Line #204 Literature/Leviathan


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LeviathanGrandMapBIG.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320:[[AlternateHistory Put down your history books...]]]]
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4	->''"Choose your weapon: Clanker or Beastie"''
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6	''Leviathan'' is a book series (and the first book in the series) by Creator/ScottWesterfeld that takes place in an alternate version of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Europe. Some of the differences are that Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated in the evening, as opposed to the afternoon, they have only one son... Oh, and Germans and Austrians use [[SteamPunk giant Walkers]] to fight the British and French [[LegoGenetics Fabricated Animals]]. Obviously, he took liberties with [[AlternateHistory history]].
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8	In this version of history, when UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin came up with the theory of evolution, he also discovered the 'threads of life', or DNA - and, more importantly, how to manipulate them and construct new creatures. Fast forward 50 years, and you find London crawling with fabricated elephants and giant oxen instead of cars, and gecko/parrot hybrids are used to send messages.
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10	The series follows two characters - the Archduke's son, Prince Aleksandar, who is whisked off on the night of his parents' assassination to a secret hideaway in the Alps before his enemies can assassinate him. The second character is a girl, Deryn Sharp, who [[SweetPollyOliver poses as a boy]] in order to join the British Air Service and eventually finds herself aboard the ''Leviathan'', a massive [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial Flying Whale]] [[ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld Airship]] that is bound for the Ottoman Empire with one Dr. Nora Barlow, a Boffin[[note]]a scientist, in this case somebody who makes Fabricated Animals[[/note]] and her very secretive cargo. As a war between the fabricated animal-using "Darwinists" ([[SocialDarwinist not like that]]) and [[HumongousMecha Walker-using]] "Clankers" looms, Alek soon finds himself aboard the ''Leviathan'' as his enemies close in.
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12	A second book, ''Behemoth'', was released October 5, 2010. The last book in the trilogy, ''Goliath'', was released on September 20th, 2011. Westerfeld also wrote a bonus "fanfiction" chapter [[http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2011/12/bonus-goliath-chapter-and-art/ on his blog]] and commissioned a new piece of art for Christmas 2011. Finally, a companion book titled ''The Manual of Aeronautics'', featuring full-colour illustrations of the creatures and machines from the series (and several that weren't), was published in 2012.
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14	Not to be confused with ''Leviathan'', the third novel in the ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' trilogy, nor [[Literature/LeviathanThomasHobbes the magnum opus]] of [[HobbesWasRight Thomas Hobbes]], nor Boris Akunin's detective novel ''Literature/MurderOnTheLeviathan''. If you are looking for the novel about a British aircraft carrier, this is ''Literature/HMSLeviathan''.
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16	----
17	!!Provides examples of:
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19	* AcePilot: When it comes to Stormwalkers. Master Otto Klopp, who is, according to Alek, "the best master of mechaniks in Austria". And Alek's quite the pilot, too - he's mastered night-walking.
20	* ActionGirl: Deryn and Lilit.
21	* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:It is implied by evidence observed and collected by Dr. Barlow and the Zoological Society that Goliath was not the DoomsdayDevice Tesla claimed it to be, the destruction in Siberia having been caused by a meteor. Because of this, both all of the time and effort Alek and the crew of the Leviathan put into helping Tesla would have been all for nothing, and that Alek really didn't save Deryn and hundreds of others by killing him. When Deryn is guilt tripped into telling him this fact, [[HopeSpot Alek confesses that he still does not regret his actions because even then he made a decision that would have saved her and Berlin anyway]].]]
22	* AlmightyJanitor: Adela Rogers' view of Deryn.
23	* AlternateHistory: Armored vehicles pre-1916, the Archduke having only one child, the Archduke being assassinated at night, Darwin discovering genetics and DNA, etc.
24	** The ending of the series distances it even further from our timeline: [[spoiler:the War ends on fairly amiable and equal terms instead of a Treaty of Versailles analogue (although the US still ends up joining the Darwinists). The Russian Revolution never happens, Austria-Hungary seems to have all but usurped Germany as head of the Clanker nations, Britannia still rules the waves and the odds of a parallel UsefulNotes/WorldWarII happening are pretty slim. Although the Ottomans are mentioned as having undergone a revolt and there remains concern with the Japanese.]]
25	* AmbiguouslyGay: Lilit [[SweetOnPollyOliver kisses Deryn]] full on the lips at the end of ''Behemoth'', and it's heavily implied that she knew Deryn was a girl all along.
26	* AmbiguousSituation: The nature of Tesla's Goliath device, which the entire plot of the third book revolves around, is never revealed. [[spoiler: It is implied to be an extremely powerful magnetic device weaponizing [[ColonyDrop comets and meteors]], but the characters refuse to cede that much credit to Tesla.]] Likewise, [[spoiler: most characters instead believe Tesla was insane and his Goliath device completely bunk. The fact of the matter is that TheTunguskaEvent happened right after Tesla tested the device and that the sky over England changed colors when he tested it again later. No hard evidence is put forth regarding whether those were atmospheric coincidences that Tesla shamelessly took credit for in his madness, or legitimate results of his experimentation. Because Tesla was killed and his device destroyed,]] those answers are forever lost InUniverse.
