Leviathan

I read these books way back in elementary and middle school. I loved the steampunk setting and alternate history aspects, and these wouldn’t be the only books along those lines that I would read. However, I never really expected a TV adaptation of any sort, so I was pleasantly surprised when this was one of Netflix’s announcements. While they said they planned to adapt all 3 books in 2025, details remained sparse on what that would mean in terms of episode count or anything else.

What we gained was 12 episodes adapting all the books, with 4 episodes per book. The animation is pretty good, and I think they managed to capture the look of the various beasts and machines pretty well from the original illustrations, which were a beloved part of the books. That being said, some major changes were made to the story, especially to the episodes covering the second and third books. Even though it had been a while since I read them, I still recognized the changes, and I think especially for Goliath it was a downgrade.

Now for those who haven’t read the books, you might be wondering what I have even been talking about so far. It is the eve of World War I, but in this universe the Central Powers are also called Clankers while Britain and its allies are Darwinists. While Clankers build mechanical marvels, usually in the form of Walkers of all sizes that use legs to move around, Darwinists rely on genetic mutations and alteration to create beasts for different purposes. As the stage is set for war, Prince Aleksandar is awoken and told he is going on a late-night training mission with his Walker. Meanwhile in Britain, Deryn Sharp adopts the name Dylan and hides her gender as she enlists as an aviator. An accident during the recruiting process leads to her ending up on the giant flying whale airship named Leviathan, quickly assimilating into its crew. As Aleksandar flees the Germans and others who want him dead or captured, he will cross paths with Dylan and the Leviathan and travel throughout the world.

It’s a cool little universe, and we have many characters who are all interesting in their own ways. Count Volger is charged with protecting Alek and looks to maintain their status as nobility and royalty. Klopp is a mechanic who takes it a bit easier with Alek, helping him adjust with a more gentle hand. On the Darwinist side we also have Doctor Barlow, a genius who helped create the Leviathan and is now using it to transport mysterious goods to the Ottomans. Numerous other characters, some real and some fictitious, all contribute to the story in unique ways. The dub is fairly solid as well, giving life to all of them.

Overall while as a book reader I have some mixed feelings about the adaptation, it is overall still a good show. I think both those unfamiliar and familiar with the source material will be able to enjoy this one.