GOLIATH

Alan Cumming enthusiastically narrates the continuing airship adventures of Prince Alek, heir to Austria, and Midship(wo)man Deryn/Dylan Sharp as they fly from Istanbul to New York, intent on stopping WWI. Stops in Siberia, Japan, California, and Mexico afford ample opportunity to deploy a range of accents, and Cumming is remarkably skillful at alternating between Deryn's Scots brogue and Alek’s German accent in rapid dialogue. A questionable Transylvanian singsong voice for Nikola Tesla is a comic reminder that these adventures are over the top and the listener should just hang on for the ride. Their time aboard the LEVIATHAN has ended, but Westerfeld hints that it's not the last we’ve seen of the duo. One hopes that the engaging Cumming will continue to soar with them. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2011]