27	* AnimalisticAbomination: Most Clankers see fabricated beasties as "godless abominations". The Behemoth counts as well.
28	* AprilFoolsDay: On April 1st, [[http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2011/04/goliath-reveal-2/ Scott Westerfeld "revealed" a piece of art from ''Goliath'']] featuring Lilit and Deryn getting married, with Alek crashing through the wall on a giant mech. The art was part of a gag with the book's illustrator.
29	* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: "Aleksandar" is the ''Croatian'' version of the name Alexander (which is the same in German as it is in English). No self-respecting German Austrian noble, much less a member of the ruling House of Habsburg, would think of giving their child a name in the language of one of their subjects.
30	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: This is a given, but the series is curiously ''un''-evenhanded about it. For some reason, whether you prefer steampunk (villainous) or biopunk (heroic) tends to arbitrarily determine how far along the morality scale you are. The machines used by the villainous Central Powers hew close to real-world physics and hydraulics, and are unwieldy and inefficient because of it. However, the Allies are able to use super-obedient, super-genetically enhanced monstrosities, who move with a grace and cleanliness and are presented without irony as superior to mechanics in every way.
31	** The biggest discrepancy is that living creatures should be ridiculously fuel-''in''efficient, far more so than diesel powered engines. Nevertheless, the Allies' biggest advantage is the quantity and diversity of fabricated creatures they can draw on, while the Central Powers' wear-and-tear and reliance on fuel is repeatedly pointed out and exploited. This did work against the ''Leviathan'' after the mountainside crash: the living parts of the airship needed food, not spare parts, and there was no food to be had where they were.
32	** The upkeep required of large numbers of military-standard living animals would also be a logistical nightmare, but the fabricated creatures just keep recycling their own waste, keeping themselves clean, and remaining in their designated habitats even during crisis conditions. If applying the same level of realism that is displayed by the Clanker powers, the streets of Darwinist countries should be [[RoadApples paved with feces]].
33	** Charles Darwin is also relegated to a sort of scientific Ubermensch, developing not only evolutionary theory, but also discovering DNA and genetic extraction, manipulation, and insertion, all under primitive microscopes[[note]]For reference, altering gene codes requires several lengthy steps that need to occur in incubators and relatively little of the work can be done under a microscope.[[/note]].
34	** On the other hand, the Clanker powers field HumongousMecha in large numbers on the outset of the war (with all the [[MoreDakka weaponry]] that implies), are building functioning lightning guns by the second book (capable of destroying the Leviathan and other airbeasts in a single shot), and are shown to adapt quickly against Darwinist weaponry (kraken-fighting arms mounted on their ships, using flamethrowers to startle and chase off flechette bats). There's also the fact that mounting a couple of Clanker engines on the Leviathan makes the ship faster than its Darwinist motivator engines ever did (their unwieldiness attributed to hasty installation rather than inherent to [[XtremeKoolLetterz mechaniks]]).
35	* AttractiveBentGender: Judging from the illustrations, Deryn makes a damn fine guy ''and'' girl.
36	** Alek and Lilit vouch for this as well.
37	* BaitAndSwitchSentiment:
38	--> '''Alek''': What I'm really trying to say, Dylan, is that I think I'm in love... with the ship.
39	* BearsAreBadNews:
40	** It's mentioned that Russia uses genetically-engineered bears. Russia is also drawn as a giant, rotting bear on the inside cover maps.
41	** As of ''Goliath'', we have seen the bears; not only are they ''huge'', it also turns out [[spoiler: everything's ''even worse'' with ''starving'' bears.]]
42	* BetaCouple: [[spoiler: Dr. Barlow and Volger, it seems]].
43	* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Alek and Deryn atop the ''Leviathan''.]]
44	** [[spoiler: With a followup in the bonus chapter, close up this time.]]
45	* BilingualBackfire: Played with. Dr. Barlow pretends not to speak German in the hopes of tricking Alek and Volger into thinking it is safe for them to discuss their secrets in German in her presence.
46	* BioPunk: Darwinists.
47	* BiotechIsBetter: Somehow Fabricated Beasts are almost always portrayed as better than Clankers despite the problems listed above under Artistic License Physics. A couple of times, the titular living airship takes on Clanker planes and zeppelins two-to-one and wins. Of course, it's packed with flechette bats and strafing hawks that can ZergRush the Clankers and breed reinforcements for the next battle.
48	* BioweaponBeast: The entirety of the Allied forces is made out of these, counting things like airships created from very heavily modified whales, house-sized war bears, ship-sinking krakens and behemoths, and the amphibious flesh-eating kappa. There's even mention of fabricated beasts derived from ''dinosaurs''. Some are created for more mundane activities than open combat, however, such as elephant and mammoth derivatives used as beasts of burden.
