Two posts ago, a commenter called Hungarian Boy pointed us all to the site of Richard Vass, the artist for the Hungarian covers of the Leviathan series. His original paintings can be found there, and they are all full of bonus awesome.
So here they are:
Pretty cool.
Go check out the rest of his stuff.
HAHA! First comment!!!
…sorry, I’ve always wanted to say that…
@Middy Me (last thread): Thanks! It feels so good when a complete stranger complements my stuff (I guess because they’re not obligated to). 🙂
Oh, yeah. The actual post (duh!):
The pictures are totally awesome! I would totally be willing to deck out my room with LBG posters, except MONEY…lol. I have so much respect for Hungary right now, though.
hmmm….. america is getting less and less cool by every post
HUNGARY, DO YA MIND SHARING SOME OF THE AWESOME?
I’m currently re-reading the Leviathan series, I’ve just finished Behemoth. QUESTION! Did Lilit know Deryn was a girl? If so, does that mean she’s…
And why didn’t Volger end up escaping the Leviathan?
And another question (Scott you should answer this!) do you think the Darwinist would ever start cross fabricating (if that’s the right word) humans with animals?
Ohh *_*
Right now I’m so proud to be Hungarian :3
Anyway, I wanted to say this: thank you for writing such an awesome books, like the Leviathan series. I became an addict!!! 🙂
wow, Hungary, you impress us yet again.
another cool set of covers is the Japanese version. i couldn’t find Behemoth on google images, but here’s Leviathan http://images.wikia.com/leviathanscottwesterfeld/images/2/2e/Leviathan_japanese.png
and Goliath http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mebtrsl3Vh1rcvaoko1_500.jpg i love how Bovril looks like a meerkat!
@4: I dunno about the Volger question, but Lilit mentions in Goliath that she was curious. So she’s not necessarily… But yeah, she totally knew.
@4 to answer your Volger question: before they could completely escape and leave the airfield, the Leviathan’s crew discovered they’d gone. So, naturally, they start looking for them. After a bit the Darwinists found them and go after them. Volger (and Hoffmann) stay behind to give everyone else (but mainly Alek) a chance to escape. The Darwinists would be willing to go along with this because with Volger and Hoffmann, they’d be able to fly the ship, and they weren’t technically supposed to be on Ottoman soil (I think the term used in the book was ‘gallivanting’).
On a slightly unrelated note; those paintings are AMAZING. Most people reading this don’t know how often I fully capitalize words, so I’ll tell you it’s basically never. So for me to say those are ASTOUNDING is me being blown away, and frankly very, very, jealous.
I notice a strange aversion to typing the word ‘lesbian’ and/or ‘gay’. Or is it just me? 🙂 Okay, but in answer to that question about Lilit, @4, I think she totally knew. Does that means she’s gay? *shrug* Does it matter?
About Volger: he was staying behind with Hoffman so Alek, Klopp, and Bauer could get away, wasn’t he? And I know you asked Scott to answer that last, but let me go grab Leviathan….Okay, nevermind. I just spent I don’t know how long going through Leviathan, then Behemoth, then flipping through Goliath a bit, but despite the fact that I know these books very well, I could not, for the life of me, find the part in which it says that the first rule of fabrication is that no beastie can possess human reason. GAH. I’m so annoyed with myself right now. I’m pretty sure Dr. Barlow said it, or it was in Deryn’s narration. But I couldn’t find it! But it’s in there somewhere, I promise. So that’s a ‘no’ to the question, I guess….
About the post: I have this blank wall in my room….And these would look so good there. 😀 haha Alek and Deryn, my darlings….
@Roxanne (last thread): Yeah, while I was in New Jersey there was a different accent (not in a good way; those people were rude….but not all of them). I know there’s a different New York accent, but I’ve never heard it. Despite the fact I was across the river from NYC….My APEuro teacher is from Boston. I know because she drops a lot of R’s or adds them in random places….Plus, the way she says ‘during’ sounds like ‘Deryn’. Drives me CRAZY. “Deryn this time period, Deryn the Thirty Years’ War, etc.” AHHH. (Some of the students think she’s from the Deep South, though, which is sad because she is definitely NOT.) That’s another American accent, too; Southern. Can’t say I like it either. Then, apparently we Californians have an accent, but to everyone here I sound British. But I’m pretty sure I’ve been asked if I’m Polish as well….Maybe Americans are just bad at placing accents? (Or I just grew up with Harry Potter. Didn’t we all?) I haven’t heard of an Alaskan/Minnestotan accent….
I don’t reread things a lot, either, unless I read it aloud to my sister, like all of The Iron Fey. I reread Goliath aloud, too, over the summer, but that was for the fun of it and only to myself. I’ve only reread one of the Harry Potters (the second one, which is coincidentally my least favorite). *glances at bookshelves* I really don’t reread things either. There are things I’d LIKE to reread, like The Book Thief, but then I remember my emotion collapse upon finishing said book and shy away. XD
(Everyone tells me to read 13 Reasons Why….How odd, Mr. Sharp.)
Oh, thank goodness I’m not the only one who has such trouble! I can think of good titles, but they have no stories. Or I think of good stories, but they have no titles. The only good story + title I ever had was my first attempt at NaNoWriMo, which failed. It was a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On a whim, I named the Word doc “If We Shadows Have Offended” and since then that has become the title.
On the subject, I love retellings, too! Yours sounds so interesting; I never thought of COMBINING stories. I don’t know if you’ve heard of them, but I have all these books under a general series title called “Once Upon A Time is Timeless.” I never got rid of them, despite the fact that they’re sort of young. They’re not wacky retellings, but they are retellings. My favorite is Snow. (I don’t know why I’ve always loved Snow White, despite the fact that she’s a complete ninny and can’t do anything for herself. No, I did not like Snow White and the Huntsman or Mirror, Mirror (sorry, Lily).) When I was younger I also loved the Sisters Grimm series, which goes on and on, much to my chagrin, because I want to know what happens, but don’t want to walk into the little kids’ section. XD Also, did you know the Infernal Devices was meant as a loose and unfaithful retelling of A Tale of Two Cities? REALLY LOOSE. ^^ Mostly, though, I come up with retellings of Shakespeare, because I’m addicted to Shakespeare….And I’ve read so many retellings of Romeo and Juliet….Despite the fact that I think the characters of the original play are ninnies, I love the idea and the poetry. But then I read a rather good retelling only to have it end with….Romeo and Juliet alive. That CANNOT happen. My sister and I made up three rules to a R+J retelling: 1) They have to be in love (because there was one where they weren’t, as weird as that sounds) 2) It has to be forbidden (in the aforementioned one it wasn’t) and 3) They have to die (and at least one of them has to commit suicide). Believe it or not, there are some that don’t follow any of these rules….and still claim to hail from R+J roots. Okay, wow, that was longer than it should have been. ANYWAY, retellings=awesomeness. I ADORE your title, by the way. I can imagine reading it and telling my friends, “So I just read this amazing book, and it’s called Dark Descent….” and on and on. ^^
@23 (Middy Me, last thread): Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower always reads the book twice before doing an essay or whathaveyou on it. 🙂 Another book I should reread…. (But I don’t want to go through the, “No, Charlie, don’t stop writing to me!” pain again….)
Wow, why are these always so long? But, boy am I glad to have Bovril back. (Bovril is my computer. :D) So much easier….
Also, is it weird that I still feel like I’m on an airplane? I feel like I’m bobbing up and down in turbulence, or experiencing that sudden pressure of ascent….It’s disorienting, but sort of awesome. Has anyone else experienced this?
@9 i totally did that the last time i was on a plane. i love air travel (and kayaks and trains and camels etc…) but my family hates it. so when we were in the air i couldn’t stop looking out the window, and once we were off i was all bubbly in my own personal turbulence.
and Bovril is such a great name for your computer, it’s adorably genius 😀
btw Scott if you actually look at our email addresses in the “leave a reply” part, this is the same Scorpio-Ferret. i just got a new email account.
@10: Plus, a three hour time difference does not help. It’s eight here, but my brain thinks it’s eleven. I miss DC, because I didn’t have to go to school….You’ve ridden a camel? And kayaked? That is endlessly cool! I wish I could do stuff like that….
@9: I dunno about Zac-la, but I was using ellipses for spoilery purposes (not that it’s that hard to read between the lines). I am totally cool with gays and lesbians!
Oh yeah, I forgot about those accents. I guess we do have SOME diversity, but not as much.
The Alaskan/Minnesotan accent sounds like Sarah Palen.
Yeah. Another thing with it is that it isn’t magical. I won’t go into detail, but essentially the older evil stepsister is just severely misunderstood (much like Elphaba in Wicked). Anyway, she’s also the evil stepmoms for the SB and SW stories (but, obviously, not their stepmom).
