Temeraire: In the Service of the King

I think I've read these ... before I started recording books with goodreads ( )

Reader note: I'm reviewing the entire nine novels of the Temeraire series in this review.

Such a surprise awaited when I flipped to the first page of His Majesty's Dragon: Napoleonic naval adventures married seamlessly and believably to an aerial component via dragons. All disbelief suspended. Stunningly delightful.

That surprise was further augmented by Novik's impeccable research, the solidity of her character and plot development. All my usual cynicism evaporated. Of course there are sentient dragons populating the globe. Of course Napoleon added those dragon recruits to his troops to great effect, as did the British, and the Swiss, and the Russians.

And of course the Chinese revered and recognized dragonkind, built their cities to accommodate their draconian neighbours, gave them rights and employment, allowed them to create their own hierarchies and culture.

In short, Novik's world building is some of the best I've ever read. This is fantasy married to alternate history at its peak. There is no peer for this, in my opinion. She has created a canon of work I believe will endure through time, come to be homed with classics like Adams' Watership Downs, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

And in light of the fact I am such a very difficult reader to impress, it comes as astonishment that once I'd read all nine novels, I immediately, without hesitation, and with great delight, began the first in the series and swam my way through the entire series once again, relieving that joy.

It has been a very long time since I have been this mesmerized and delighted by a fantasy series, or frankly any literary work.

If you've never read the Temeraire series, you should. Right now. Go. Acquire His Majesty's Dragon, and then settle in for a delicious, entertaining, utterly believable adventure you're never going to forget. ( )

I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much from this book, after all I found it laying around on the floor at the recent Emerald City Comicon so it that didn’t bode well for it. Once again I was proved very wrong and was pulled into this novel from the very first page; how can I have not known of this series before now? It definitely falls into the category of one of those great little secrets that not enough people know about.

The characters in this first book in the series are well developed, but not to the point where there is no room for growth, and there is no romance which is very rare in this genre of book. The relationship covered in this first book is that between a man and his dragon; the Temeraire (the main dragon protagonist) and Laurence (the main human protagonist) bond is a deeply emotional connection. There is palpable love between man and dragon, and their relationship is the emotional thread that weaves through the novel. Temeraire is intelligent, logical and witty with a childlike wonder for the new world in which he finds himself. Laurence is the battle proven Naval Captain that patiently guides him through the world in the best way he knows. Neither of these characters have experience with the world of the other, but the Author brings those two worlds together via these characters in a realistic and caring manner. The Author captures the warmness and sincerity of their bond, enough to give balance to all the colder, plot-driven elements of the story. This novel is primarily an adventure, a story in wartime, an exploration of dragons in this fascinating alternate history society, but in its writing the Author doesn't neglect the warmer, more ‘human’ side of things. There are moments of extreme emotion and emotional distress, mostly due to the closeness that aviators develop with their dragons, and each moment played out realistically. When it comes to moments of high emotion I feel that each one has to be earned in character, in story, in meaning, and I feel cheated when I think the Author is trying to manipulate me to respond; this Author used no manipulative techniques at all as the reader is right there feeling everything with the characters.

The world-building is handled with startling grace, given that this is the Author’s first novel. This was one of the main pleasures of this book for me; the authentic feel of the world that was built. It is apparent that extensive amounts of research went into correctly portraying 19th century English society, from the realities of the Navy to the manners of the drawing room. And best, none of it is done in a lecturing way; it is all of it presented as naturally as possible. The Author hasn’t let research intrude at all upon telling the story, and better yet, her addition of dragons into this world is so well thought-out (from their feeding, breeds, natural inclinations, personalities, levels of intelligence, size and temperament, mode of fighting and the innovative invention of aerial fighting) that it adds to the depiction of the historical period. In a seamless manner the Author grafts on her inventions to the known historical realities, and comes up with a beautifully realised fictional world that's meticulously detailed and worked out. I particularly liked the fact that there is so much thought given to how the dragons would fit into this society, and she succeeds in a way that few Authors in this genre succeed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes dragons, alternate realities or fantasy; actually I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, well written story and feel that even readers of the Master and Commander and Dragonriders series of books would enjoy this as well. I will definitely be reading the remaining books in this series.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/04/20/review-his-majestys-dragon-temeraire-1-nao...




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A lot better than I expected. I haven't read any "dragon rider" books, as other reviewers refer to this genre. They have never appealed to me. I don't know why. Even as a young voracious fantasy kid, I avoided McCaffrey--I think the pictures on the books always looked hokey to me (this one is no exception), and I love judging books by their covers.

Nevertheless, I picked this up because of the historical nature of it and was pleasantly surprised. It is an easy rainy day page turner that treats dragon riding much differently than you would expect (as all the other reviewers address endlessly). I'm halfway through the second one as I write this and can expect I probably won't last much past the third book. The characters are flat, but there is sufficient intrigue to keep me hooked thus far. My favorite bits are when the anarchic temperament of the dragon clashes with the propriety of British culture--I hope this becomes more of an issue and perhaps a driving point in the plot. I mean, I just don't buy it: here's this genius dragon that could easily escape and live the good life, but he prefers the company of stick-in-the-mud Laurence? Even as I type this, however, I suppose his intelligence does necessitate a proximity to civilization, since he likes to read.

I would have liked to see Temeraire hatch to some vagabond who could give two shits about honor and custom and then the military tries to enlist his help because of the unusual nature of the creature--I guess I better write my own books! ( )

A lot better than I expected. I haven't read any "dragon rider" books, as other reviewers refer to this genre. They have never appealed to me. I don't know why. Even as a young voracious fantasy kid, I avoided McCaffrey--I think the pictures on the books always looked hokey to me (this one is no exception), and I love judging books by their covers.

Nevertheless, I picked this up because of the historical nature of it and was pleasantly surprised. It is an easy rainy day page turner that treats dragon riding much differently than you would expect (as all the other reviewers address endlessly). I'm halfway through the second one as I write this and can expect I probably won't last much past the third book. The characters are flat, but there is sufficient intrigue to keep me hooked thus far. My favorite bits are when the anarchic temperament of the dragon clashes with the propriety of British culture--I hope this becomes more of an issue and perhaps a driving point in the plot. I mean, I just don't buy it: here's this genius dragon that could easily escape and live the good life, but he prefers the company of stick-in-the-mud Laurence? Even as I type this, however, I suppose his intelligence does necessitate a proximity to civilization, since he likes to read.

I would have liked to see Temeraire hatch to some vagabond who could give two shits about honor and custom and then the military tries to enlist his help because of the unusual nature of the creature--I guess I better write my own books! ( )