49	* BodyHorror: Great googly moogly! The story itself isn't quite so much in this category, the descriptions are not by any means disgusting. However, the books have pictures. Special mention goes to Deryn's compress after she busts up her knee. It is some kind of fabricated beast that extends its tentacles into her knee to fix torn ligaments, and if she tries to put weight on her leg it sounds and feels like she has a swarm of angry wasps in her knee. It's one of the few places where the description in the text is worse than the pictures.
50	* BondingOverMissingParents: Sharing the pain of having dead parent(s) is one of the things that help Alek and Dylan/Deryn grow closer.
51	* CannotSpitItOut: Every time Deryn comes close to admitting to Alek that she's a girl, either she cannot go on for fear that telling him the truth will upend their friendship [[spoiler:(it does for a while after he finds out)]], or something conveniently ends the conversation. This behaviour is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Alek himself.
52	* CatchPhrase: "Barking spiders!" might as well be one for Deryn, considering how much she says it. And Bovril has "''Mr.'' Sharp!", usually followed by giggles.
53	** "...a barking ''prince''," is used quite a bit.
54	** ''[[GratuitousGerman Dummkopf]]''! (At least in ''Behemoth''.)
55	* CaughtInTheRain: ''Goliath'' takes this to extremes when Alek and Deryn are stuck in a flood on top of the ship.
56	%% * CelibateHero: Alek started out as this because of his title.
57	* ChariotPulledByCats: The Darwinists use a large variety of bio-engineered creatures as chariot-pullers and beasts of burden. Among those seen are elephantines and mammothines (presumably modified elephants and mammoths) as well as a cart pulled by a pair of wolf-tiger hybrid creatures.
58	* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Tesla's electric walking stick.]]
59	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In ''Behemoth'', while drinking tea, Deryn calls Volger out on feeling pleased and drinking tea from a fancy cup while Alek [[spoiler:is left without allies while in the city of Istanbul]]. Volger's response is to point out that Deryn's tea cup is the fancy one. His is quite plain.
60	* ConcussionsGetYouHigh: Alek was a bit boggled after slipping and hitting his head on the topside of the ''Leviathan''.
61	* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: The London Zoological Society. [[spoiler:In ''Goliath'', Dr. Barlow says that it's involved in a good deal of espionage and offers Deryn a job.]]
62	* DashinglyDapperDerby: The boffins all wear bowler hats.
63	* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Played straight with Deryn's da, who she adored and supported her dreams of flying. It's less the case with Alek's parents. He angsts less that Deryn does and describes them as selfish for putting their love for one another before the stability of the royal family and the empire.
64	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Alek is rather sexist, much to Dylan/Deryn's chagrin. After meeting [[ActionGirl Lilit]], however, [[CharacterDevelopment he's started to improve]], and [[spoiler:finding out that Deryn is a girl in ''Goliath'' also does a lot to change his mind]]. Subverted by Zaven, who is extremely enthusiastic about equal rights for women, but played straight in that most people think he's a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} because of it.
65	* DramaticIrony: Close to tears, Alek wishes Dr. Barlow would leave because he doesn't want to cry in front of a woman. Instead, Dr. Barlow asks "Mr. Sharp" to take care of him... and Alek spends the following chapter sobbing on "his" shoulder.
66	* DullSurprise: Invoked by Dr. Barlow, who makes a point of never showing surprise or astonishment. [[spoiler:Her reaction to learning Deryn's gender is so placid Deryn thinks she already knew and Barlow has to tell her it's a huge shock.]]
67	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we first meet Tesla, he reveals that he killed his own airship and fed it to [[BearsAreBadNews feral Russian fighting bears]] so that he could stay in Siberia to [[MadScientist continue his research]]. A while later, the party is ''attacked'' by the giant Russian bears. Everyone else scrambles for cover, but [[NervesOfSteel Tesla stands dead still as they charge him]], and when he's only seconds away from being torn to shreds, fries the lot of them [[LightningGun with the lightning cannon hidden in his walking stick.]]
68	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Almost everyone who knows about Deryn's true gender questions her relation to Alek.
69	* EvilUncle: Alek's Granduncle, Emperor Franz Joseph, ''did not'' approve of Archduke Franz Ferdinand falling in love with Sophie Chotek, which is why they had to get a morganatic/left-handed marriage...which is why Alek isn't his father's heir.
70	* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Apparently Alek's mother would ''not'' have approved of him learning to pilot the [[HumongousMecha Stormwalker]] unless it was such an emergency.
71	* FascinatingEyebrow: Volger and Deryn know how it's done.
72	* FateDrivesUsTogether: Alek and Deryn believe this by about halfway through ''Goliath''.
73	* FlechetteStorm: The Darwinists have beasties designed to take down aircraft this way. They even call them flechette bats.
74	-->'''Alek:''' Flechette? Like 'dart' in French?
75	-->'''Deryn:''' That sounds right. The bats gobble up these metal spikes, then release them over the enemy.
76	-->'''Alek:''' They eat spikes. And then...''release'' them?