I also have another story that mixes three classic fairytales: The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Beauty and the Beast. I’m kinda going for the the whole “wolf/monster” thing. But he’s not a monster: he’s got multiple personality disorder, yo! It’s tentatively called “Wolf Howling.” Also, I feel like since they (and hopefully others that I have yet to come up with) both have to do with fairytale reimaginings, that they should kind of have their own series, but they’re already trilogies… So can you have a series of series? lol.
And by the way, THANK YOU ALL WHO LIKE MY TITLE! I APPRECIATE THE APPRECIATION! 🙂
Oh, and I liked Mirror, Mirror, haven’t seen Snow White and the Huntsman (it looks pretty cool, but Kristen Stewart…eh), and hate Snow White for your aforementioned reasons (FYI, I primarily think of Disney’s SW when I think of her).
OMG! I STILL READ SISTERS GRIMM!! I started it when I was actually in the age range, but now I have to finish it! Just…one…more…book… Puck is awesome. That is all.
I don’t really read Shakespeare, or am that obsessed with it…but I do know R&J fairly well. I agree with your rules, except maybe three, because although I have an odd enjoyment for WRITING one MC dying and the love interest being super depressed and all that, I usually hate READING or WATCHING it. I mean, it’s so sad! :'( lol. But I think it’s super strange that the first two aren’t a given. That’s not really a retelling…more of a vague reference. lol.
I found this book that had a cool twist on R&J: Romeo KILLED Juliet! It was all a lie. But the coolness stopped with that simple plot point, because then the blurb went on to say that Juliet’s like an angel fighting with some sort of angel army or something…it sounded kinda stupid. I would like the same “he killed her” premise for a story more along the lines of “she becomes a ghost” and stuff happens. A more deep, psychological tale of sadness, not angel army action and fight scenes. :/
@12: Okay….It’s okay. ^^
Wow! You always have such awesome ideas….I’m slightly jealous. 🙂
I didn’t like Mirror, Mirror because I didn’t think Snow was badass, even then….I’ve like Snow White since the Disney movie, even though she’s a ninny. I have no idea why. I’ll always have a soft spot for her; she’s the first Disney princess, after all. There’s something about that apple, too. I wish on apples now. XD There’re other things, too, like the spill-your-guts mushroom (that was glamoured as an apple) in The Iron Fey, etc…..I dunno….
Yes, yes, I love Puck! And The Iron Fey comes up again! If you love Puck, read these books! These books are like my Faery bibles. Like, this is Faery, and anything else is just a deviation. Puck is just amazing….
“Regret. It’s regret, so just shut up and do the others.”
(Wow, that was like from the fourth books, but whatever….The Iron Traitor comes out soon! Ahhhh! Sorry; along with Leviathan, Harry, and LotR, these books are one of the four chambers of my heart.)
I suppose it’s depressing, but I won’t relent my opinion. They must die. I’m so awful….
I know that book! It’s called Juliet Immortal! My sister forbid me from buying it, because she was so against the idea. I’ll read it one day. It has a sequel now, but I don’t remember the title. I agree, I would prefer it as a “psychological tale of sadness.”
Yeah, okay I was avoiding calling Lilit gay purely so I didn’t offend anyone 🙂
I think I either wrote that wrong you you guys misunderstood me. I was talking about later when Volger had been recaptured, wasn’t he going to try and escape? And @Midshipman K, it’s in Leviathan somewhere, near the beginning I think? And it’s Deryn’ narration. But does anyone think eventually people would start cross fabricating? Or try it illegally? Wait, pretty sure I spelt that wrong. Anyway, yeah 🙂
@14:Oh, okay. ^^
Oh! Hmm….Remember when Deryn got all upset because Volger seemed happy Alek was gone? Yeah; it was just that. He thought Alek had escaped and was fine without him [Volger]. There was no point; he could only jeopardize Alek’s “hiding place” by searching for him.
Yeah, I looked in the beginning, but I don’t think I looked thoroughly enough. Maybe I’ll search again later….Now, ILLEGALLY, that’s interesting and possibly quite plausible. Hmm….
@6: Thanks for the heads up about the Japanese Goliath. I’ve found larger art for both Leviathan and Behemoth. You can see them here:
Leviathan: http://fowlervillehistory.org/westerfeld/by-country/japanese-editions/leviathan-2011-pb.html
Behemoth: http://fowlervillehistory.org/westerfeld/by-country/japanese-editions/behemoth-2012-pb.html
Goliath: http://fowlervillehistory.org/westerfeld/by-country/japanese-editions/goliath-2012-pb.html
(Firstly, I just wanted to say I feel like everyone else on here has usernames relevant to Leviathan while I’ve got a stupid Uglies one :(… I might have to change it again)
@15, I yeah that’s true! So was Alek just under the impression that Volger would try and escape?
I mean surely someone would try some sort of dodgy fabrication in a back ally? And it would have disaterous results? Ahhhh, that could be the whole plot of another book. You can thank me later Scott 😉
@Midshipman K – if you like Shakespeare, I think you might be interested in the Shakespeare Stealer series, by Gary Blackwood.
It’s about this boy, called Widge. He’s an orphan, and he’s taken on as prentice for a physician (at least I think that was it). This physician developed an shorthand writing system so he could copy out speeches from other people and pass them as his own. So, as he’s too lazy, he teaches Widge to write it and then sends him to copy out the speeches. After a while, a stranger, having heard of the physician’s writing system, goes to his home and takes back Widge with him. Widge is taken to his new master, who tells him his new task will be to copy out….Hamlet; Shakespeare’s newest play. So Widge has to go to the Globe and sit there and write the play and I should stop this or I’ll end up telling the whole story.
Anyway, you should read them 🙂
@9 Aye, we’ve all got MinnesOAtan accents don’t’cha know. Basically, it sounds (to others) that we stress the ‘oa’ sound (cOAt, bOAt).
@14, 16: I don’t have an anything-related username!
Also, how would that offend anyone?
@13: Thanks so much! Now actually WRITING it, on the other hand…
I also wanna come up with a water-themed one involving the Little Mermaid, but I dunno what other two stories to intertwine with it, or HOW to intertwine them. And with my whole no-magic thing, I’m not sure how to do the Little Mermaid thing without actually making her a mermaid… I shall have to think about it. (Plus, I’ve got a villains thing going on here, so it’d have to be about Ursula instead of Ariel.) But I shall be sure to let y’all know when I come up it!
Eh…I don’t like her. I like Belle. And Ariel. And Pocahontas. I actually really want to have a Disney Princess movie marathon soon! I have a real love for DP movies…and now that I’m older, the princes too! XD
Apples are really symbolic. The whole “forbidden fruit” thing makes it a popular theme for a lot of books.
Sisters Grimm is my guilty pleasure books. I feel too old for them, but like I said before, I’m so close to finishing! Have you read all of them yet? I wanna make sure we’re on the same page…
I’ve been meaning to read Iron Fey FOREVER! I have a zillion books on my booklist (more getting added every day) and yet they never seem to get read…
That’s true, I suppose. I dunno why I have a strange fixation with my own MCs dying, but I tend to kill them a lot, leaving it at a depressing end. But I do have happy ideas, too. lol.
That book got me mildly interested with its title. It really CAPTIVATED me with that one line about R killing J. Then I was really turned off by the entire rest of the blurb. Just another stupid, cheesy YA novel (the kind directly opposite of LBG)…
@16: I think your username is fine. 🙂
Also, Volger was going to try to escape. Forgot that bit. He was blackmailing Deryn into helping him! Gosh, how could I forget something so important? Once he found out that Alek WASN’T hiding like he’d wanted him to, he wanted to find him and make him do so. But then Deryn’s mission failed, yadda, yadda. (Don’t worry, we love you anyway, Deryn.)
@17: That plot sounds familiar, but not the title. I’ll check it out! I think I may have seen it once or twice. Maybe that’s why it sounds familiar? Maybe I’ll have another one of those summers where I refuse to read anything unless it has something to do with Shakespeare….because that seriously did happen once. O_O
@18: So you’re from Minnesota? Strangely, I don’t know anyone from that area. If yes (you are from Minnesota), don’t you ever get uncomfortable being landlocked? Sorry, this is something I’ve always wondered about all those states that are so far inland….I can’t imagine not being by the ocean. (But I’ll make an exception for Austria. ^^)
@19: I like your villain thing! It’s cool. I’m trying to think if I know any Shakespeare like that….Hmm. What IS people’s fascination with Caliban? Personally, I detest him. But I love Ariel. ^^ (The decidedly MALE air spirit. Just to straighten things up…. I see too many female Ariels. For some reason, I’d probably be okay if you genderbended the entire R+J, but not Ariel. Do what you want with the rest of them. Except Hamlet, too….And Horatio and Ophelia. Okay I’m done. How do I always end up rambling parenthetically?)
