I read halfway through this book then went to go see him talk, where he kind of gave away the ending. I still enjoyed it, however I felt like it was just a set up for the second book. Which I guess it should be in a series, but I felt like it took so long for Alek and Deryn to meet, and there wasn't a very specific plot. However this book was really interesting. I loved the illustrations, it was so fascinating and definitely added to the story. I want to go into Scott's brain, because he comes up with fantastic ideas. The Clankers vs. Darwinists as the opponents in WW1 is really fascinating. But I'm interested in how the series progresses, considering Germany/Austria-Hungary loses and the conflict isn't solved until WW2. But yeah, I really liked it.