It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Scott Westerfeld's writing. I've read all of his books and spent a few years wandering around his blog for any ounce of information I could get. So when he announced that his new book Leviathan was to be released, I snatched it up as soon as possible and promptly devoured it.

Mr. Westerfeld's style is something that I enjoy very much, and it certainly didn't disappoint me in Leviathan. He inserts his readers right into the shoes of his characters. It makes the story so much more enjoyable. And of course, his action-packed scenes are always tasty.

If it was written by an author I wasn't already in love with, I might have been a little hesitant to read it, because Leviathan is an illustrated novel.

What? A picture book? That's for kiddies.

It absolutely is not. Keith Thompson, the illustrator, has added so much depth to the novel with his breath-taking artwork. I'm seriously amazed every time I look at one of his drawings. He brings Scott's words to life in ways I didn't know were possible. If you haven't had the chance to see any, here is a link to his website. http://www.keiththompsonart.com/gallery.html I highly suggest taking a look.

Before reading Scott's blog, I had never really heard the term 'steampunk' before. It's a really interesting sub-culture. It's explained in great detail by Scott Westerfeld, Cory Doctorow, and other experts on a steampunk panel.

Steampunk Panel - SLJ Day of Dialog, BEA 2010 from School Library Journal on Vimeo.

Anyway, moving on to the actual story! Again, this author succeeds in creating a whole new world within our own. The setting is just before World War I around the time of the assassinasion of Archduke Ferdinand. (And yes, this made me look very knowledgeable in history class. Always a good thing.) One of the main characters, Aleksander, the fictional son of the Archduke is thrown into a shocking race for his life after his parents were assassinated. During that time, he happens to meet Darren Sharp, a girl pretending to be a boy in the English military. There are clankers, people who rely on machines and mechanics for everything. Gears and spare parts are necessities to keep their stormwalkers and other machines moving.

There are also Darwinists(does the name ring any bells?). These are people who rely on genetically engineered airships and other creatures like talking messenger lizards to get by. So you see, these two groups fall on dramatically different ends of the spectrum Alek is vastly on one side and Darren on the other. Makes for an interesting friendship, no? Read and find out! This world full of unimaginable machines and...animals, if you could call them that, is definitely fascinating to say the least. I'm so very excited for the second book in the trilogy, Behemoth, which comes out in october.

<--- Darren in her huxley genetically engineered aircraft.

Check out Scott Westerfeld's blog for more information on Leviathan and Behemoth: http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/

I give Leviathan a 5/5. It was a great read that left me wanting more.

Thank you for reading.

-Almi

Quill Cafe Challenge

1. Find a book, open it up to a random page and write down the first sentence at the top.

"Then I saw the musician." Interview With a Vampire- Anne Rice

2. If a biography or memoir was published about you, what would it be called? (Sidney Poitier's autobiography was titled "Measure of a Man")

"Day in the Life of a Procrastinator" Cheezy enough, and true, right?


3. Name three characters you would love to have a drink with.

* Jace Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments series because he's so hilarious and arrogant. He'd be interesting to have around.
* Dr. House from House. Do I even have to explain that one???
* Luna Lovegood. Sweet mother of I don't even know what, that'd be entertaining.



4. Find a new blog and leave a comment on one of their posts. Link to it!
http://www.lushbudgetproduction.com/

5. Write down your favourite quote.
"We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars" -Oscar Wilde (Lord Darlington)
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" -Pablo Picasso

6. Write a haiku incorporating quills.

Meandering thoughts
Quills scratch upon the pages
While the lights flicker

7. List three books you've read this year and for each write a one sentence synopsis.

White Cat by Holly Black
A boy's curse worker family's secrets attempt to drag him down.

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Miracles in the vampire world happen, but not the way that they were hoped for.

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Two Will Graysons meet unexpectedly and their lives intertwine

8. Find a book trailer and embed it in your post. Is this a book you would read/have read/are reading/want to read?

I've read this book and enjoyed it very much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB8Zr9BA3ng


9. What is your favourite character archetype and why?
Hmm...I'm not sure really. I have to admit that villains can make me smile, but only if they're witty and fun.

10. Finally, list five traits/quirks/facts of your favourite (or one of your favourite) fictional character. Then reveal who they are.

* A natural leader
* Determined to clear his head and fight against the ones controlling
* Has ink black hair and sharp features
* Was not as brave as he'd have like to be
* IS JUST REALLY AWESOME(no spoilers no spoilers)


Zane from Scott Westerfeld's "Pretties" He was really quite awesome.

Hope you enjoyed the challenge.

Did you manage to complete all ten tasks?

Yepyepyep.

Ramblings, courtesy of Kazzy

Charlotte's secrets are in the spiderweb laced collar of your life-time guaranteed soul. If only I could read, I'd tell the world, one and all. You'd be ruined, doll face. A crack, a splinter to mar your porcelain skin. You even have the painted on tears, though I'd save them till the end. Because even glass ages and turns back to sand.

• I happened to come across Pride and Prejudice and Zombies the other day in Borders, and just had to have it. It was great, simply hilarious. I recommend it for those who have and haven't read the original Pride and Prejudice alike. PJ&Z is such a fun zombie read.

• I also read Soulstice by Simon Holt yesterday. It's the second book in The DeVouring Series. It's a YA series about Vours, which are a type of spirit or ghost that uses humans as hosts whenever they can get the chance on Sorry Night. They keep the host trapped in their mind by utilizing their deepest fears to draw them further and further away from consciousness. Cool, right?

• DeviantArt has a great writing community where you can get to know writers, get feedback on your work, and commit all sorts of deeds of procrastination. If you're a writer, aspiring to be one, or would like to help others out, it's a good place to start. There are groups like #QuillCafe and #WritersforLife which also have chat rooms that have people in them almost 24/7. Let's face it, we're writers...we don't expect to sleep. That's besides the fact that it is a global community, but shhh....

• I drove for the first time ever today. And didn't die. Or hit any pedestrians and or fuzzy creatures. That is a great feat for me.
  

• I'm writing this because I might get tortured for not blogging. Even though I have no clue what to talk about....still....
  

A post? A POST!!!

In all honesty, I have no clue what to blog about. I will attempt to keep this from becoming a place to rant though. I'll write up a more in depth post later, but this'll have to do for now.

Hi, I'm Almi.
I'm a writer.
Fantasy is one of my favorite genres.
I love reading. One might say I'm addicted.
I have a passion for art.
Animals are amazing.
I have a DeviantArt account. http://alovelymeinside.deviantart.com
I rarely wear matching socks.
Strawberries are the best.
Scott Westerfeld is my favorite author.

A real post will be coming soon. :)