On the subject of Disney princesses I like, I do like Ariel (despite my previous rant; these are two different characters). I like Pocahontas, too, despite the historical inaccuracy. What I DON’T like about Pocahontas, though, is the historical accuracy that sits in the Capitol Building. A painting of her being baptized before marrying John whoever. Grrrr. Why did she have to become Christian? (Makes me wonder about Deryn and Alek, since he’s Roman Catholic and Scotland is Protestant, mostly Presbyterian with the original religious reforms but who knows what form Deryn is now, hundreds of years later….[Did I just call 1914 now?])
Continuing with DPs, I LOVE Mulan. Yay! Though she’s not a princess. Never was, never will be. At least not in Disney. Still love her. Makes her more awesome. Reminds me of SOMEONE sometimes….:D
Apples….Also, that just reminded me of something I saw once, maybe on dA or tumblr. It was a letter that went like this:
“Dear Twilight,
Give us back our apple.
Sincerely,
Death Note”
AWESOMENESS. Plus, I love Death Note. (But still haven’t finished it! We’ve had this conversation!)
In the Sisters Grimm, I’ve read up to book seven. I haven’t read The Inside Story, or The Council of Mirrors, but they’re on my shelf….
This is where I start going READREADREADREADREADREADREAD
XD The Iron Fey are amazing, though! I read them before Leviathan, but I’ve had similar experiences with both! You start reading….You sit down….Then stay there until you’ve finished the book. Seriously, I cried so hard over Queen and Knight. I think I can put off reading them….Then I read a few chapters….Then something *clicks* and I’m reading during class, reading while I’m walking, reading at all the most inopportune times….Okay, so her books always come out twice a year, fall and spring. Leviathan I read in a matter of weeks over the summer, so I was spared school problems. I honestly thought The Iron King would be a book I just bought but never read (the reason I never bought Leviathan, thus only reading it when my mom bought it). But then I had nothing to read and a two-hour drive from Sacramento to home….Needless to say, I finished in those two hours. I can’t even….Just read them. Maybe you won’t love them as much as I do, but everyone I’ve given them to has loved them. Even my very logical friend….which surprised me. Anyway, I have this habit of rambling. Maybe you guys have noticed? XD
You kill your MCs????!!!!! *thinks for a moment* Wait a second….I’m being hypocritical. But only one of mine dies….Not saying who. Still torn up about it. IT HURTS ME, TOO. Oh my gosh….My most worked-out plots don’t have happy endings. They have….completion. Gosh. >.<
Oh, I know! But the attempt at epicness was….monotonous. I can't even remember how many books I've picked up in a row that are exactly the same….Thank GOD for LBG. It's unlike anything else. (I mean, how many girls can actually pull of being a boy without giving it away within the first book? [Kept expecting that to happen, but it didn't! Yay!] And how many princes are daft like Alek? [He has his own brand of daftness. <3] AND I AM STOPPING BEFORE I START RAMBLING.)
@20 yes, I am from Minnesota, no I’m not uncomfortable being land locked, I’ve never really thought about it. I suppose if you went up to Duluth, you could get to the ocean via the Great Lakes, but I don’t know why you’d want to go that way as (I assume, given the industry up there) most of the ships are not really intended as luxury cruise liners. And even if I did mind, I’d totally make an exception for Austria, too.
@21: Huh. Okay then. ^^ I don’t know why I’m so squeamish about it. I’m weird….
Yes, because we love Alek, so we love Austria! 😀
@20: Oh, I pretend the sequels (and, in Ariel’s case, prequels) never happened. I don’t like any of them, ESPECIALLY Pocahontas’s. Her and John Smith 4-ever (<–strictly the Disney version of them, not real life where he was middle-aged and she was 12)! Notice how everytime the Disney princes are mentioned, Pocahontas's "prince" (I know he's not technically) is always John Smith, not that totally loser John Ralph.
I love Mulan, even though she's NOT a princess, and I get a little annoyed that she's part of the lineup sometimes.
I've read 1-8. Waiting for 9 to come out in paperback (to match the rest of my collection). I can't really remember which events happen in which books, so I'll keep quiet for fear of spoiling. But, I can't believe he killed Briar Rose!!! Her and Uncle Jake were only the cutest ever! She better miraculously revive somehow!
I only kill them sometimes. There are only like two(?) books where it's really tragic. And one where it's sad but I think overall the readers will be at peace with it (ya know, assuming I write it correctly).
I'm hoping my prince kinda turns out like Alek. Except MORE stupid in the beginning. Then he progresses and matures as a character until he's super cool and the readers like him as a person. …hopefully.
What about Inkheart? I loved that series. Of course, I haven't read it in a while, but DUSTFINGER!!!! (Anyone know if the movie sucked when NOT compared to the book? I want so much to like it, because Paul Bettany as Dustfinger = amazing. I just need to watch it again and decide for myself, I guess…)
i love inkheart too
and the sisters grimm
and interrupting conversations
@23: Oh, I AGREE. Yay John Smith! I just….love Mulan. She’s so funny. I was walking across the street in D.C. and I randomly turned to my sister and was like, “I see you have a sword! I have one, too!” XD Definitely not an awesome sequel, though. Why do they even make sequels? Seems weird for fairytales….
We have the first three (or four?) in paperback, then the rest in hardback because we just started preordering them. We’re a preordering family….Plus, the only bookstore in town is Half-Priced Books. And Borders is still an empty shell. (Barnes and Noble got turned into a grocery store.)
Oh gosh, BRIAR ROSE. *sob*
Hopefully. 😀 My character death is….you don’t want it, but it would be hypocritical for it NOT to happen. Makes sense if you’ve read it….Which only two people have read my zero draft, and the death happens in the third book, so they are blissfully unaware. (Because I’ve totally even started editing the first book/writing the second book.)
Trying to think of other princes I like….Well, Ash (Iron Fey). Legolas. Aragorn wasn’t technically a prince….JORG. (Prince of Thorns) Although, he’s not a prince anymore. Gosh, WHY do I love him so much? He is the king of being an anti-hero, and a tragic hero, and a hero, and an villain, and there’s no way to understand him, but somehow you love him anyway. And in the second book you’re disturbed when, 80 pages in, he hasn’t killed anyone. O_o
Okay, yeah, but no one like Alek….
Best of luck with your own prince! I’m sure he’ll be just as lovable as Alek. 🙂
(I think I have a grand total of….one prince in my OCs.)
I’ve read Inkheart and Inkspell. I got halfway through Inkdeath, got bored, flipped through to see if there were anymore chapters from Farid’s POV, found there weren’t, and slowly it moved further and further down on my priorities list, until after two years of it sitting around my room, I gave the lovely first edition back to my mother, who was very glad to have it back. Maybe I’ll read it one day. But honestly, I don’t care about the characters all that much, with the exception of Dustfinger and Farid. But Farid is my favorite….I’ve gotten so many lectures from my friends about why Farid and Meggie couldn’t stay together, but I don’t really care anymore. Still plotted Doria’s death in about a hundred different ways. (This was like four or five years ago, okay? xD) I actually like the movie better though, because it rules out a sequel. And Farid stays so my ship is real! Plus, I like Meggie better in the movie than in the books….
@24: 😀
Hahaha, thanks guys 🙂
So I’ve decided that the only people who really post on here are Middy Me, Roxanne and Midshipman K. Am I right? Are you all girls? And how old are you? 🙂
#notastalker 😉
Oh woah, hashtagging on Scott’s blog, that has to be some sort of criminal offence 😛
I live in New Zealand and I’m 16 🙂 and obviously a guy…
Just realised the ‘ : P ‘ face looks like a kissing face! :O
@23- I am currently rereading Inkheart, cause it’s been like seven years since I read it last. I like the series a lot. Cornelia Funke is one of my favorites. Anybody here read Reckless? Now there’s a fairy tale.
I guess I’m okay with Doria. Towards the end of Inkdeath Farid started appearing less and less, so I was kind of giving up on him and Meggie. At the end, though, I was really hoping she would go with him. But I guess I’ve accepted Doria, even if at the beginning I hated him. I still love Farid, though.
Disney princesses… My favorite would be Kida, from Atlantis, even if she’s not part of the classic lineup. Then Mulan, though she technically isn’t a princess. Whatever. I just think Cinderella and Snow White and all those are too girly and pretty much useless during the story. I don’t know. Perhaps I haven’t watched the movies in a long time.
@26- yeah, that’s true. Everyone else sort of driftes away the farther down the posts you get. Well, about your question. I’m a girl, 14, from Mexico 🙂
@26: Yeah, I just keep coming back because I love you guys. You’re so fun to talk to! 😀
Yes, I am a girl. 15, from California.