77	-->'''Deryn:''' stifles laugh Aye, in the usual way.
78	* FleshVersusSteel: To a T.
79	* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: The ''Leviathan''.
80	* FollowTheLeader: In-universe, ''Film/ThePerilsOfPauline'' inspire a number of movies that sound rather similar. The same thing occurred in real life.
81	-->'''Alek:''' [[LastSecondWordSwap How]]...[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal alliterative.]]
82	* ForeignCussWord: Alek often breaks off during conversations in English to swear in German.
83	-->'''Alek:''' ''Dummkopf!''
84	* FutureSlang: Future-past {{Steampunk}}, occasionally period-accurate slang. Blisters!
85	* GiantRobotHandsSaveLives: It's actually how Alek meets the [[LaResistance Committee]] for [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Union and Progress]] - Zaven saves him from a long fall from a rooftop gutter. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because Zaven caught him before he'd fallen too far.
86	* GilliganCut: Alek ends one chapter saying he'll be fine carrying Ms. Barlow as long as she doesn't bring her pet along. Next chapter:
87	-->Tazza seemed to enjoy riding in the Stormwalker.
88	* GreenEyedEpiphany: PlayedWith. [[spoiler: Alek actually realizes that Deryn is in love with him through Deryn's own jealousy over Lilit]].
89	* GreyAndGreyMorality
90	* GrowOldWithMe: [[spoiler: Alek momentarily wants Deryn to live with him in New York away from the troubles of the war.]]
91	* AHandfulForAnEye: Deryn takes down the ''Dauntless''' hijackers by throwing strong spices in their faces, incapacitating them via SensoryOverload. [[spoiler:It's also how they take down the sultan's walkers at the climax of the book.]]
92	* HandsOnApproach: Alek giving Deryn fencing lessons. She gets a bit flustered, but he thinks nothing of it since he doesn't know she's a girl.
93	* HarmonyVersusDiscipline: Played completely straight in the series. The Darwinists represent Harmony, harnessing nature for war and having a generally more organic aesthetic about them. The Clankers on the other hand represent Discipline, manufacturing whatever they use, with an aesthetic characterised by angularity and general disregard for nature. In fact, the two main characters themselves [[{{Foil}} embody this conflict very neatly]]. Deryn is very obviously set up as the harmonious one, defying Victorian social conventions (a very Discipline-esque system) by disguising herself as a boy and entering the British Air Service. As a person, she shows little inhibition and respect. Alek, who was raised surrounded by rules, obligations and restrictions, is almost exaggeratedly disciplined: controlled, virtuous and very formal, but unable to adapt and with a certain belief that everything must be planned and predictable.
94	* HeroicSacrifice
95	** Before the book, Deryn's Da, who pushes her out of a flaming balloon to save her, at the cost of his own life.
96	** [[spoiler:Zaven, who electrocutes himself in his mech to bring down the Tesla cannon, thus saving Deryn, Alek, and everyone aboard the ''Leviathan'']].
97	** [[spoiler:To save Deryn's SweetPollyOliver identity, Alek reveals himself as the [[KingIncognito heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary]]]].
98	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Westerfield makes liberal use of this. There's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria Emperor Franz Joseph]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] and his wife [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie,_Duchess_of_Hohenberg Sophie]], UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, and UsefulNotes/ThePope ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_X Pius X]]... unless it's [[AlternateHistory someone different]]). For those who appear in person, Darwin's granddaughter [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Barlow Nora Barlow]] is a major character. ''Behemoth'' introduces [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Souchon Wilhelm Souchon]], a certain Serbian scientist called [[UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla Tesla]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa Pancho Villa]], and William Randolph Hearst.
99	* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Committee of Union and Progress. In the books, they are a rag-tag group of multi-ethnic [[LaResistance rebels]] against the oppressive Ottoman Sultan. In the real world, by the time the books take place, the CUP had already come to power and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Ottoman_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat devolved into a military junta]]. [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], as the author noted in the afterward that he preferred an alternate history with a clear good faction within the Ottoman Empire.
100	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The ''Orient Express''. Not only is it actually used [[spoiler: to ship parts for their Tesla cannon]], but it was built with Clanker technology, and so it has ''giant robot arms''.
101	* HoldingHands: Dery and Alek throughout ''Goliath'', with varying degrees of romantic subtext.
102	* HonourBeforeReason: The main reason Clanker warmachines are mechs rather than tanks. Alek finds the idea of them using wheels or treads ridiculous, since they're weapons, not farm equipment (which is pretty funny, since IRL tanks started out as caterpillar-treaded tractors with guns and armor plating slapped on), despite the logistics and mechanics of wheels being far simpler and easier to deal with than walking armatures.
103	* HorseOfADifferentColor: The Darwinist beasties.
104	* HumiliatingWager: In the bonus chapter, Deryn and Alek arm wrestle with whoever loses having to go to the Zoological Society's New Year's Eve party dressed as a girl.
105	* HumongousMecha: The Germans and Austrians favor {{Walking Tank}}s while the Ottomans and their various subjects use walkers modeled after animals or beings from mythology.
