- For the machine, see Goliath.
Goliath is a steampunk novel written by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated by Keith Thompson. It was released on September 20, 2011. It is the third book in the Leviathan series. In the novel, Alek and Deryn continue on their journey around the world on the Leviathan, attempting to end the war.
Summary[]
Goliath begins on the Leviathan, traveling over Russia towards Siberia. Alek, Deryn, and Newkirk are in the middies' mess with Bovril, talking about great circle routes. Alek mentions Deryn's father was an airman, but Newkirk says that the airman was Deryn's uncle. Their discussion is interrupted by a two-headed messenger eagle, which would only carry a message from the czar, that they see heading towards the bridge. They soon recieve a message lizard telling Deryn to go to the bridge and Newkirk to go to the cargo deck. Alek goes with Deryn, and they meet Dr. Barlow there, who tells them to take the bird to the rookery and feed it. While in the rookery, Deryn nearly confesses her secret to Alek, but then tells him that she has a secret that she can't tell him. Alek says that she can tell him any secret, but she leaves to go to a fencing lesson. When she arrives at Count Volger's stateroom, he tries to blackmail her with his knowledge of her secret to find out about the czar's message. Deryn refuses, telling Volger that Alek finding out her secret would upset him because he admires "Dylan."
The czar's message tells the Leviathan's crew about cargo needed to be picked up in Russia. Deryn and Newkirk are trained for the cargo snatch from a fighting bear. Deryn uses gliding wings and Newkirk hooks the cargo, which is much heavier than expected. The heavy cargo causes the Leviathan to move closer to the groud, and Newkirk saves both of their lives by putting all of their weight on one side of the cargo pallet, so that they will be shielded from trees. The cargo appears to be dried beef.
Deryn and Newkirk collect a package from a bear.
Alek and Volger talk about how the Leviathan is headed towards Japan, and Alek finds a newspaper article about "Dylan" and the Dauntless by Eddie Malone. He is then called to the cargo bay, where Dr. Barlow and Deryn tell him about the Clanker machine parts which made the cargo so heavy. Dr. Barlow ask for Alek to see what he can do with the parts, and, after getting the help of Klopp, Hoffman, and Bauer, Alek assembles the mysterious device. With Bovril's help, Dr. Barlow determines that the device is used to detect metal.
The Leviathan reaches Tunguska, and area filled with flattened trees, where the crew discovers Nikola Tesla and a group of Russian men surrounded by starving fighting bears kept away by an electrical fence. The dried beef is fed to the bears to keep them away while the Leviathan lands, and Tesla and the men are taken to safety in the Leviathan. During their escape, Tesla attacks some of the bears with an electrical walking stick, which leads Deryn to think he is somewhat insane.
After Volger tells Alek to get to know Tesla to find out what he is doing, Alek goes back to his stateroom and reads the newspaper article about "Dylan". He notices in the article that Artemis Sharp had a daughter named Deryn, and Alek becomes suspicious. After reading the article to Bovril, Bovril whispers "Mr. Deryn Sharp" into Alek's ear.
At Dr. Barlow's request, Alek and Deryn go to find out what Tesla was looking for in Tunguska. They use his device on the Leviathan, and notice that there is a lot of metal in Tesla's room. Deryn sneaks in and discovers a metal ball under Tesla's bed. Alek asks Deryn "Can I trust you, Deryn?," and knows that she is a girl when she does not comment about his using her real name. Alek and Deryn get into an argument about her lie to Alek, and, after she leaves, Alek realizes that she didn't tell him because she is in love with him.
Kappa attack and Austrian ship.
For a few days, Alek and Deryn are not on speaking terms. Alek decides to support Tesla in his mission to end the war with his machine, the Goliath, however, he still misses Deryn and is rather depressed. Deryn is upset that Alek would abandon their friendship just because she is a girl. As the Leviathan arrives in Japan, the airship engages in battle with an Austrian ship and two German zeppelins, although the Japanese do most of the fighting. When one of the engines is shot, both Deryn and Alek arrive to help, and Alek decides to continue to be Deryn's friend. A message lizard arrives from Dr. Barlow, telling Deryn to visit a tailor in Japan, and Alek offers to accompany her.
In Tokyo, Alek and Deryn discuss their friendship and the Goliath while visiting the tailor and eating at a moving food stall. They go to Tesla's demonstration of the Goliath at the Imperial Hotel. Tesla claims that the Goliath can change the color of the sky in London, and the Admiralty confirms that the colors are visible. The Leviathan is given permission to carry Tesla to New York.
Before a storm arrives while crossing the Pacific Ocean, Alek, Deryn, Mr. Rigby and Hoffman try to put up a wire on the spine for Tesla. When the storm hits and one end of the wire is loose, Deryn goes out to fix it and Alek offers to go with her. The wind knocks Alek over and he gets a concussion. Deryn talks to him to keep him awake, and they promise not to keep secrets from each other. Then Deryn kisses Alek, and asks him to promise to lie to protect her secret.