BUT. Let me take a moment to (CALMLY) tell you how (EXTRAORDINARILY) jealous I am of you because you live in New Zealand.
Breathe….
LOL, sorry. Just….my intense love for all things Middle-earth is overwhelming….^^’
@28: I have not read Reckless. Who’s it by?
I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with Doria because it’s so ingrained in me from my younger years to dislike him. But who knows. Maybe I’ll like him better when I reread the books (assuming that will happen in the next three years perhaps). It’s plausible that I’ll warm up to him, since I’m willing to give Eragon another chance. (But I said that like two years ago and still haven’t….) But it’s plausible. 🙂
Oh! Atlantis. I’ve seen that maybe once, I think. But I remember liking it. I didn’t know it was by Disney. ‘Cause, you know, there’s those other movies that are sometimes mistaken for Disney, like Anastasia or The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I don’t know why, but I’ve never liked Cinderella….But I like Ella Enchanted. 🙂
@Roxanne, whenever you come back: I’m just letting you know that I am virtually clutching your hands right now. Five more days! I’m so nervous! (Unless you mind me clutching your hands, that is.)
@29 – Reckless is also by Cornelia Funke. You should read it. It’s about this boy whose father disappears, and one day the boy is searching his dad’s office, trying to look for clues to why he left. The only thing left is a mirror one the wall. The boy presses his hand against it and off he goes into another world full of magic and witches and rock creatures and fairies and all those wonderful things. The book is more about when this boy grows older and then his brother and his girlfriend follow him behind the mirror….
Yeah, Atlantis is from Disney. I think it was the first movie my parents ever got for me. I must have watched it a million times. I just love it so much. I think that when I was two, my birthday party was Atlantis themed, so the candles on the cake were Milo and Kida, and also Kida was the piñata. I think that one and my four year-old Spiderman party are the only ones I remember from when I was little.
Man, I leave you guys for five minutes, and you give me SO MUCH to respond to!
@26: I’m 16, too! …from Texas. 🙁 I’m jealous of your NZ heritage. Anywhere is cooler than Texas. Also, do you guys notice how when someone’s from the states, they say which state when asked where they’re from, but when they live outside of the states, they usually say which country instead of provinces or whatever? Mid K and I say California and Texas, while MM and Zac-la say Mexico and NZ. Just thought that was interesting.
@25, 28, 29: Snow, Aurora, and Cinderella are not the most feminist girls, but all the others I think are pretty strong and brave and all that. Except with the first three, the girl makes things happen, and fights for love (as cheesy as it is sometimes). Which is probably why Kida ISN’T part of the official lineup. She doesn’t do much in the film heroically-wise. Disney likes to pick feminist-centric women for their official lineup to give young girls positive role-models…again, aside from the first three, whom are just classics. Hence the “Mulan is a DP even though she’s not actually a feminist.” She saved freaking China! Most feminist DP of all.
And yes, sequels/prequels should just never happen. Period.
Mid K: a) Anastasia is freaking awesome! I love that movie to death and know all the songs by heart! #<3MegRyan&JohnCusack
And b) The Hunchback of Notre Dame IS Disney. Unless your talking about a different film…but it's pretty popular, so I think it's probably the same one. Esmeralda was even a temporary DP.
And c) I love Ella Enchanted too! Hugh Dancy as Prince Char is too much attractiveness! Plus, the fact that Cary Elwes is in it automatically makes it amazing.
Am I the only one who got kinda sick of Farid? He was super cool at first, but then he sorta started blowing off Meggie to hang out with Dustfinger. And is it just me, or did he become kind of WEIRDLY obsessed with DF? But I don't like Doria either.
I heard, even though it's been five years, that Inkspell is actually in the works, movie-wise. Sorry to burst your bubble.
But, once again, I LOVE DUSTFINGER! Best character…except for maybe Gwin! 🙂
Well, it's good that you kill him/her then. I hate it when the story's like "It's impossible to do this" and then the characters proceed to go and do it. Or someone is saved from such an impossible situation. It's stupid. Yeah, your heartbeat's up and you're so relieved that so-and-so got save JUST in time, but rationally speaking, it's stupid. So GOOD JOB, Mid K!
…
I need to work on chapter 7… 😛
OMG YES! Clutching hands, vigorously shaking with worry, nervousness and excitement all wrapped up in one, for the first time ever, saying: "Why can't it be Monday?!?" lol.
@Middy Me, Roxanne, Midshipman K, yuss this is awesome! I was nearly expecting you to all be adults or something haha 😛
@Midshipman K, you like all things LOTRs too?! 😀
I guess I am lucky to live here 🙂 but New Zealand is tiny (population wise), there’s only 4.5 million people living here! That’s less than most big cities!
@Midshipman K and Zac-la, oh, LOTR! Last year my friends and I decided we would someday go to Hobbiton for spring break. Never mind Mexico, we were going to New Zealand (also, it’s so cool you live there, Zac-la)! I doubt it will ever happen, though. It was a decision made in the middle of the obsession only teenagers can pull off.
@32&33: I’m gonna cry. I LOVE YOU GUYS. Anything LOTR is just….MY HEART. _.< I haven't seen it in so long, though. But it's the reason behind me wincing every time someone insults Nicholas II in APEuro….:)
Apparently, the original Esmeralda isn't anything like the Disney version. (You know, the book by Victor Hugo.) I haven't read it, though, so I wouldn't know. My sister recently rewatched it in French class. (In French of course.) Sang along to "God Help the Outcasts" in English, or so she says. We love that song….Plus, it's the only song I still know from there. I haven't seen that movie in an even longer time than I haven't seen Anastasia.
(….Did that make sense?)
I used to watch Ella Enchanted ALL THE TIME. Now I hardly remember it. *sob* But I really like the book too, which is actually rather different from the movie. Still like both….
Aw, thanks. *blushes* It still hurts to know the fate of my dear character, though. But then I just think of Death from The Book Thief and he makes me happy to know my character is with him. I love Death, as strange as that sounds….
Work on Chapter 7! 😀
I know! I realized that it was Monday and I was like, "Great. MONDAY. The one day of the week that no one wants to exist is suddenly all-important!" I think I'm fine, then I space out in Alg II (what else is new?) and start thinking about it….Then I have dizzy spells and nausea and AHHH I just need to know!!!!!!!! Suspense is why I cannot watch horror movies, or swim meets. ^^'
WHOA. That was weird. Half my comment got cut off! LOL, I think the site is trying to save you guys my rambling.
ANYWAY. I rambled about LOTR, so I guess I can cut that out. Gonna choose a different Elvish line, maybe one that actually made it into the movies (last one even got cut from the extended ones). Hmm….
A si i-Dhuath u-orthor, Aragorn. U or le, a u or nin.
That one should be fairly obvious….Think I got the spelling right, but no accents. ^^’ How do you do accents? Anyway, just remember ‘dh’ in Sindarin sounds like ‘th’! 🙂
@30: Reckless sounds cool! You know, part of the reason I love her books is also because they were originally not in English. (German, but I hadn’t read Leviathan back then.) That’s just so cool to me….
Also, that birthday party sounds awesome. I don’t remember many of my birthdays from when I was little….
@31: Most of my reply to you was saved, but I will quote Deryn on your statement about us Americans: “Because America’s barking huge. One country, as big as all of Europe!”
Yeah, and even ‘California’ is vague. North and South are like two different states; I believe there was a time when we actually were. And way up north near Oregon went into a fuss about breaking away years ago. Wanted to make a state called Jefferson, I think. Weird.
And Hunchback is Disney….doh >_< My bad. I don't check facts. I love "God Help the Outcasts" from there, but that's most of what I still know about it. Haven't seen it in forever…. And I was saying Anastasia is the reason I flinch every time someone insults Nicholas II. It's got everything from then on….
I hope this works. 🙂 Yay, for me paraphrasing. It's good for me. XD
I love LOTR too! I have watched the movies a thousand times, though I should probably reread the books. I think the only one I really remember is The Hobbit, which i reread for the sake of watching the movie. I keep trying (in vain) to convince my friends at school to at least watch the movies. But they all think I’m weird because I like LOTR, so they don’t listen 🙁
I think Hunchback of Notredame is one of the only Disney movies I don’t really like…I guess the translation into spanish that i saw was a bit too boring. Usually animated films translations are really cool and funny, but I didn’t really like the voices for that movia, and as I don’t have it, I can’t really watch it in english.
Yeah, Cornelia Funke is really cool. And she’s German, which is a bonus! From her, I think my favorites are the Inkworld books, Reckless, and The Thief Lord.
