Alternate Reality

This week, I found myself in the middle of 4 books. This means either life is normal, life is out of whack, or I need a job. And being in the middle of 4 books may not be the most effective way to read. But I'm listening to one on CD (The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley), I'm taking The Princess and the Goblin (George MacDonald) with me to read on breaks and as I walk to work, and I am reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (John Le Carre) at home. And the fourth book at the beginning of the week was Goliath, by Scott Westerfeld (fourth book now is A Lesson in Secrets, by Jacqueline Winspear), which I finished. I know. Amazing. I actually finish the books I start! So, today is a bit of a book review.

Goliath is the third book in the Leviathan Trilogy, by Westerfeld. Some of you may be more familiar with his Uglies series. Of the two, I prefer the Leviathan trilogy, and I will admit right now that a good part of why is because I couldn't take the "bubbly" talk in the Uglies series. Drove me nuts. (And it is even worse when you get the audiobook. FYI). The premise was interesting, the plot was well developed, but the airheadedness was too much. Fortunately, none of that was present in the Leviathan series.

Another seller for the Leviathan series was that while one of the protagonists was a girl, there was a male protagonist to counterbalance. And the girl is pretty likeable. I know this makes it seem like I'm anti-female lead figures. I'm not. I just found Deryn more likeable than Tally. Personal preference.

Other pluses for this series:
-the setting. I have a fascination with the World Wars. Primarily WWII, but WWI plays such a huge role in WWII, that it seems intertwined to me. I think the author made a great choice here.
-themes. There are some interesting themes to explore. Alternate realities, evolution, industrialism, truth, etc.  Definitely interesting.
-an acceptable love story. By this I don't necessarily mean likely to happen, but the unfolding and such was acceptable.
-the artwork. I think without the art, the book would definitely have lost some of its appeal, for the reason that it would have been difficult to envision what was going on.

All in all, a good series. It is interesting to explore a different history, and I like the way Westerfeld played with fact and fiction. I haven't read many books like that, and I think that adding the fictional and somewhat fantastical elements made it work. I have read alternate reality books where the story is realistic, but history is different, and they haven't really caught my fancy. They've just been okay. The sci-fi/fantasy element really sells the alternate reality. And, if you opt to listen to it, the narrator is pretty good--I enjoyed the accents!

Conclusion: A good read. Worth the time.

That being said, what was the deal with the lorises?