United States, as “another half-Darwinist, half-Clanker country,” different from Japan? 18. Why does Deryn think it wasn’t fair of her to kiss Alek? 19. What is Mr. Hearst’s treachery? 20. How does Alek help Deryn keep her secret? 21. Why does Alek choose not to say anything about Deryn to Eddie Malone? 22. What does Lilit reveal to Deryn about the Ottoman Republic? 23. Why was it planned that the last water-walker should be destroyed only after making landfall? 24. How does Alek stop Tesla from firing Goliath? 25. How is Tesla proved to be a fraud? How does his death help shorten the war? 26. Why do you think Alek renounces his claim to the throne and takes a position with The London Zoological Society? Postreading Activities 1. Have students work in small groups to research the following references in the novel and share their findings with the rest of the class: Divine Right, Empire of Japan, William Randolph Hearst, Emperor Maximilian, Kokichi Mikimoto, The Perils of Pauline, Commodore Perry, Pinkertons, Joseph Pulitzer, Russo-Japanese War, Siberia, Sakichi Toyoda, Tsingtao, Tunguska, Pancho Villa, Vladivostok, Woodrow Wilson, and U-boat. Students should cite all sources consulted. 2. Look at the map by Keith Thompson and discuss its symbolism. How do the images relate to events in the story? 3. Create a chronology of events from the story. 4. Illustrate a favorite incident or scene from the novel. 5. Retell a favorite episode from the novel in your own words. 6. The First World War is known for the first use of barbed wire and many new weapons, including airplanes, dirigibles, long range artillery, flamethrowers, grenades, machine guns, poison gas, submarines, and tanks. In pairs or small groups, use online and print resources to research and report who invented these weapons, how they were developed, and how they were used in World War I. Identify examples of how these weapons are incorporated into the Darwinist beasties and Clanker machines in the Leviathan novels and The Manual of Aeronautics. 7. Create a model of one of the Clanker’s machine monsters. Use The Manual of Aeronautics as a reference guide. 8. Design your own Darwinist beastie or Clanker machine that can be included in The Manual of Aeronautics. 9. Have each student communicate a brief message to be deciphered by the class using the Huxley Semaphore as referenced in The Manual of Aeronautics. 10. Write an alternate ending to the novel or a chapter that continues the story. 11. Create a sale advertisement for one of the Clanker machines. Use The Manual of Aeronautics as a reference. 12. Create a board game based upon the Leviathan books. Look at the games Axis & Allies, Diplomacy, and Risk as models for your own game. About the Author Scott Westerfeld is the author of the Leviathan series, the first book of which was the winner of the 2010 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Fiction. His other novels include the New York Times bestselling Uglies series, The Last Days, Peeps, So Yesterday, and the Midnighters trilogy. Visit him at ScottWesterfeld.com or follow him on Twitter at @ScottWesterfeld. About the Illustrator Keith Thompson’s work has appeared in books, magazines, TV, video games, and films. See his work at KeithThompsonArt.com. Recommended Web Sites The Art of Leviathan, Part I: An Interview with Scott Westerfeld http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/10/the-art-of-leviathan-a-conversation-with-scott-westerfeld-and-kieth-thompson The Art of Leviathan, Part II: An Interview with Keith Thompson http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/10/the-art-of-levathan-prt-two-interview-with-keith-thompson Leviathan Wiki http://leviathanscottwesterfeld.wikia.com/wiki/Leviathan_Wiki Keith Thompson Art http://www.keiththompsonart.com/ Scott Westerfeld http://scottwesterfeld.com/ Suggested Further Reading on World War I Fiction Lawrence, Iain. Lord of the Nutcracker Men. Delacorte, 2001. Morpurgo, Michael. Private Peaceful. Scholastic, 2004. Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Little, Brown, 1929. Slade, Arthur.Megiddo's Shadow. Wendy Lamb/Random House, 2006. Spillebeen, Geert. Kipling's Choice. Trans. Terese Edelstein. Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Spillebeen, Geert. Age 14. Trans. Terese Edelstein. Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun. J. B. Lippincott, 1939. Nonfiction Adams, Simon. World War I (Eyewitness Books). DK, 2007. Batten, Jack. The War to End All Wars: The Story of World War I. Tundra, 2009 Brocklehurst, Ruth. Usborne Introduction to the First World War. Usborne, 2007. Freedman, Russell. The War to End All Wars: World War I. Clarion, Granfield, Linda. In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae. Illus. Janet Wilson. Doubleday, 1996. v Granfield, Linda. Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2001. Murphy, Jim. Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting. Scholastic, 2009. Myers, Walter Dean and Bill Miles. The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage. Amistad/Harper Collins, 2005. This guide was written by Edward T. Sullivan, a librarian and writer. This guide, written to align with the Common Core State Standards (www.corestandards.org) has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.