Oh and, Midshipman K: I think you can change the keyboard language on your computer to one that uses accents, and then change it back to english.
I never really liked HoND. I felt bad for Quasimodo. Not only is he disfigured, but he doesn’t get the girl in the end. Of course not. Because there’s a charming guy who’s also vying for her affections. At least he actually cares about her. It would have really sucked if he was a scumbag and she still pick him over Quasi.
I know! I suddenly became obsessed with all things surrounding Anastasia’s disappearance once I watched that movie (which is actually as old as I am! Like this blog). Too bad stupid history-people-whatever officially found proof she died with the rest. Really ruins the mystery. I feel like it’d be stupid to write an Anastasia retelling NOW. 🙁
I like LotR, too! I haven’t actually read the books (I know, sacrilege), but I’ve watched the movies loads of times! ‘Cause they’re awesome!
Yeah, there’s this one girl in one of my series who’s going to die, always was, always will, but it’s still kind of sad. Actually, she dies twice. The first time is super tragic, but the second is much more peaceful, as I mentioned.
FOUR DAYS! Sorry, had to mention it. 🙂
Interruping your conversation (or joining in), I used to be obsessed with Anastasia’s disapperance too! Did they find evidence that she died? 🙁 I had always hoped she lived!
Yay, you all like LOTR too! I haven’t actually read the books either… I attempted them ages ago when I was like 10? Maybe I was too young but either way they seemed too long and boring! I have how ever read The Hobbit heaps of times! 🙂 It’s amazing! I was obsessed with the LOTR movies when I was younger and used to watch them like everyday! Embarrasing, aye?
That made me think of something, the word ‘aye’ means ‘yes’, right? Here in New Zealand (and maybe other places) ‘aye’ is used instead of the word ‘right’. For example: Deryn is actually a girl, aye?
AND it’s used instead of ‘what’. For example: “I am a cat” Aye? Are you serious?
Haha, ok you guys probably didn’t even want to know this but it’s interesting how the same word is used in different ways in different countries!
Do any of you have Goodreads accounts? 🙂
wow, that’s a cool fact. I’ve ever only heard “aye” used as in ‘yes’, but it makes sense as ‘right’ too. And I’ve only heard it in movies. Or read it in books. It’s really cool that you hear it and use it in everyday life.
Well, in Spanish there’s something like that. There are words that change their meaning completely with just adding one letter, but they still sound the same. For example “hola”, sounds the same as “ola”, but the first one is ‘hello’ and the latter is ‘wave’ as in waves of the sea. There are also changes with accents, but right now my brain is too tired for thinking of anything. I just spent an hour trying to finish one sheet of paper of math exercises. And I spent half an hour on it at school too. It’s horrible, horrible. I think I’ll end up having number nightmares tonight, especially because tomorrow I have an exam :0
oh, and no, I don’t have a Goodreads account. What can you do with one? Is it like, a reading site, or what?
But I think we say ‘aye’ different to the scottish way! We say it ‘ae’ like rhyming (I hate spelling that word) with ‘may’. I think they say it like ‘eye’? Maybe it’s our New Zealand accent 😛
All my life I have hated maths but this year I’ve began to… not like it but tolerate it more 😛
Goodreads has like every book ever written on it and you can rate how much you like a book and write a review. It’s a great way to see other people’s thoughts/comments on books 🙂
One more thing, how long have you guys been coming on this blog? 🙂
I’ve actually been visiting it for like 2 years now :O but I’ve never started commenting until now 🙂
@36: My friends are tolerant of my LOTR addiction. Only about two of my friends really love it along with me, but I hardly ever see them anymore. 🙁 Oh! Cool story, though, there’s this guy in my English class who’s pretty cool, not really my friend though, but he like LOTR (and Sherlock) also and when we did our essay test on Lord of the Flies, he accidentally put ‘Lord of the Rings.’ Best. Mistake. Ever. We still make jokes about it though it was like five months ago….
I’m not sure what you mean by changing the keyboard language….
@37: Honestly, I hardly remember Hunchback. My sister told me the whole story again, though, or what she understood of it in French. The love triangle is obvious, though. I never really liked it, but I don’t recall which guy I wanted her to be with.
There’s proof Anastasia died with them? Really? How was I not aware of this? What was it? (I wanted her not to be dead, but I just accepted it a few months ago. After so many years of ‘what ifs’ I was like, No. Reality now.)
A note on LOTR. Contrary to popular belief, The Lord of the Rings is actually one book. XP Okay, I’m just bugging you. I’m sure you know that; it’s just three volumes, two ‘books’ (parts) per volume. But, of course, there are also many many other books on Middle-earth which can also apply. You should read it! When I first read it in sixth grade, I didn’t really like it, but going back and reading it now, it reads like something as fun and comforting as Diana Wynne Jones.
“Farewell! I go to find the sun!” 😀
Dies twice? Well, if that not intriguing, I don’t know what is. ^^
GOSH, I know! Quaking and shaking over here….
(….That was not supposed to be a religious reference lol)
@38: It took me a while the first time, but you should really read the book! It’s amazing! It’s written sort of like a detailed history. (I’m sure you’ve heard this before.) The most important character in all Tolkien’s works is Middle-earth itself, which may seem a bit dull, but I love it anyway. Then there are the funny bits.
“No, no!” cried Gimli. “Do what you will in your madness, but let me first get down from this horse! I wish to see no eyes!”
I don’t know…. It’s sort of weird out of context. XD Think you know who he was talking to. ^^
Ooh! And the poetry is amazing. 🙂
That is so incredibly funny and amazing. I want to start using that! LOL “I am a cat.” Have you read The Iron Fey? There’s this cat called Grimalkin who is the king of sarcasm and that is his explanation for EVERYTHING.
Sadly, I do not have a Goodreads, but my friends keep telling me to get one. I’ll probably have to, though, since so many authors are on there….But I do have a DeviantART account, and a tumblr. (The internet ruins my life….But you guys make me happy, don’t worry.)
@41 (Zac-la again): Yeah, I say ‘aye’ as ‘eye’. I never really thought of it being different. How odd, Mr. Sharp.
(By the way, does anyone else use random lines from books to express themselves? Just me? I can’t remember how many times I’ve said that one of Dr. Barlow’s….)
Math ruins my 4.0….
I have been coming on this blog since….Er. I remember coming on January last year, but I don’t think I really started commenting until the summer. But I do so now more than ever. But it’s only been a year for me. Though this blog is as old as me….:D
@43 I think I will try reading it again! I just finished Goliath and am having a hard time coping without these characters! Which reminds me I have a list of questions I’ll bug you guys with soon 😛
I haven’t read The Iron Fey but I’ll check it out! I usually hate books where animals can talk (apart from Narnia and The Hobbit) BUT I loved the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness which has talking animals! Have you read that? Do any of you like dystopian books?
@43 I totally do that 😛
Barking spiders! This is totally bogus, Dr Cable!
Ok hold up, I can’t believe that this blog is that old?! How?! Are you serious?
@44- Oh my god! Patrick Ness is like the best dystopian book writer ever!! Chaos Walking is right up in my Top Ten series. Though dystopian is not all he writes. For example, have you read A Monster Calls?
And Manchee is the coolest and most adorable talking dog anywhere!
Gee, that sounded reall fan-girly. I’m sorry, it’s just that no one I know has read thos books. Well, except for one boy, but e resd tham over vacation and then just when I saw him he said he’d read them and that was it.
Point is, I never get to ramble pointlessly with anyone about how cool those books are 🙂
@44: Yay questions, I love questions!
It took me an entire year to get over Deryn and Alek….Still easy to slip back into that mind frame. They’re as familiar as my heartbeat.
You know, I never really considered that Grimalkin was a talking cat. He just….was. The Wolf talks to, and so does Ironhorse, but he’s….iron. I don’t think he counts as an animal. But they’re all fey, so it doesn’t matter.
I am literally reading The Knife of Never Letting Go right now! I have the whole trilogy as an ebook on my phone. I think the library is going to steal it back soon, though. Yikes. I’m not good at deadlines. Speaking of dystopian books, has anyone read Legend? I LOVE LEGEND. And The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. She also wrote the Iron Fey.
Yay, I’m not the only one! (LOL, like when I have a ton of homework, ballet, interviews, endless obligations, “the world is going completely barking spiders.” ^^ Love that one.)
Yes; check the bottom of the page. It says how old the blog is.
@46: Maybe I’ll ramble with you once I finish reading them. 😀 That’s the reason I love this blog. I know so few people who’ve read Leviathan….:(
Three days more!!!!!!!!!!!
@45 omigosh, you’ve read Chaos Walking?! This is awesome 😀
I’ve been meaning to read A Monster Calls for ages but haven’t got round to it! Manchee was amazing! I really want to say something but it will be a spoiler for Midshipman K… haha
@47 I’m still formulating my list of questions but be warned… they are coming! Can I ask what ‘fey’ is?
