Summary:
Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature.
Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 397 pages (Kindle Edition)
Source: Toronto Public Library
Available Formats: Print/E-book/Audio
Publication Date: March 28th 2006 by Del Rey
After years of wanting to read the Temeraire series I finally got around to reading it about two weeks ago and I absolutely loved it and haven't stopped berating myself about having not started reading it sooner.
Now, I don't know very much about the Napoleonic Wars but from what I've read about the author and the time period itself is that she used as much historical fact as she could whilst working in the alternative history with the dragons into the story.
As soon as I started the book (which I read on my cellphone) I was hooked. The way Naomi Novik spun her tale of war, action, adventure, historical fiction and fantasy all together was simply amazing. The amount of detail that went into not only the setting but the vivid descriptions of the events, the creation of the dragons and the world was wonderfully done.
At first I wasn't sure of what to make of Captain Will Laurence because he seemed a bit too haughty for his own good but eventually he grew on me especially when his bond with Temeraire evolved. For me though Temeraire was the star of the novel. I mean honestly who doesn't love an exotic, monstrously large talking dragon that loves to be read to and has an un-dragon like penchant for swimming and a taste for seafood?
The novel follows these two unlikely friends during a rough time in British history and we see Temeraire grow from hatchling to a young adult dragon along side his once naval captain turned aviator as they join in to wage war on the French forces trying to invade from across the English Channel.
Fraught with politics, a supreme sense of adventure and courageous battles, Naomi Novik's book was an amazing alternative look at what the world could have been like if we had been born into a world that included noble dragons. I loved learning about all the different breeds of dragons, their training and seeing all the different personalities that they exhibited.
Overall this was an amazing read and I'm so glad I finally gave this book a try. Novik's writing style is strong and unique and she has a voice that's all her own. It was so refreshing to see a female author writing about dragons and war as I haven't seen many female authors take part in this genre. This is definitely one of my favourite reads of the year and is on my list top 100 favourite books of all time.
I would recommend this to all fans of historical fiction and fantasy especially those who love alternative history novels. With great characters, an extremely strong plot and rich descriptions this is a must have for any fantasy reader's shelf and for a debut novel Naomi Novik proves she can hang with the big boys in the genre.
Loved it!
★★★★★
★★★★★
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So this is one of the books you been reading on your cellphone. Glad you found another way to read. Interesting review. I enjoyed it. Dragons are always cool arent they.
ReplyDeleteYeppers! I'm glad I can read on my phone again. This is one you gotta read Babe.
DeleteGood to hear - like yourself, I've been meaning to read this series forever.
ReplyDeleteI think you should give it a try soon! It's addictive. I'm going to be starting book 3 soon.
DeleteI'm glad you liked it as much as I did! :D
ReplyDeleteMe too Adela! I love Will and Temeraire!
DeleteI do not read a lot of fantasy..but this has me curious from the dragon! I love that it blends historical history and fantasy.
ReplyDeleteYou should totally give this series a try! I think you'd really like it :)
DeleteI've never actually heard of this book, but I love fantasy. It sounds really cool, I love alternate history books that bring something new to the table.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read too many alternate history novels before but I gotta say I'm really intrigued now :) I hope you get a chance to read this one :)
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