spill zone

Scott Westerfeld is a favorite author – an old favorite at this point. I read his YA just after I started blogging (so many years ago omg)! He remains a favorite partly because many of his stories are about girls doing things. The other part is that he writes reliably engaging science fiction (his Leviathan books are so my jam it isn’t even funny). When I found out that he had a graphic novel coming out (with Alex Puvilland illustrating), I couldn’t add it to the to-read list fast enough. Spill Zone is a mysterious, action-packed, creepy-weird story, and it is ELECTRIC.

Nobody's ever really explained the Spill. Was it an angelic visitation? A nanotech accident? A porthole opening from another world? Whatever it was, no one's allowed in the Spill Zone these days except government scientists and hazmat teams. But a few intrepid explorers know how to sneak through the patrols and steer clear of the dangers inside the Zone. Addison Merrick is one such explorer, dedicated to finding out what happened that night, and to unraveling the events that took her parents and left her little sister mute and disconnected from the world.

Addison’s world changed after the Spill. With her parents gone, her sister altered and mute, and her hometown irrevocably twisted, she had to rework her life to carry on. Officially, no one is allowed in the mysterious Spill Zone, and the authorities won’t say what happened there – but Addison explores it, and she has her own rules for survival. The only constant in the Zone is that things will get weird. When the terms change, Addison may be ready – or it might be more than she can handle.

Westerfeld sets up a story with a lot of unknowns (re: how the Spill happened, what it did to people, why some kids survived), family tragedy, a sisterly bond, weird, physics-defying phenomena, and art for survival’s sake. While main character Addison works to unravel some of those unknowns and keep her family together, there are other actors who have their own motivations, knowledge based hearsay, and less-than-ethical tactics. Combine that with a daredevil on a dirt bike, and you have the set-up for a thrilling graphic novel. And of course, Mr. Westerfeld delivers.

There were two bits of the story in particular that sold me on Spill Zone. The first was Addy’s initial trip into the Zone (that we see as readers, anyway), where she does a bit of a mini-tour with her rules for survival. This scene not only gives the reader the set-up they need to grasp the scope of the Spill, it also establishes danger, immediacy, and Addy’s motivations. And to be completely honest, it reminded me of my favorite part of the film Zombieland.

The second genius scene is one where *spoiler* Addy is having a one-sided (she thinks) conversation with her little sister, Lexa. Lexa is having her own telephathic conversation with her creepy and sarcastic doll, Vespertine. I had accepted the weird and threatening nature of the Spill Zone at that point, but I hadn’t gotten the sense of wrong Westerfeld was trying to evoke quite yet. That interaction sealed the deal.*end spoiler*

While the story gets a solid A, the art gets an A++++. No offense, Mr. Westerfeld, but the art is the BEST PART OF THE BOOK. That’s as it should be, since pictures are kind of the point with a graphic novel. Alex Puvilland’s illustrations and Hilary Sycamore’s colors bring the action, the eerie atmosphere, and the characters to life. I can’t imagine what the book would have been like in anyone else’s hands. The weirdness of the Zone seems neon, without actual neon burning the readers’ eyes, and the Zone’s unnatural creatures contrast with those untouched by the Spill (but not so much that you feel like you’ve left Earth).

Add to the art truly gorgeous book production, and you have a coffee-table-beautiful piece. I’m not kidding. The interior pages are black, the cover is blue metallic foil, and even the chapter pages are intricately detailed. For such an unnerving story, it’s quite pretty in places. To lure the unsuspecting reader in, I’m sure. :)

In the end, Spill Zone is beautiful, bizarre, and 100% readable. I can’t wait for book 2 (it’s a duology, did I mention?).

Recommended for: fans of young adult science fiction, adult science fiction, dark spec fic, and horror, and anyone who perks up at the mention of Scott Westerfeld and/or graphic novels.

Fine print: I received a final copy of this book for review consideration from the publisher. I did not accept any compensation for this post.

leviathan – guest post by ginny of ginnylou studio

Today’s guest blogger is Ginny of GinnyLou Studio (my sister, in other words).  She paints her nails obsessively and has an overly large accessory collection.  She’s also my best friend.

*ahem*

hi--it's Cecelia's favorite sister (never mind the only part) here with a post about steampunk.

why, oh why, would Cecelia ask her crafty sister to do a post?  

...

'cuz i'm a teacher.

of kids.

in the english language.  and various historical events.

and i'm smart.

(even though the last few sentences may have painted me in an unflattering light.  and please disregard the fact that i wrote the aforementioned sentences.)