I’ve read Legend! And Prodigy! They’re such amazing books! I think I nearly preferred Prodigy to Legend though; the characters were so well developed in Prodigy! What are your guys favourite dystopian books?
Mine are: Hunger Games, Divergent, Uglies (obviously), Chaos Walking and Legend 🙂 oh and Delirium! And Maze Runner I guess.. Heard of all of these?
Scott is being a barking bum-rag for not posting more 😉 hahaha that has to be my favourite slang/word from Leviathan!
I actually know no one who has read Leviathan… I tried to get my friend to read it but she thought it was “boring” and “for younger kids”. I was horrified when I heard that.
What’s happening in three days? 🙂 (if it’s not nosy asking!)
And one more thing, did any of you notice this?
http://www.facebook.com/isaac.martin.73#!/photo.php?fbid=555481021149619&set=o.168081776544578&type=1&theater
Tell me if the link doesn’t work and I’ll try and post it again 🙂
@47 – I read Legend, but not Prodigy. I wanted to buy it but it was too expensive, and still, I’m kind of too busy with homework and exams coming. They’re next week! I hate exams, especially math exams…
@48 – Dystopian series…I would say GONE, Chaos Walking, Uglies, The Hunger Games and Maze Runner. Then Divergent. Right now I’m reading LIGHT, last of the GONE series. Anybody read those?
I would use words from books to express myself, only it would sound REALLY, REALLY weird, as everybody speaks Spanish here and most of the books I read are in English. Though I use them in my mind. Bum-rag is my favorite for describing my art teacher, for example.
OMG! Alpha just posted on Facebook that decisions would be sent out Monday morning or LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. Oh god…oh god… *hyperventilating*
[And yeah, according to Wikipedia, they found her remains, along those of her brother, who apparently was also missing but no one ever made a big deal about him for some reason???]
I’m so disappointed that she actually died 🙁
I’ve never heard about any brother that was missing… strange?
Btw, (if anyone even cares) I don’t think that link I posted worked! But anyway it was just something I’d noticed about the pictures of Bovril… its (or him? Her? Did the lorises ever get genders?) size jumps around a bit from picture to picture. The biggest change in size is on page 116 of Goliath. Bovril looks like the size of a small dog! Compared to pages 125 or 202 Bovril is a totally different size to the drawing on page 116.
@Midshipman K here’s my list of questions you said you’d answer 😛
What really is Dr Barlow’s ‘Society’?
Would she let Alek into it too?
Would WW11 still take place?
Who would rule Austro-Hungary?
Are Dr Barlow and Volger together?
What really was the point in Mr Hearst sabotaging the Leviathan so they’d have to land with Pancho Villa? Was it so Pancho could be footage of the Leviathan?
How exactly were the lorises going to be used to ‘change the war’? Or were they actually damaged?
More questions to come once I’ve thought of them!
@48: Oh, I’m sorry! Wasn’t thinking. ‘Fey’ is just another word for ‘faery.’ (Or “fairy” if you prefer that.) It can be plural or singular. “Satyrs are some of the fey of the Summer Court.” or “Grimalkin is a solitary fey.” (Solitary meaning he doesn’t owe allegiance to any court.) So yeah, the Iron Fey are iron faeries which is the definition of situational irony if you think about it….
Oh my gosh you’ve read Legend and Prodigy! *sob* Oh God, wait Middy Me hasn’t read Prodigy yet….Did you know the author’s on DeviantART? She has art of Day and June! 😀
Favorite dystopians? I actually don’t read a lot of dystopian, but here it goes. Legend, The Immortal Rules, Uglies, The Hunger Games (but the sequels I liked less), and….that’s it. I haven’t finished Chaos Walking yet, so I am withholding judgement.
I do recognize all those books, though. My sister has Delirium. And I’ve read The Maze Runner. It wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was good….Oh my gosh, speaking of The Maze Runner and that trait that Thomas and Teresa share, has anyone read Unspoken? It’s not dystopian, but I love this book. Plus, I met Sarah….:D
In three days*, Roxanne and I will know if we got into Alpha or not. I’m excited, but at the same time I don’t want to know….I get dizzy spells from worrying about it….
@49 (still Zac-la): First, I was just so happy to see those pictures that I didn’t even register the question. I looked at them for a while, but the only thing I have to say is that I think it’s the angle. In the first one, Bovril does look bigger, but in the second and third I’d say it’s about the same size. On the first, though, it is the closest thing to the viewer. There is a difference, however, but I’ll just say, why can’t Bovril be all curled and fuzzy cuddling with Alek and stretch out later to get a better look at what its parents are carrying around? 😀 The difference is slight, but I think the average size is the same….
@50: Well, when you get time. My sister’s had my copy of Prodigy for weeks now….Good luck with your exams! I’m sure you’ll be fine! But I agree, they are stressful….*
(*And I think I just failed a chemistry test….THANK GOD we get to drop our lowest test scores….You’ll do better than me, I promise!)
I’ve read everything on your dystopian list, but GONE. However, I have seen it. (Well, I haven’t finished Chaos Walking.)
It would be funny, I suppose, if you spoke in English when everyone else was speaking Spanish. But that’s another thing I do; I don’t know many quotes in other languages, but sometimes I say them anyway. Like “Weisst** du, was ein Kondensator ist?” or “Je peux voir du sang sur les paves!” or “A si i-Dhuath u-orthor, Aragorn. U or le a u or nin.” Yeah….What was that about changing languages for accents?
*Well, it’s tomorrow now since I foolishly forgot to submit this before heading off to an overnight I where I couldn’t bring Bovril.
** ‘ss’ can replace that strong ‘s’ symbol in German that my computer does not have on it’s keyboard….
Okay, now that I’ve submitted that chunk up there, I can look at the new comments!
@51: GOOD LORD. Did you have to tell me that? At this point, I just don’t want to know….but I do….Preparing myself for a ‘no’….so nervous….gah.
Alexei….Why wouldn’t they have made a big deal about him? Because he was the heir and they were hoping he was dead? Huh….He was the one with hemophilia, which is how Rasputin got in, but….I don’t know. I didn’t actually know he was still alive at that point. I thought he died even before the March Revolution.
@52: The link worked for me….
Whoa, lots of questions. These aren’t just for me, are they? Feeling kind of pressured….Sorry if I can’t give satisfactory answers.
1. Well, they definitely don’t just run the zoo. XD Their main function seems to be fabricating new kinds of beasties, however, Deryn and Alek do get hired as ‘agents’. This area seems to be what Dr. Barlow is mostly focused on. I’m not going to say that they’re a spy network, because I don’t think they are. But they definitely have some sort of manipulating purpose, at least where Dr. Barlow is concerned. To whose benefit remains to be seen. It would most likely be Darwinists in general, since Dr. Barlow doesn’t seem all to loyal or dedicated to the British government. Of course, she mostly uses Deryn and Alek to find out information, like what Tesla’s object was. Perhaps the sneaky business was just for the war? The trouble is, Dr. Barlow (sneaky boffin that she is) never outright says. For a final answer on this one, you might want to ask Scott….
2. Go check the December 16, 2011 post. 😀 (I think it was 2011….yeah, because I was still a freshman when I read it….found it in January, 2012.)
3. Probably not. WWII stemmed almost directly from WWI. The Germans felt cheated, they had to deal with the Treaty of Versailles, even the victors were dissatisfied, yadda, yadda. The Great War in the Leviathan universe is significantly shorter (we know from the Manual that it officially ended in 1915) and there probably wasn’t as much money spent and the countries probably weren’t completely in ruins. (Except for America, lucky us. If the US hadn’t stepped in during the actual war, Germany probably would’ve won, though their losses would’ve been no different than, say, England’s.) The US didn’t step into the war until 1917 in the actual history, but in Goliath, they were entering the war December 1914. Also, the Ottoman Empire, weak though it was at the time, didn’t leave the war so quickly in reality. All in all, the war ended way faster in LBG and the peace agreement seems to have been more satisfactory (I’m pretty sure Dr. Barlow and Alek wouldn’t let it be any other way) so no, I don’t think WWII would’ve happened. I think Scott said something about this when he did the huge Q&A….
4. The Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exist after WWI. Franz Joseph died in 1916 (after the war ended in LBG) and was replaced by another grand nephew. That grand nephew abdicated in 1918 (I believe) and all of Austria’s territories were taken away and Austria became a republic. I don’t know who their first president was….At least, I am assuming this was when they became a republic because that’s what they are today. (The only empire that still existed after WWI was the British….)
