Leviathan
- Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel
- Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
- Goodreads Choice Award for Best Science Fiction
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Our view
“Leviathan” wins readers with its world: a First World War fought between walking machines and engineered living beasts. Keith Thompson’s illustrations do much to make that conflict visible, and Deryn, a girl posing as a boy to serve, is an appealing lead. Some find the story itself conventional. The first volume of a trilogy, it suits younger teens and lovers of alternate history.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Leviathan is a 2009 novel written by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated by Keith Thompson. It is the first work in the trilogy of the same name, followed by sequels Behemoth and Goliath. The trilogy is set in an alternative version of World War I in which the Central Powers use mechanized walkers and the Triple Entente genetically fabricate living creatures for use in battle. Leviathan was named the Best Young Adult Novel by the Aurealis Award in 2009, Locus in 2010, and Mir Fantastiki in 2011.
Reading order · Leviathan trilogy
Full order & progress →- LeviathanThis book
7.77.7 / 10 - Behemoth
8.08.0 / 10 - Goliath
7.77.7 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 298 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 67% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Young adult average of 7.8. That is how 7.7 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.8 | 25 | 8% |
| Hardcover | 7.6 | 273 | 92% |
Frequently asked
What age is Leviathan for?
Leviathan sits on the Young adult shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 13 and up. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Young adult — with scores between 7.6 and 7.7, closest to this book.
