This was a weird read. Probably a bit out of my demographic too, its probably aimed at younger teens. But in my defence, I was just finished my biennial Mortal Engines re-read and in an emotionally driven Googling spree (the ending gets me every time..), I came across this trilogy. The premise was pretty enticing (my love for Mortal Engines is more than partially from the setting), it was an alternate history novel, set in the perspective of the son of Franz Ferdinand, in a timeline where nations harness the power of genetically fabricated beasts and humungous mechanical contraptions.
That was a mouthful, but all that adds up to be a pretty potent mixture and interesting premise. All you needed from there was a compelling story-line and well written characters. From my read, I think Westerfeld succeeded in at least the latter.
Again, without spoiling much, the two main characters are Aleksander of Hohenburg (saying that last name tickles something in my brain), and Deryn Sharp. The former is the son of the recently assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the same who caused WWI by dying, and the namesake of a very cool Scottish band). Deryn Sharp (coincidentally), is a Scottish girl, who sneaks aboard the equivalent of the RAF by pretending to be a boy. The characters are pretty much just a literary embodiment of their backgrounds. Alek, is a stuck up brat, and Deryn is a brash Scottish teen. Of course theres more to their characters, and a lot of that changes, but fundamentally those are the tropes that Westerfeld leans into.
Now for the actual plot, again without spoiling too much, it leans heavily into the globe trotting, squash-buckling, grandiose adventure trope. The setting is constantly changing, and thats reflected well with the pacing of the action too. You’re not in the same country for more than a few chapters throughout the trilogy. I do have certain plot points I want to pick to pieces, but I won’t. In general, I think the plot is definitely interesting enough not to bring the entire trilogy down, but between the premise and the characters, I think this was the weakest.
Overall still a really fun read for what it was. It does have an anime adaptation, I haven’t watched it, but thats a thing. Hopefully Mortal Engines gets picked up for a long form adaption (god forbid that movie). If you want a quick read, would recommend :]