5. Some people ship them, but I don’t….I think they just worked well together. Plus, the real Dr. Barlow was married and pregnant at the time of LBG. She was 28 I believe….
6. Yup. He just wanted the footage. Grrrrr. I don’t like him. (Have you ever been to Hearst Castle? There’s gold! On the floor! In the barking SWIMMING POOL! A spendthrift waste, if you ask me. The description from Goliath was perfect; it was designed to be filmed.)
7. Well, you never really know. Were they damaged? It’s hard to tell if you don’t have an example that didn’t crash in the Alps. Perhaps they could fabricate another with the same design without the pre-hatch trauma to find out? As for how they would change the war….Well, they were somehow supposed to change the sultan’s mind about joining Germany, a gift of sorts. There’s plenty of things to learn from a loris, as we see with Deryn and Alek, but I’m not sure how it was supposed to change anything. This is a question that I’ve wondered to, as I have with the first question, but I sort of just leave it at never knowing, because it didn’t happen. I still wonder, but I think this one’s beyond me. Again, I suggest asking Scott….sorry.
You know, there’s this word–‘concise’–that my English teacher keeps trying to teach me, but I can’t seem to learn it….XD That was fun anyway, even if I’m wrong or you’re totally lost. I love just talking about LBG like that….<3
GOD, Tomorrow. Or tonight? I AM GOING TO DIE.
@Zac-la: The link worked for me. I never noticed that before!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasia_Romanov#Romanov_graves <–That's all I know. As cool as it would be and as much as I want to write some sort of retelling of what happened to her (and maybe her brother, to be historically accurate), now I feel like it'd be silly to do so, now that they've proved she did in fact die. THANKS ARCHAEOLOGISTS! 🙁
Still a great movie though. Because of it and LBG, I'm obsessed with everything WWI- and Romanov-related (and I'm not usually obsessive about history).
@55: I never liked WWI before LBG. It was just Ancient Greece and Rome and the Tudors. When I read Leviathan, the name ‘Franz Ferdinand’ was a, “Oh, yeah, that guy” reaction. I was so stupid in 8th grade. He was so unimportant to me then that he didn’t even make it into my class notes. Actually, WWI had like one page in my notebook because I hardly took any notes anyway. (Still got good grades because my teacher was amazing.) But then LBG came along and now WWI is the only thing that REALLY interests me about history, especially the Hapsburgs. You know that dog who was obsessed with squirrels in Up? That’s me. You say “Hapsburg” from like across the room and then I’m there in your face going, “Yes?” XD
And, um, I got an email from Alpha….at my friend’s quinceanera rehearsal….and I’m pretty sure they thought someone died….because I screamed so loudly….and, um….I GOT IN.
hallelujahholyshit
I can’t stop shaking. o_o
Midshipman K: Congrats! See you in July.
@56 – Wow!! congrats! It’s so cool that you got in 🙂
oh, and the changing languages. Well, I don’t know how to explain it really. I have a Mac, and on the menu bar on top of the screen there’s a little flag, that’s like the language you’re writing in. So I just put it in Spanish whenever I have to write accents.
And I haven’t read Unspoken, but I’ve wanted to since a web chat Scott did with Justine and Sarah, and she mentioned the book there. I think I must have a wish list that’s like 200 pages long of books I want to read. Well, I’ll get to them eventually….
@57: Um, hi. Thanks. Thank you. 😀
@58: Thank you, too. I really didn’t think I stood a chance….
Hmm. I have a PC. I’ll see if there’s anything in the control panel….
Ahhh! You should read it! 😀 It made me laugh so hard. So did Sarah, when I met her (Clockwork Princess book tour). But the ending….She WONDERS why people don’t like the ending LOL. My To-Read list is like 500 books long….Eventually….
By the way, Roxanne, wherever you are: Did you get in? Are you on the waiting list? Do you know anything yet? I’m really hoping you did….
@Midshipman K!!
congrats! thats so exciting!
@60: Aw, thanks. Everyone’s being so sweet….
…..Hello? Anyone there? Did Monday Monsters steal everyone? Roxanne? Did you hear from Alpha? Zac-la? Any questions? I feel weird here….
Btw @55: I guess I’m happy to have closure. About Anastasia, I mean.
Hey, everybody! Guess what?!
I’m going to Alpha, too!
See you there, Midshipman K (it will be cool to meet you people in person… and know your real names…) and possibly Roxanne! (And anyone else who I may have forgotten that gets on the Westerblog)
So excited!
@62- haha. No monday monsters for me, it was the Spanish teacher. We had to take a story and turn it into a play script, or something like that, I’m not sure. I sort of zone out in that class 🙂 my head starts filling with flying whales and lorises and princes in hiding…..
I kind of want to read all the submission stories…
It’s almost funny. There were 94 applicants this year. There are 73 other people out there who didn’t get in, and yet I seem to be virtually surrounded by everyone who’s going without me.
:'(
ahaha no i’m not able to read all this messages 😀
somebody, say what is the conversation about? :DDDD
and i should change my nick name xD
like that 😀
@Roxanne. I’m sorry. Can you try again next year?
@63: REALLY?! Ohmygosh! Yay! I can’t wait to meet you!
@64: That was me in ballet class tonight. I don’t know why, but for most of class it was just me being all stoic and angry because something of Deryn got into me and sufdenly ballet was too girly. That’s never happened to me. I love ballet and I know how difficult it is, but for some reason I just couldn’t pay attention. But near the end I had sense knocked back into me by my tendonidis….joy. XD
Btw, I think it would be fun to turn something into a play! If it was, you know, Leviathan….
@65: Won’t we get to critique each other? Roxanne…?
@66: *sob* No! I wanted to meet you, too….:'( I’m sorry…. If it means anything, your story is still amazing from what you told me. I love talking to you about writing, so I hope we can continue doing so! Unless you don’t want to….?
Hey, all you Chaos Walking readers! How in blazes did you survive Manchee? I am honest to God sobbing my eyes out right now…. And I’m supposed to focus on HOMEWORK? Sod it all….
@69: Yeah, I can, but Scott won’t be a guest author (I assume, I guess he could but that’s unlikely). And a girl I met there whom I’ve recently grown close to got in, so I’m probably never going to see her again.
@70: I just can’t believe this. Last year was fun, but I hadn’t previously heard of/read any of the guest authors and therefore wasn’t REALLY excited to meet them. Now Scott Westerfeld is coming and I don’t get in… FML. 🙁
You won’t get to critique everybody. The way it works is there are these second-years called “Betas” and there are usually 3 or 4 of them. You get their submission stories over the E-mail loop (I don’t know if you guys know, but there is an Alphan E-mail loop so everyone can get to know each other in the months before Alpha) to read, and you’ll get to critique them at Alpha. THEN later, after you’ve written your Alpha story, everyone gets divided into groups of 4 and your little groups all read and critique each other. I hope that all made sense.
So you COULD read everyone’s submission story if you got them to give it to you, but it’s not a part of the curriculum.
Gosh, I’m so jealous and still partly in denial!!! This can’t be happening… 🙁
Well, maybe we can all go for our second time next year and meet one another then. *desperately hopeful*
@72: You’re breaking my heart….I SO wanted to meet you. I’ll be desperately hopeful with you!
That email loop sounds cool and scary….and helpful, I suppose. Only, I already know two of the other people going. Everyone I knew who applied got in….except you. *SOB* So, yeah, my sister and my friend got in, too. (And Middy Miles, but I don’t know your real name….)
I feel guilty being part of the 20 and not part of the 73 that should be comforting you….I’d say I’ll send you postcards, but, you know….
I AM LONG-DISTANCE HUGGING YOU, MY FRIEND. <3
@73 (<–hehe, ironic): Wow, I did NOT need to know about more people who're going without me. I'm already aware of half the people who are going now. Sorry, that's not your fault. Don't feel bad about mentioning it. I wish I had a sibling or friend who is as interested in writing as me.
Don't feel guilty on my part, either. I would give almost anything to be in your shoes right now (er, in July), so enjoy it for the both of us! Be excited and bounce off the walls. This is beyond exciting for you! 🙂
Well, after Alpha you 2013-ers will join the big-girl E-mail loop. Then I'll found out y'all's real names, and you'll find out mine… 😉
No, my name's not Roxanne. It's my middle name, but I don't actually go by that.
*Long-distance hug, friend*
@74: GAH! How could I not feel awful for doing that to you? I’M SO SORRY, I didn’t think. (“For I am very stupid, Cecy, and think only of myself.” (Will, go away!))
Hmm. My dad goes by his middle name, too, but only because his name is the same as his dad’s. Family name, you know.* I was sort of hoping Roxanne was your middle name when I got the news because I could see everyone else the email was sent to, but there were no Roxannes. Alas….my hoping was rewarded, and yet….