106	* IdiotBall: [[spoiler:Alek and Deryn discussing her identity at length with nothing but a hastily-constructed tent to ensure their privacy. In a ravine full of cameras and reporters.]]
107	* IKissYourHand: Alek to Adela Rogers, by her demand. She teases him for not making contact with her skin. [[spoiler:Deryn also jokes about it during her goodbye to Alek in New York, but it doesn't actually happen.]]
108	* ImprovisedZipline: Deryn is up in a scouting balloon and sees Alek's "family" coming to the shipwreck looking for him in their Stormwalker. The message lizard won't get down the cable in time, so she slings a leather strap over the tether and zips down to camp. It is noted that the odds of one surviving this sort of escape are against you.
109	* InsistentTerminology: It's not an iceberg, it's a ''glacier'', Newkirk. Also, [[PunctuatedPounding Is-tan-bul]] ([[Music/TheyMightBeGiants not Constantinople]]).
110	* InstantSedation: The fighting bear experiences the tranquilliser dart's effects seconds after it is hit, highly improbable since the bears are described to be as large as houses.
111	* InterClassRomance: Alek (rich) and Deryn (poor).
112	* ItCanThink: Though never explicitly revealed, by the end of ''Goliath'' it's implied that [[spoiler: the perspicacious lorises are capable of thinking and learning, and are in fact just as intelligent as humans]].
113	** To a milder extent, the ''Leviathan.'' During the encounter with the ''Goeben'' in the Mediterranean, the airbeast is shown to sense that the [[spoiler:Tesla cannon]] is dangerous, and causes structural damage in attempting to avoid it. Interestingly, [[SmartBall it never does this again]]-- even when [[spoiler:Goliath, Tesla's attempt build a KillSat out of his eponymous Clanker LightningGun]] is readying to fire nearby.
114	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: In the bonus chapter, Alek wonders if women will ever start wearing their hair as short as Deryn's and dismisses the possibility.
115	* JackieRobinsonStory: A mild case, [[SweetPollyOliver all things considered]], but Deryn.
116	* KidnappedByAnAlly: Volger and Klopp tell Alek his fathers wants him to practice fleeing his home at night with the Stormwalker.
117	* KingIncognito: Alek, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Although he's the result of a morganatic[[note]]unequal in social rank[[/note]] marriage, Franz Ferdinand went to the Vatican and got a papal dispensation to make Alek heir, although it would only apply after the Emperor's death.
118	* KrakenAndLeviathan: The eponymous ''Leviathan'' isn't actually an example, but krakens, complete with CombatTentacles, are part of the Darwinists' arsenal. [[spoiler: The behemoth is basically a kraken turned up to eleven.]]
119	** In fact, fighting-krakens are apparently common enough in the Darwinist naval forces that some of the Clanker warships are outfitted specifically to combat them, equipped with giant mechanical arms ending in scissor-like claws for severing kraken tentacles.
120	* LaResistance: In Istanbul, there is the [[LaResistance Committee of Union and Progress]] which wants to remove the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and replace him with an elected government. They existed in RealLife too, and were [[RealityIsUnrealistic successful]] the ''first'' time they tried to overthrow the sultan.
121	* TheLadette
122	** Deryn's this to those who know [[SweetPollyOliver she's a girl]].
123	** Lilit's a toned-down ladette.
124	* LadyOfAdventure: Dr. Barlow, during her time on the ''Leviathan''.
125	* LegoGenetics: The 'Darwinist' Nations can combine the DNA of species like whales and jelly fish. The eponymous ''Leviathan'' is supposedly composed of the DNA of hundreds of species, and is more of an ecosystem then a single animal.
126	* LightningGun: Despite being a self-proclaimed man of peace, Nikola Tesla has created a hodge-podge of powerful weapons that harness lightning, ranging from a cane that can shoot bolts of lightning, Tesla Cannons (watchtower-sized devices that shoot lightning as a means of bringing down air-beasts) and Goliath (a DoomsdayDevice capable of harnessing the Earth’s electromagnetic field and weaponizing it).
127	* LivingGasbag: Hullo, Huxleys...!
128	* LivingWeapon: Somewhere between this and an AttackAnimal with the Fabricated Animals. There are examples of the later (like the flechette bats that you feed them fruits filled with metal needles, then scare them into pooping the needles on enemies) ''and'' examples of the former (the ''Leviathan'', an airship that is alive).
129	* LoveAcrossBattlelines: [[spoiler:Deryn and Alek.]]
130	* LoveMakesYouCrazy: [[spoiler:How Alek feels about his actions during the climax of ''Goliath''.]]
131	* LoveEpiphany: [[spoiler:Alek realises that he loves Deryn when he kills Tesla not to save Berlin, but to save her.]]
132	* LoveTriangle: Type 5: [[spoiler:Lilit has a crush on Deryn/Dylan, who likes Alek, who thinks Lilit is attractive but can't have any real feelings for her because she's a ''commoner''. Deryn faces the same problem, with the added stumbling block that as far as Alek knows, she's a boy]].
