While discussing some of the upcoming movies and cool dragon adaptations, some club members mentioned The Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik. I’d never heard of it before but, hey, I love dragons (who doesn’t?) and I’m always looking for new authors and good books. Well, this book has sent me running for the rest of the series.
Set during the Napoleonic wars but with one giant difference from real history. The Aerial Corps of dragons that both the French and English utilize. The HMS Reliant, captained by Will Laurence, manages to capture a French frigate and finds in the hold a dragon egg that is soon to hatch. With land three weeks away, he realizes that he can’t present the prize of this rare egg. One of his crew will have to harness the dragon and begin the bond. No one is more surprised than he when the dragon chooses him to name him.
With the charge of a dragon, Laurence knows life won’t be the same. The loss of his place in society, his commission and everything he knows must end. He soon learns though that he has gained far more than he has lost.
Temeraire is a beautiful and quite rare Chinese Imperial dragon, ebony black and growing bigger everyday. He has an insatiable appetite for more than just fish and lamb. Knowledge. Laurence reads to him before bed a various number of things from gemology to nautical military tactics.
I like this book because it of the great action and military tactics. The characters, especially the dragons are well developed and feel right. Not to take anything away from Ms. Novik but this series blends two of my favorite authors into another new favorite! Mix David Weber’s Honor Harrington series with Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series and you get the Temeraire series