...

or it might have something to do with the fact that i really like steampunk literature and have actually read quite a few books that fit the category.

yeah, that must be it.  okay, back on track here.

…

so i'm going to share a few of my thoughts on one of the first steampunk books i ever read: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

see, back when my sister lived in Washington (state), we went to this book signing/ book talk event because she was still a book nerd back then.  i was her plus one, because let's face it, i'm the best plus one EVER, and i'm pretty sure she told me we could have food on the way up.

so, we went to this event and saw THE Scott Westerfeld, listened to him promote his book, saw the book trailer, asked questions, got in line for the book signing, got a picture with him, and walked out of the store with a free cardboard cutout of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days."  it was fun.

it was also my first exposure to steampunk.

i was impressed.

if you haven't seen the book trailer for Leviathan, you should really check it out.  it's one of the best book trailers i've ever seen, and i know legitimate school librarians with real school jobs who use that trailer when they talk about books to kids.

there's this combination of sound effects/ music that makes the video engaging, and somehow all of it unwittingly piques your interest in the entire world that Westerfeld creates.  it's mesmerizing.  you see and hear and can almost smell the machines clanking around the screen.  go watch it.  *phew* and i haven't even started talking about the illustrations.  (well, i guess now i've mentioned it.)  

so the book not only has a stellar author in Westerfeld, but also an amazing illustrator.  i'm not talking doodles with stick-like figures.  these pictures are full blown, 24"x36" print-worthy illustrations.  these illustrations give life to the machines and beasts and contraptions, and imagery in the steampunk book.  (please also note that the following two books in the series sport their own full page pictures as well--AWESOME-SAUCE!)  some of the illustrations pop up in the book trailer, but they're really best seen in person in the pages of Leviathan... they stand out when you're flipping through your book, reading little captions below pictures to see what's coming ahead (but not in a "give it all away" type of way).

i must admit, i think Leviathan was the perfect introduction to steamunk.  it has the pictures, it has great story elements (more on that later).  AND, it just happens to be historical fiction (albeit extreme historical fiction).  basically, right up my alley!

lots of things i liked about this book:

1.  action scenes.  this book isn't too heavy on the expository sections... Westerfeld shows us the world, but he also doesn't bore us to death with detail-overload.  the action scenes were fun for me because i've always been a fan of war movies... my dad used to borrow war movies from the library and i swear i've probably seen 3/4 of all the war movies ever made.  the action wasn't gratuitous either, i mean, the setting of the book is a war.  it's the clankers vs. darwinists--machines vs. beasts.

2.  there's a good mix of fantasy/ history.  the Darwinist animals in this story are some of the most interesting elements in my humble opinion.  not that i don't enjoy a piece of machinery as much as the next guy, but Westerfeld made the 'beasties' likeable even if they were those attacking bat/ bird things.  and the title "Leviathan" actually refers to the name of the Darwinist ship, a huge honking whale/ blimp.  it's awesome.  and like the book trailer says, it's 1914, Europe is close to war, but this story is a re-working of the history of WWI... it both follows the main points, yet doesn't.  sorry for being cryptic.  you should just read the book.

3.  there's this awesome guy/ girl thing.  it's that painfully truthful representation of girls... or one girl in particular: Deryn (who poses as a boy so she can work on the ship).  she over thinks her relationship with Alek, the son of the assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.  and she doesn't just do a little bit of over thinking, she does the adolescent version of over thinking.  i know this because it sounds just like the kids i teach in school.  *le sigh*  and then there's Alek... he's a typical guy--he's still figuring out life, he doesn't know what he thinks about girls, or his role in the war, and he's clueless.  there are plenty of hints throughout the book that point towards the truth about Deryn.  does he pick up on them?  of course not.  he's a guy.

4.  the occasional caper-ish type of scene.  this is different than the action scenes.  i guess it's more about the main characters actually acting like teenagers.  Westerfeld must have a really good model to study in terms of teenaged behavior, because he does a really truthful telling of what they're like.  almost painfully so.

all in all, i guess i didn't really hit on too many "steampunk" elements, but don't worry, this book is squarely/ firmly/ concretely in the steampunk genre, and will be for a long long time.  but never fear, there are tons of fun steampunk-y slang phrases ("Barking spiders!" and "You're a bum-rag" which is really just an insult, not a steampunk phrase...) and there are also lots of gadgets too... guns, tools ,machines, that type of thing.

recommended for: adventure fans, coming-of-age stories, slight romance lovers, gadget geeks, and other people that are easily swayed by book trailers, fancy covers, offers of food, and book blogging sisters.  so pretty much everyone.

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet. Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men. 

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. 