133	* MeaningfulName: Though it seems like a case of AerithAndBob at first glance, ''Deryn'' is [[http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/deryn a real Welsh name]]...meaning "bird".
134	* AMechByAnyOtherName: Walkers. In Istanbul, they also have iron golems (used by the Jews), djinn (used by Arabs), werewolves (Vlachs), and Minotaurs (Greeks).[[note]][[GeniusBonus All are based off creatures from each group's mythology/religion.]][[/note]]
135	* MechanicalHorse: Some of the smaller Clanker machines, and the transports featured in [[InsistentTerminology Constanti - sorry, Istanbul]] during ''Behemoth.''
136	* MediaScrum: After he arrives in America, Alek's attacked by one.
137	* MiniMecha: Used for [[http://www.keiththompsonart.com/pages/germanscout.html scouting.]][[note]]This leads to the illustrator's website, and specifically to the picture of said scouts mentioned here.[[/note]]
138	* MixAndMatchCritters: The fabricated animals.
139	** Of particular note are the British beasties that are combined with ''dinosaurs.''
140	* MoreDakka: The Clankers.
141	-->'''Dr. Barlow:''' "What the Clankers lack in finesse they make up for in blanket ruination."
142	* MotileVehicularComponents: The Orient Express has a pair of mechanical arms to aid in loading and unloading cargo.
143	* MultinationalTeam: The Committee for Union and Progress. They're all living in Istanbul, but individually they are Greeks, Turks, Jews, and more, and they only became united under one purpose recently in ''Behemoth''.
144	* MotherNatureFatherScience: Dr. Barlow (a Darwinist boffin) and Nikola Tesla (a Clanker inventor).
145	* NarrativeProfanityFilter: Everyone seems to think Alek never curses, but when you count all the times it says, "Alek swore" or "Alek cursed softly in German," or anything like that, you can see that he's almost as bad as Deryn. Alek has also mentioned Deryn teaching him how to swear properly in English.
146	* NatureVersusTechnology: The book series is an AlternateHistory retelling of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. The Central Powers (Germany, Austro-Hungary, and The Ottoman Empire) are here named the Clankers; possessing sufficiently advanced (though not exactly fuel-efficient) [[AMechByAnyOtherName Mechs]], {{Spider Tank}}s and artillery. The Entente Powers (Russia, France, and The British Empire) are known as the Darwinists; having used Charles Darwin's discovery of DNA, their technology takes the form of BioPunk animals that function as vehicles, weapons, and a wide variety of other things that take the form of machines in RealLife. Other countries beyond the various powers (the Americas being one) use off-hand mixtures of these two conflicting forms of innovation.
147	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial Flying whale battleships]] with electric (and later diesel) engines! Flying manta rays with [[GatlingGood Gatling guns]]! Robot elephants! Jewish mecha-golems! UsefulNotes/WorldWarI battleships with Tesla cannons! Walking submersible warships!
148	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Averted; all the real historical figures who appear (including Dr. Barlow, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, William Randolph Hearst and Pancho Villa) or get mentioned (Emperor Joseph of Austria, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, etc.) are given their real names. [[spoiler: And at least one celebrity gets most ''thoroughly'' harmed when Alek electrocutes Tesla with his own walking stick.]]
149	* NonSequiturThud: Alek has a couple mild ones in ''Goliath'' after he bangs his head topside. But it's treated as more worrisome than funny.
150	* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: Volger in particular is leery of speaking in front of messenger lizards, which are bred to be talented mimics. The perspicacious loris is even better/worse.
151	* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: Played with in the afterword of each book, where Westerfeld explains that the books are based off of actual events of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, and elaborates on which elements are kept mostly the same and which have been altered for the sake of atmosphere.
152	* NoPeriodsPeriod: According to Scott Westerfeld, "Women back then didn't menstruate as early, and women who pretended to be soldiers often stopped menstruating altogether. (Hard physical exercise and not a lot of food will do that.) So my guess is that she's not having any periods."
153	* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Alek at the end of ''Goliath'', [[spoiler:when Deryn is debating whether or not to tell him that Goliath didn't work.]]
154	* ObliviousToLove
155	** Alek to Deryn, although justified in that [[SweetPollyOliver he was under the impression she was a boy]]. [[spoiler:To his credit, he actually puts it together pretty much immediately when he finds out that she's a girl.]]
156	** Deryn to Lilit, too, until Alek tells her.
157	* OddNameOut: The first two novels are named after beasts from Jewish mythology (Leviathan and Behemoth) representing sea and land respectively. The beast representing the sky, Ziz, won't be the name of the third book because it was deemed too obscure and too short. Instead, the third book will be named ''Goliath''. [[WordOfGod Westerfeld also said on his blog]] that he thought 'Ziz' wasn't well known enough. Goliath was suggested by a fan. [[spoiler: The ''Goliath'' isn't a beastie, anyway,]] so this trope is ''entirely'' appropriate.