‘K’ is my first initial, btw. Hence the name. It works. I use it everywhere. LOL I’m so easy to track through the internet….
*It actually caused some trouble when my mom was buying groceries and the woman saw her ID and said she knew V—- B—- and my mom said he was her husband….Because we have Chinese relations in San Francisco that hate our guts but still kept the family name….So, two V—- B—-s. (Sorry for the awkward dashes….) Yeah, my mom’s definitely not married to the Chinese one. She said the look on the woman’s face was pretty hilarious, though.
Hey everyone!
Sorry, I’ve been so busy with school I haven’t had time to post! It’s kind of ironic because I’m home-schooled.. I used to get my work done in like two hours but now I’m doing it all da :O ahhh, the perks of being young…
Thank you so much @Midshipman K for answering my questions! And congratulations on getting into Alpha (that’s what it’s called right?) You’re so lucky, you get to meet Scott! 😀 so how do you get into Alpha? Do you have to submit a piece of writing?
I haven’t heard of Unspoken, what’s it like? Oh good, that link did work! Yeah I think you’re right! But in the top picture Bovril looks WAY to big to sit on Alek’s shoulder!
Still @Midshipman K, oh wow you’re so knowledgable XD
I actually do kind of ship Dr Barlow and Volger.. I heard she was married in real! But wait, in Leviathan Volger seemed to keep hinting that he was married? He kept telling Alek how he’d had to leave his ‘family’, didn’t he? I guess he could mean parents, sibling etc..
Manchee’s ***** (for those who don’t want it spoiled) tore me up to the bone! How it was written was just heart-breaking! And how he said “Todd?” 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Uglies-Movie/294095563990212?ref=hl
Also, everyone who is on facebook should go like this page 😀
(The name’s pretty dumb but I didn’t make it up so…)
@75. In theory, I’d be easy to track through the internet. I use my own name in my fan fiction, after all. (Oh, what’s that? All you want to read this fan fiction because I’m actually a credible author-person now for getting into Alpha? Well, you can just click on my name and it will take you to my fan fiction page, where you can read my stuff. The fanfic in question is called “Orion”. Go. Enjoy 🙂 )
@76: I wish I could get my work done in two hours! (even though you don’t anymore….) Mostly, I get busy work, which is so annoying because it’s always in the classes I don’t care about. I’ve taken to writing book quotes on the margins of my Algebra II assignments to show my teacher how useless her class is….And she has this weird impression that novels end? Are any of you under the impression that LBG ended? Or Harry Potter, for a wider reference? I mean, what’s the one thing you NEVER tell a HP fan? Plus, what was it Jo said about Hogwarts living on forever in our hearts? (Same goes for LBG, I just have more HP references….) Who doesn’t still daydream about that flying whale?
(Okay rant over ah)
Yeah, you have to write a short story that sci fi, fantasy, or horror as the main part of the application, but you also have a form with all the basic stuff like name, age, why-are-you-applying-in-at-least-300-words essay….(Not really an essay, but I just call it that….)
Yeah, Volger DID say something about leaving his family didn’t he? Or was it implied? I remember Alek thinking about it in Chapter….6? Hold on….Ack, no! 10! (I can usually calculate chapters in the books since they alternate so regularly, but I’d forgotten that this part came after Deryn boarded the Leviathan….gah, I am a Dummkopf LOL) So yeah, page 92 is says they gave up their “ranks, families, and futures.” It doesn’t specify, but maybe you know another scene?
OH GOD MANCHEE, I KNOW!!!!!!!!!! I tried to tell my friend why I wasn’t able to start my homework until 10 pm, but then I was thinking about it and he kept going, “Todd? Todd?” and I just couldn’t….I was crying as hard as I cried for the end of Clockwork Princess. I don’t know….I think part of it just messed up my idea of the whole trilogy because I was so familiar with the Alek-Deryn-Bovril trio that I thought….augh….
@77: Sadly, I do not have a facebook….But one day I might need one….(for GSA purposes)
@78: OH! Orion! Ohmygosh! That’s one of the FFs that I’ve been meaning to read! (Because I stopped reading FF for THE LONGEST time because of school issues, but there were so many that I hadn’t read….But now my friend introduced me to a FFn app. 😀 I’ll try to read it soon!
Yeah, I used MidshipmanK first here (I think?) but I’d always intended it as my DeviantART username. It just depends on when I made my dA account for vs when I started commenting on here to know which is first. Then when I made a tumblr, I just used it again. And that is the extent of my online presence! 😀 (But I hardly go on tumblr and I tried to find everything I could on LBG, but we have such a small presence on there….I don’t actually mid, though. It seems sort of mainstream….)
@71,76, 79 – that “Todd?” literally broke my heart. I just kept reading and rereading that part because it absolutely COULD NOT have happened 🙁
@70 – Turning Leviathan into a play would most definitely be barking awesome. And then actually performing them. Though I guess you’d spend more time working on the props and backgrounds than acting, because I mean, how do you make a Stormwalker, or a Leviathan? But if you could pull it off, it would be great.
@Roxanne – I’m so sorry you didn’t get into Alpha. I would have applied, but I’m too far away and my parents would never let me go, so I’m not going anywhere either. Though someday, someday I will meet Scott. And I’m sure you will too 🙂
And now, back to doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I have a Geography exam tomorrow on Africa and the Middle East. I must study…
@79. This was my reaction to you saying you wanted to read/had even heard of Orion: *stunned**hands up in the air* So. Barking. Awesome.
It’s moments like these that make me feel like less of a nobody. And you should definitely read it and leave at least 6 reviews so I can get to 200 🙂 (I am currently in the revision process, but I’ve only gotten through chapter two. So if you notice a steep drop off in writing skills, that’s why. I was a terrible writer a year ago.)
This is a totally random idea, but how cool would it be to have a book that got passed around from stranger to stranger? Like, someone would buy a fantastic read, write something in it like their name or a comment, or highlight their favorite passage, and then pass it on to someone else, whether it be a friend or a complete stranger. You’d have this internationally-traveled book, with so much history attached…
So obviously this book should Leviathan. 😀
@82
that would be AWESOME!!!
@80: I wnet back so I could find the page when he was thinking about how much Manchee had done for him, but I had to go past THAT PART. (It’s an ebook on my phone.) I started crying all over again….First, my sister got to see me break down over Clockwork Princess. Then, it was my dad and my sister for Manchee. Next it’s going to be the whole family! XD I need to learn to go to my room to read, because reading stuff like that immobilizes me….
Ahh! What happened? Somehow, it just submitted that bit up there…..
Okay, hopefully no more technical difficulties. Technology hates me, but I thought I had a good relationship with Bovril….(my computer lol).
Still @80: I agree that a Leviathan play would be awesome, but I also love the idea of a Leviathan musical, one where they never stop singing like in Les Miserables. (People give me weird looks….) But can’t you just see it? (Plus, Les Mis has so many songs that remind me of Leviathan. “On My Own” for Deryn, “Bring Him Home” like a Franz-for-Alek prayer, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” for the revolution….)
@81: I will totally do that soon! Can I review without having an FF account?
We all have those first drafts, don’t worry….
@82: I cannot even express how incredible an idea that is….It’s like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only a book!
….Can you get in trouble for writing “I can’t because I don’t want to” on your math homework? I mean, like, on just one question?
(LOL Why am I even asking that on here?)
(What if it’s in French?)
(Even though I take Spanish….)
(My sister just says it all the time, so I know it….)
(I think Chaos Walking is affecting how I use parentheses….)
@85. Yes, you can leave a review without an account because I accept guest reviews. Just make your guest name MidshipmanK so I know it’s you. Also, I like reviews a lot, so just leave a bunch of them if you feel like it. And feel free to make them long, too. 🙂
I think someone needs to start this. Not me, though… 😉
If, in years to come, I come across a well-loved and thoroughly dog-earred copy of Leviathan, complete with several notes and such in a million different hand-writings, then I’ll know I inspired it. 😀
OK, first of all, I’m also hungarian and I feel great reading your posts, Mr. Westerfeld. 😀
I just finished reading Behemoth and it was a-w-e-s-o-m-e 😀 I feel like I can only express it by using the codes Deryn used when she informed the Leviathan about there whereabouts after destroying the ……. (don’t want to spoiler)
I love to read books in their original language(if it’s english), but I HAD TO order the hungarian books with these covers.:)
So thank you again, for writing such cool books! 🙂
vsukkdf qxocoaxh http://www.paceproject.net/userfiles/file/Urban%20Living/ ?????? ?? ndnxoe
Do we get to see Shay as a cutter than! I’m totally ready to see that! I’ve always pictured them with flash tattoos all over their face and their teeth filled with fangs and their irises completely black! OMG