Leviathan

The novel recounts the events leading up to World War I but in an alternate reality, where the British "Clankers" use fabricated beasts to go up against the German "Darwinists" who use steam-powered war machines. Caught in the middle of the fray is Aleksander Ferdinand, the newly orphaned heir to the German-Austrian Empire, who is forced to flee his home and unexpectedly finds himself aboard a Darwinist marvel, the whale ship Leviathan. Here is where Alek meets an unexpected ally in Deryn.