158	* OlderThanTheyThink: The cliff-hanger, in-universe.
159	* OneManIndustrialRevolution: UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin.
160	* OrganicTechnology: Fabricated beasts.
161	* OrientExpress: Heavily involved in the climax of ''Behemoth''. This version has robot arms and transports military material.
162	* ParentalAbandonment: Alek's parents are dead ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI of course]]) and [[DisappearedDad so is]] [[HeroicSacrifice Deryn's da.]]
163	* PluckyMiddie: Deryn, Newkirk and the other, briefly seen middies.
164	* PimpedOutDress: Doctor Barlow shows up in several, leaving Deryn wondering where she gets them from.
165	* PinkertonDetective: Apparently, they also provide armed mechs and other services for anyone willing to pay the hefty price tag. The fact that America is neutral in the War probably helps as well.
166	* PursuingParentalPerils: The fact that her father died ballooning has done nothing to diminish Deryn's desire to fly.
167	* RealRobot: The walkers run on finite fuel supplies, the difficulties in piloting them in varied terrain are detailed, and they are not at all easy to manage.
168	* RecursiveCrossdressing: Discussed. [[spoiler: After Dr. Barlow proposes that Deryn join her diplomatic (that is to say, spy) organization, and after Deryn tells Dr. Barlow her big secret, Barlow jokes that Deryn could end up disguising herself as a girl.]] In the bonus [[http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2011/12/bonus-goliath-chapter-and-art/ Christmas chapter]] on Westerfeld's blog, [[spoiler: Deryn does disguise herself as a girl at a fancy dress party. As does Alek.]]
169	* RedOniBlueOni: SweetPollyOliver Deryn Sharp is the red to BlueBlood [[IncrediblyLamePun Prince]] Alek.
170	* RiddleForTheAges: Does Goliath actually work, or does Tesla only believe it works because he's insane? [[spoiler:Dr. Barlow supposedly disproves the weapon's capabilities, but she has an obvious bias towards Tesla and her proof is only circumstanial. She establishes that the Tungaska event was caused by a meteorite strike and that Tesla was expecting to find a meteorite, but dismisses the event as purely coincidental while acknowledging but not addressing the possibility that Goliath is what called down the meteorite.]]
171	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Bovril and the other perspicacious loris.
172	* RuleOfCool: The entire premise basically runs on this. AlternateHistory UsefulNotes/WorldWarI fought between {{Spider Tank}}s and HumongousMecha versus {{Bioweapon Beast}}s and OrganicTechnology? Implausible as hell for anyone with even basic knowledge of biology, history, and/or engineering, but it's also ''awesome'' as hell, so it's worth suspending your disbelief.
173	* RuleOfThree: Tesla insists that all his silverware be arranged in sets of three.
174	* RunningGag: ''[[GratuitousGerman Dummkopf]]''! in ''Behemoth''. In the same book, "''Mr.'' Sharp!" is Bovril's favorite phrase, using it try to point out something (he/she/it?) is trying to explain... and poor Alek can't pick up the hint.
175	* RussianBear: The signature {{Bioweapon Beast}}s used by the Russian Empire are immense, ferocious war bears.
176	* SadlyMythtaken: Both the Leviathan and Behemoth. In Hebrew myth, the Leviathan was a sea monster and the Behemoth was a land beast. However, here the Leviathan is an organic airship (although admittedly, derived primarily from a whale) and the Behemoth is a kraken-like sea beast ([[SmallReferencePools and of course]], there's no mention at all of the actual air monster of Hebrew myth, Ziz).
177	* SamusIsAGirl: Alek's first meeting with Lilit, in which he assumes she is a man in a disguise.
178	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Dr. Barlow, at times. It takes roughly half of ''Behemoth'' for Deryn to find out why Barlow called a certain fab the ''perspicacious'' loris, and Deryn thinks that "nascent fixation" sounds "a bit sinister, even if baby ducks [do] it too."
179	* ShipperOnDeck: Alek appears to be this for [[SweetPollyOliver Dylan]] and Lilit, little realizing Dylan is actually a girl who has a crush on him.
180	** ''Bovril'', of all things, gets into this to some degree, for Alek and Deryn. [[spoiler: It goes so far as to reveal "Dylan's" little ''secret''...]]
181	* ShoutOut:
182	** Nene claims the world is on a [[Literature/{{Discworld}} turtle resting on elephants all the way down.]]
183	** Possibly unintentional, but the ''Dauntless'', the Ottoman ambassador's elephant walker in ''Behemoth'', bears a certain strong resemblance to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc0PoWfPzmI The Sultan's Elephant]].
184	** The surname of the ''Leviathan'''s captain is Hobbes: possibly a reference to the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who wrote a manuscript in 1651 also titled ''Leviathan''.
185	* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Alek has reddish-brown hair and green eyes.
186	* SimultaneousArcs: Alek and Deryn alternate usually every two chapters as the viewpoint character; sometimes they're off doing separate things, sometimes they're together. In those chapters, the main difference (since it's third person all the time) is that Deryn refers to herself as such, while Alek knows her exclusively as "Dylan." [[spoiler: Which gets ''really'' confusing in ''Goliath'' once Alek learns "Dylan's" real identity.]]