With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

If you'd like to see more steampunk goodness, check out the Steampunk Week in September calendar of events!

teaser tuesday (65)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted every week by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page (or if you're reading on an electronic device, pick a random number and scroll to that section). Post two or more sentences from that page, along with the book title and author. Share your find with others in the comments at Should Be Reading, and don't give anything vital away!

“It had the size and claws of a predator, but its shape was unlike any Alek had seen before.

It was headed straight for the ship.”

p. 19 of Scott Westerfeld’s Goliath (ARC version, subject to change)

teaser tuesday (59)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“‘When Mr. Hirst pulled the pistol, I tried to take it from him.’

Deryn shut her eyes. Striking an officer – another hanging offense.

‘Very sensible of you,’ Dr. Barlow said. ‘This ship won’t get very far without its master of mechaniks, will it?’”

p. 48 of Scott Westerfeld’s Behemoth

leviathan, the end is here

The winner of a signed copy of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, a hair-raising steampunk adventure, is:

Memory

of the gorgeous blog Stella Matutina

Who answered the question "What do you think of when you read the word ‘steampunk?" with: "I think of the Victorian aesthetic first, followed by the technological focus. And automatons! I love me some automatons." Congrats!

I had a great time at Scott Westerfeld’s Seattle event on Monday night at Third Place Books. He and Sarah Rees Brennan (of The Demon’s Lexicon fame) talked for a bit and then signed for the fifty or so who came. Ginny got her copy of Leviathan signed “To Ms. L’s Students: Read Me!” and I got mine signed for Memory (well, it’s not personalized, but you know)! Also got news while in the signing line that I’m going to be my college roommate’s maid of honor in March – so it was a wonderful night all around.

Everyone: thank you for entering, be sure to check out the contest for Only Milo, and look for another giveaway next week!

And to conclude this post, an amazing description of steampunk by Zombie Girrrl (who will receive a signed Leviathan postcard):

"I think of bustled ladies in crimson silk bordered gowns gleaming, smog belching, horseless carriages, delicate scarves wrapped ornately around their painted mouths so they can breath. A sky where the sun never truly rises, just struggles to seep through the dense blanket of lung-clogging grey. A skyline dominated by brightly glinting skyscrapers encased in brass jackets, with elevators creeping up and down their sides like glass beetles on grandfather clock trees. Men with top hats and cravats striding about importantly with clockwork hounds at their heals. And an underworld of rebellious urchins seeking to overthrow the aristocracy and take back the coal they pry from the resistant earth with bloodied fingers and pick-axes."

And a (dorky) photo of me & Mr. Westerfeld. Yay!

teaser tuesday (15)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“‘Your parents are both dead, murdered this night in Sarajevo.’

Alek tried to laugh at this absurd statement, but the world twisted sideways under him, darkness and silence crashing down.”

-p. 18 of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan

steampunk defined + leviathan giveaway

I posed a question a week or so ago about steampunk, and polled for interest in a steampunk reading challenge. I will be hosting a small one, but it may take a little while to come together. In the meantime…

Definition: steampunk: There are two main kinds of steampunk. The first, traditional steampunk, envisions a future as the Victorians imagined it. The writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are good examples. The second, industrial steampunk, sees a far future world that harkens back to Victorian culture, for example a bustle dress made of kevlar. There are also other temporal options like clockpunk (c. 1500s) and dieselpunk (WWII). Definition borrowed shamelessly from Gail Carriger’s website. I bought her new novel Soulless today!

Steampunk may also refer to any anachronistic or technology-centric story set in the Gaslight Era, or more formally as “science fiction which has a historical setting (esp. based on industrialized, nineteenth-century society) and characteristically features steam-powered, mechanized machinery rather than electronic technology.” As per the Steampunk Scholar’s website.

And a giveaway! Scott Westerfeld (of Uglies trilogy fame) is releasing a new steampunk-esque novel entitled Leviathan on October 6th. THE PLAN: attend his Seattle bookstore event on the 12th and maybe get a copy signed.

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

-----

So I’ll offer one (1) copy of Leviathan up for grabs. It might be signed. But no guarantees. Well, the book I can guarantee, but nothing else. Okay? Sweet.

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post answering the question, “What do you think of when you read the word ‘steampunk?’”

Please include your email address. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on October 13 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

Good luck!

teaser tuesday (3)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“He looked strange, unlike any pretty Tally had ever seen. He was definitely of middle age, but whoever had done his operation had botched it. He was beautiful, without a doubt, but it was a terrible beauty.”

-p. 101 in paperback copy of Scott Westerfeld’s

Uglies