Nominated for a prestigious Nebula Award - the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy - winner to be announced mid May 2010.
This is an incredibly original and thought provoking novel. Think Europe 1914 - the war is raging. Two kids, a boy who would be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and a girl who also happens to be a brilliant aviator are thrown together in enemy territory. With stunningly detailed imagery throughout, the book will come to life in your hands. Any 10+ boy or girl will find it unputdownable.
It is the cusp of World War 1, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. The Leviathan is a living airship, the most formidable airbeast in the skies of Europe. Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned against him. All he has is a small, loyal crew of men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Services. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. With the Great War brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...
Scott Westerfeld is a software designer, a composer of music for modern dance whose works have been performed both here and abroad, and an author. He lives in New York City and Sydney, Australia.
