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Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan

Decent Essays

Scott Westerfeld wrote Leviathan because of a deep interest in history and science. A previous author of sci-fi novels, he was interested in how incorporating science and technology would affect a historical event such as World War I. The novel takes place during World War I, and focuses on the events occurring throughout Europe at that time. The main theme of Leviathan is how destructive war is. The character sin the book experience loss of friends, family, and loved ones, and have their whole lives changed because of war. Some of the characters are eager for war, or interested in it, while others despise it, and are saddened by the destruction it causes. “Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos.” …show more content…

While based on real historic events, it also includes fantastical elements. It takes true events, such as the creation of armored fighting machines, or Darwin’s discoveries about evolution. Then it combines these with futuristic aspects, such as fabricated beasts and war machines that can move about on legs; things that haven’t been invented yet. Westerfeld takes true history and advanced science to make a time period that is unique to any other. In this way, Leviathan is a mixture of both alternate pasts and possible futures. Because of this, Leviathan is very effective at exploring the difference between machinery and science. It especially looks at this from the point of view of battles and war, and the effects these creations would have on them. To this extent it was very effective, because it not only teaches the reader about real life events, but also makes the reader think about different possibilities and outcomes for those events. This also helped to enhance my knowledge of World War I. After reading this book, I had a greater grasp of the politics surrounding World War I. This includes the reasons for the war, as well as the ulterior motives between the different countries involved. Since reading Leviathan, I have a better understanding of why World War I occurred, and the relationships between the countries

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