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From Publishers Weekly
In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has its own breeds, but none are so jealously guarded as the mysterious dragons of China. Veteran Capt. Will Laurence of the British Navy is therefore taken aback after his crew captures an egg from a French ship and it hatches a Chinese dragon, which Laurence names Temeraire. When Temeraire bonds with the captain, the two leave the navy to sign on with His Majesty's sadly understaffed Aerial Corps, which takes on the French in sprawling, detailed battles that Novik renders with admirable attention to 19th-century military tactics. Though the dragons they encounter are often more fully fleshed-out than the stereotypical human characters, the author's palpable love for her subject and a story rich with international, interpersonal and internal struggles more than compensate. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* This is the first book in a superbly written, character-driven series, Temeraire, which conjures the Napoleonic-era military replete with aerial corps of fighting dragons and their handlers. When Captain Laurence of HMS Reliant takes a French frigate as a prize, the cargo includes a dragon egg due to hatch before the Reliant can reach a British aviators' base. When the hatchling chooses the captain to be his handler, Laurence's naval career comes to an end. He is now an aviator and a member of a service more tolerated than admired. Within very short order, he finds himself bonded with Temeraire, a most elegant and intelligent dragon, more closely than he has ever been bonded with anyone before, and that includes the lady he had thought he would marry. Novik fully integrates dragons into late-eighteenth-century military tactics and develops a convincing armed-service social milieu that includes the dragon corps. But what keeps one turning the pages is the urge to find out what happens next to Captain Laurence and Temeraire, characters who win one's heart from the beginning. Bravos for a most promising new author! Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth a read,
By Loki Xombi "Nox" (Alberta, ED Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: His Majesty's Dragon (Mass Market Paperback)
With an amazingly well rounded story, Naomi Novik combines two of my all time favorite genres: fantasy and history. What more could one ask for than to have a war torn Europe from the Napoleonic era complimented with fantasy's most beloved of all creatures; the Dragon.Naval, aerial and ground battles surrounded by acid/fire spitting dragons. What more could you ask for?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grand,
By A Customer
This review is from: His Majesty's Dragon (Mass Market Paperback)
I, too, finished it in what was essentially one long sitting. Novik expertly weaves the historical with the fantastic and creates a world I am desperate to visit again. I haven't read a lot of fantasy, but much of what I have seems too enamoured with its clever premise to create emotionally involving characters. Not so here. The relationship between Temeraire and Laurence reads almost like a love story. Action is well drawn - you'd think in a story where dragons are treated like airships complete with working crews, you might get lost in the details. Novik keeps it simple, clear and vivid.Not particularly complex in any of its elements, but entirely engaging, readable and fun. Definitely worth your time. Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dragons, Napoleon and Plots, Oh My!,
By
This review is from: His Majesty's Dragon (Mass Market Paperback)
There are a few book series in my life that have caught my imagination to where it's not a question as to whether I'll read the rest of the series but rather a question of how fast I can get my hands on them and to be honest, it's been a long time since a book had that effect on me. Books in the past that have done that are Hugh Lofting's Dr. Doolittle, Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and Frank Herbert's Dune. Set aside against those high standards have been countless clunkers and many books that we're decent enough but didn't quite rise to that level.When I was younger, I couldn't explain to you what the qualities were that made a book great and now that I am older and better read, I can do so but it doesn't suffice to explain how a book can grip you. Imagine my delight to find that this was such a book. What are the qualities that make it work? This is a historical novel that has been very well researched with an intriguing twist. What would the Napoleonic wars have been like with air power? What if that Air Power were dragons instead of machines? Add to that a very strong character development and themes that reflect the struggles of that day, many of which are still being wrestled with today and you have a multi-faceted novel with several hooks well-set and ready to catch any readers who cross its path. The dialogue between characters is masterful and captures a quality that very few authors manage to develop. I found myself reminded in places of the dialogue typical of David Eddings' fantasy that captures the natural, easy and affectionate relationship. Further, the flowing dialogue captures cultural nuances and differences that moves beyond what could easily become stereotypical and lands smack dab in the middle of believable and accurate for that day and age. This book has been very strongly researched and considered on several levels and the hard work shows. Historical fiction it is to be sure and the characters are fictional and even those historical figures referenced are put into fictional settings, but what is not fictional is the understanding of military tactics, cultural nuances and relationships that leave the reader feeling that if this story is not true, it should be! I took advantage of downloading this book on my Kindle for free, thinking it might help to spend some time on a long commute. It was calculated no doubt as a loss lead to entice readers to then download the next 4 books in the series and I cheerfully concede that they planned well as far as I was concerned. An outstanding introduction to an outstanding series and it's nice to know that even in one grown older and far removed from some of the early magical reading experiences, that there are authors like Novic who can weave that magic and draw a reader in. 5 stars. Bart Breen
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