187	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: If we only count [[SweetPollyOliver openly]] female characters, then Dr. Barlow has a very strong record of this in ''Leviathan'', and for the majority of ''Goliath'' as well.
188	* SpiderTank: The Clanker Land Frigates.
189	* SteamPunk: The Clanker Nations, including Germany and Austria-Hungary.
190	** Additionally, since they run on Kerosene, DieselPunk.
191	* SweetPollyOliver: Deryn disguising herself to work as an airman.
192	* SweetOnPollyOliver
193	** Averted as of the end of the first book; Alek seems to have only comradely feelings towards "Dylan"/Deryn, although he does consider "Dylan" good-looking.. There are hints of {{UST}} on her part, however, and [[spoiler: Alek ''definitely'' gets into this in ''Goliath'', going so far as to ''kill UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla'' and ''abdicate the throne'' for her by the end.]]
194	** Lilit also has a thing for "him." WordofGod says [[spoiler: she knew very well Deryn was a girl. Also, when she and Deryn meet again in ''Goliath'', Lilit lied when she said that kissing Deryn was just curiosity; Lilit really fell in love with Deryn.]]
195	* TangledFamilyTree: Deryn told the crew of the ''Leviathan'' that Artemis Sharp was her uncle to prevent suspicion over the fact that [[ConvictionByContradiction Artemis Sharp only has one son and one daughter]]. However, Alek was told in confidence that Artemis Sharp is indeed her father.
196	* UngratefulBastard: Eddie Malone in ''Goliath''. [[spoiler:He's dead-set on publishing Deryn's real identity without regard to the fact that it will ruin her, even though she smuggled him onto the ''Leviathan''. He even insists that Alek ''saving his life'' isn't enough to dissuade him and only relents after Alek gives him an alternate story.]]
197	* TheUnreveal: We never ''do'' really find out [[spoiler: what the perspicacious loris was supposed to do.]]
198	* TranquilizerDart: The czar sends some of these in his package, along with numerous hunks of meat, [[spoiler:which, the ''Leviathan'''s crew members later work out, are meant to be used to hinder Tesla's hungry fighting bears while they rescue the inventor.]]
199	* TranslationConvention: Every conversation between Alek and his men is typed in English, though they really are speaking in German. When Deryn is narrating, though, their conversations are in German.
200	* UnresolvedSexualTension: There is a lot of this between [[spoiler:Alek and Deryn in the second half of Goliath]]. Their unwillingness to advance is justified since both have their futures to consider, [[spoiler:though both eventually overcome their fears of losing the things they once lived for, and [[HappilyEverAfter find a new life together at the London Zoological Society]].]]
201	* UnusualEuphemism: "Bumrag" = "asshole," "barking" = "fucking," "clart" = "shit".
202	** Or "jerk", "freaking", and "crap" respectively, given how casually they're thrown around, even in mixed company.
203	* UnusualPetsForUnusualPeople: Dr. Nora Barlow, a geneticist who is personally responsible for a lot of the OrganicTechnology used by Britain in that alternate timeline, has a pet Thylacine named Tazza. Many people mistake him for a fabricated beast and have to be told that he's actually completely natural.
204	* WeaponOfMassDestruction: Goliath is a DoomsdayDevice created by Nikola Tesla with the power to harness and control the Earth's magnetic field and weaponize it, possessing enough destructive power of [[FantasticNuke annihilate whole cities]] from anywhere in the world with lightning. [[spoiler:When Dr. Barlow and the Zoological Society analyze the mineral sample from Siberia, it is revealed that it was a meteor that caused all of that destruction and not Goliath, implying that either Nikola was just manipulating everybody into thinking this or that he was as mad as he seemed and that [[BelievingTheirOwnLies he really did think Goliath was as powerful as he claims]].]]
205	* WhaleEgg: The [[spoiler:perspicacious loris]] is hatched from an egg and, judging from what Deryn says, many fabricated beasts are "born" this way.
206	* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[SweetPollyOliver ''Mr.'' Sharp.]]
207	* WhamLine: Warning: ''Goliath'' gets a couple, particularly [[spoiler: "Can I trust you? Can I trust you, Deryn?"]] and [[spoiler: "Deryn Sharp was in love with him."]]
208	* YouDidntAsk: Volger's reasoning for not telling the Leviathan's crew about his wireless radio.
209	* YouJustToldMe
210	-->'''Alek''': Can I trust you? [[spoiler:Can I trust you, Deryn?]]
211	-->'''Deryn''': Aye, of course you can.
212	-->''{{beat}}''
213	--> '''Deryn''': (Internally) [[{{Catchphrase}} Oh, blisters]].
214	* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: The Germans use zeppelins extensively, and the ''Leviathan'' for the Darwinists. It is also implied that they use other, smaller airship fabs too.

Context Literature / Leviathan