I certainly see the contrast now. I think the difference in Leviathan is that taking the throne was only a somewhat distant possibility for Alek, and as a means of ending the war it wasn't guaranteed to work or even be necessary. The world had changed, as well, and it should have been obvious after some of the stuff he'd seen that it wasn't really possible any more to just wave a piece of paper and shout "I am now your supreme ruler!"
The only other work of Westerfeld's that I've read is The Risen Empire (I first got Leviathan because it was discussed at alternatehistory.com); he's written several other young-adult series. Before Leviathan he was actually known for screwing over the romantic pairings in his books, so I think a lot of people were quite relieved that Alek and Deryn got their 'happily ever after'.
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Date: 2011-10-08 05:43 pm (UTC)The only other work of Westerfeld's that I've read is The Risen Empire (I first got Leviathan because it was discussed at alternatehistory.com); he's written several other young-adult series. Before Leviathan he was actually known for screwing over the romantic pairings in his books, so I think a lot of people were quite relieved that Alek and Deryn got their 'happily ever after'.