Holy cow. I just couldn't put this book down. And when I finished it last night, I was dying for more! I thought about it in my dreams and was even still thinking about it the next morning. I kept getting the urge to sit down and read, then had to keep reminding myself, "Dang it, I already finished the book!" I liked Behemoth even more than its predecessor, Leviathan, which is rare, at least for me, to like the second book in a trilogy best. I guess I can't say best, though, since I haven't read the third book, to be titled Goliath, which won't be published until October of this year. (Dang it!) If you haven't read these books, or my review of the first, the genre is steam-punk WWI. Behemoth picks right up where the first book left off. Alek, an on-the-run heir to the Austrian throne, and Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy midshipman aboard the airship Leviathan, are on their way to Istanbul to deliver a gift from Darwinist England to the sultan in hopes of convincing him to stay out of the brewing war between England and Germany. An escape and a secret-mission-gone-awry later, Alek and Deryn find themselves on the run in the sprawling city and soon join up with a group of rebels plotting to dethrone the sultan.
Totally action-packed, with awesome illustrations, cool old/new/fantastical technology, and even a secret love story, Behemoth gets my two thumbs up. Can't wait for the last book!
