Throne of Jade (Temeraire #2) by Naomi Novik

 

Summary:

 

When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces.

Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands–and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East–a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 398 pages (Mass Market Paperback)

Source: Own

Available Formats: Print/E-book/Audio

Publication Date: April 25th 2006 by Del Rey

 

Back in March I read the first two books in the Temeraire series very close together. In fact I had barely finished the first one before I started the second one and I was so surprised that I did that because I don't do it very often.

 

When I first started Throne of Jade I was both excited and nervous. I was excited because I had loved the first book so much and I was nervous because I loved it so much and wanted it to keep up the momentum which can sometimes drop off when it comes to a second book in a series but I was so relieved to see that this wasn't the case with this novel at all.

 

This novel follows the growing juvenile dragon Temeraire and his keeper Captain Laurence as they travel by sea back to China the so-called rightful homeland as per request of both the Chinese and British Governments. Full of deception, heartbreak, joy, betrayal and of course copious amounts of adventure the author's writing really came together in this one.

 

Throne of Jade was full of plot twists with political undercurrents that made it a very intriguing and consuming read. Poor Mr. Turning the Pages was neglected for the couple of days that I spent reading the first two books in this series and I think he grew rather tired of me talking about talking dragons, months long sea voyages and battles with sea creatures. Throne of Jade was just one of those books that I had to talk about because it was so detailed and complex.

 

While I was pleased to see that the plot was so cohesive and detailed I was even more ecstatic to see that the characters of Will and Temeraire were growing and evolving so well. It was awesome to see their personalities coming out more and especially in the case of Temeraire as he along with Will were presented with some tough situations that have the potential to cause severe repercussions for not only the two of them but both the nations of England and China.

 

Overall, with all the new plot twists that were throne in, the story line was fantastic and I really enjoyed the descriptive way Naomi Novik described the scenes in her book especially when it came to China and the dragon's living there. It was a fantastic follow up to His Majesty's Dragon and I can't wait to read the third book in this fantastic series.

 

I would recommend this book to all those who read and enjoyed the first book in the series His Majesty's Dragon. If you haven't read the first book in the series I highly suggest doing so especially if you have a penchant for talking dragons, adventure, alternative history and well developed stories that are equally character and plot driven.

 

I read this book for the following reading challenges:

 

2013 150+ Reading Challenge

 

 

Loved it!
★★★★★

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