When Alek is recuperating in his cabin, Captain Hobbes and other officers come to tell him that he may be recieving a medal from the Admiralty for helping Deryn on the spine.The Leviathan soon arrives at William Randolph Hearst's estate in California, where Philip Francis films them. Deryn meets Eddie Malone here, and smuggles him onto the Leviathan because he tells her he is danger from Hearst's men and that Francis may be a German spy.
Alek goes to dinner with Hearst, Mr. Francis, Adela Rogers, the captain, Volger and Dr. Barlow, where Hearst shows The Perils of Pauline. Hearst resupplies the Leviathan and the airship starts on its way to cross Mexico to get to New York, bringing Malone, Mr. Francis, and Adela Rogers with them. Malone reveals to the crew and Miss Rogers that Philip Francis may be a spy, and Tesla uses his metal-detecting machine to find smuggled arms and film hidden in sugar barrels. The engines stop working in when they are only part of the way across, and Pancho Villa's men offer to help them in exchange for the sugar. The bridge is confused about the purpose of Pancho Villa's camera walkers, so Deryn goes to investigate on gliding wings. She falls on her way back to tell the crew that the walkers are only cameras, and is injured. Alek manages to get Pancho Villa's physician, Dr. Azuela, to treat Deryn instead of Dr. Busk, but Eddie Malone discovers Deryn's secret when Azuela tells Pancho Villa about her. Pancho Villa and Mr. Francis film the Leviathan as part of Hearst's movie deal with Pancho.
Alek helps Deryn through her recovery, during which Deryn believes that she will be kicked off of the Leviathan when the ship reaches New York and Eddie Malone publishes his article. Alek is planning to stay in New York and help Tesla promote the Goliath, and he ask Deryn to stay in New York with him to help Tesla.. Dr. Barlow offers Deryn a job with the Zoological Society of London, but retracts her offer when she learns that Eddie Malone has discovered Deryn's secret and will probably be writing an article about her. Dr. Barlow does not want to hire someone who will be associated with scandal.
When Alek, Malone and Tesla are leaving the Leviathan, Alek saves Eddie Malone from falling off when a rocket hits the jitney that they are leaving on. Deryn had been watching the jitney as it was leaving, and tells the bridge that the jitney has caught on fire. The Leviathan douses the flames with ballast. Alek then offers to tell Malone about his scroll, so that Malone can write a story about the rocket attack on the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
Dr. Barlow shows Deryn the paper, and she offers Deryn the job again, now that Deryn's secret will not become public knowledge. However, now that Deryn will not be kicked off of the Leviathan, she and Alek will have to be apart for a while. As they are saying goodbye at the Serbian consulate, Deryn meets Lilit again, who tells Deryn about a water-walker that the Germans are planning on sending against the Goliath. Deryn tells Dr. Barlow about this, and Dr. Barlow convinces the captain to stay in New York and keep an eye out for the water-walker.
Meanwhile, Alek is at the Goliath, where Tesla is hosting a dinner before he plans to demonstrate that the Goliath can change the color of the sky in Berlin. When Leviathan's bridge sees the water-walkers, Deryn sends a message bird to Alek, who tells Tesla about the threat. The captain destroys the two escort walkers, but leaves one to be destroyed on land so that the Americans can see it and will enter the war on the Darwinist side. Tesla decides to fire the Goliath at Berlin, fearing that he will never get a chance to fire the machine if it is destroyed tonight. Alek tells Tesla about his fears for the safety of the Leviathan, and, when Tesla continues with the firing of the Goliath, threatens him with a sword and then with Tesla's electrical walking stick. Alek kills Tesla with the walking stick to save Deryn. The Goliath destroys the water-walker instead of the Leviathan with the electrical energy from the planned firing.
The United States enters the war on the Darwinist side when they see the wreckage of the water-walker. On the Leviathan, Dr. Barlow recieves a message that tells her that the rock Deryn found under Tesla's bed was a meteorite, and therefore the Goliath did not actually cause the destruction in Tugunska. Alek recieves a medal for going with Deryn to fix Tesla's wire on the spine.
Alek and Deryn kiss at the end of Goliath
After the presentation ceremony for Alek's medal, Alek and Deryn go onto the spine of the Leviathan together. There, Alek tells her the truth about what happened to Tesla and declares his love for Deryn by kissing her. He then throws the scroll from the pope over the side of the airship, saying that it represented his past, which he had already lost. After Deryn asks Alek what he will do now, Alek says that he probably needs to get a job. Deryn tells Alek that Dr. Barlow may have just the job for both of them, working for the Zoological Society.
The novel ends with a newspaper article written by Eddie Malone, which reports that Alek has accepted a position with the Zoological Society. Alek's only comment is the Habsburg motto, Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube, or "Let others wage war. You, lucky Austria, shall marry."
Other covers[]
See also[]
- Bonus Goliath Chapter on Leviathan Wiki
- Characters, creatures and objects which appear in Goliath on Leviathan Wiki