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Book Review: Temeraire by Naomi Novik
I bought this ages ago, having spent weeks hearing about it from several sources. This is the big noise in fantasy literature this year and has already been optioned as a film.
So is it worth the hype?
Yes :)
I don't think it's as drop dead stunning as JK Rowling's début but there's no doubt that Novik has created a fascinating AU and hey, who doesn't love dragons? Basically, the novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars and all the big battles are there, but in addition to the ships of the line, armed forces are supplemented by an Aerial Corps of dragons. Sadly, not all dragons are fire-breathers, it seems, else I imagine it would be a very short book - the ships lined up, the dragons came, the ships burned down - but have many other talents and skills to compensate.
The hero of the book is a Navy captain who finds himself bonded to a dragon after capturing a French ship. This is a master stroke on Novik's part, as Laurence knows nothing of dragons or the aviators that fly them and therefore we are able to learn all we need to know as he learns. Kudos too, for the way the book is written; not once does Novik slip out of the kind of phrasing and language used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In less skilled hands, this could have been a dull and stilted read, but instead the book moves along at a cracking pace. Which is why I went to bed early last night, intending to just read a few pages and ended up not going to sleep until 2am :P
A quick poke on amazon tells me that there are already other books available in the series. Hurrah! I'd say it has great series potential, with characters you really care about and yes, that includes the dragons :) Now please excuse me, I have an urgent need to go and update my wish list :D
PS: Warning to those attempting to buy this. This book has also been published under the title "His Majesty's Dragon". Exact same book, though!
So is it worth the hype?
Yes :)
I don't think it's as drop dead stunning as JK Rowling's début but there's no doubt that Novik has created a fascinating AU and hey, who doesn't love dragons? Basically, the novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars and all the big battles are there, but in addition to the ships of the line, armed forces are supplemented by an Aerial Corps of dragons. Sadly, not all dragons are fire-breathers, it seems, else I imagine it would be a very short book - the ships lined up, the dragons came, the ships burned down - but have many other talents and skills to compensate.
The hero of the book is a Navy captain who finds himself bonded to a dragon after capturing a French ship. This is a master stroke on Novik's part, as Laurence knows nothing of dragons or the aviators that fly them and therefore we are able to learn all we need to know as he learns. Kudos too, for the way the book is written; not once does Novik slip out of the kind of phrasing and language used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In less skilled hands, this could have been a dull and stilted read, but instead the book moves along at a cracking pace. Which is why I went to bed early last night, intending to just read a few pages and ended up not going to sleep until 2am :P
A quick poke on amazon tells me that there are already other books available in the series. Hurrah! I'd say it has great series potential, with characters you really care about and yes, that includes the dragons :) Now please excuse me, I have an urgent need to go and update my wish list :D
PS: Warning to those attempting to buy this. This book has also been published under the title "His Majesty's Dragon". Exact same book, though!
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