Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik is scheduled for release July 13th. I love this historical fantasy series which envisions the Napoleonic war fought with the help of air-borne dragons. It's simply a wonderful melding of facts concerning the Napoleonic period/war with a fantasy in which varied dragons exists in all countries of the world. And, the characters are very appealing/engaging, especially the lead dragon, Temeraire, and his human partner/friend, Laurence, (who defied English interests/law by delivering a cure for the deadly dragon virus to the French for the benefit the all dragons throughout the world).
dalnewt wrote:
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik is scheduled for release July 13th. I love this historical fantasy series which envisions the Napoleonic war fought with the help of air-borne dragons. It's simply a wonderful melding of facts concerning the Napoleonic period/war with a fantasy in which varied dragons exists in all countries of the world. And, the characters are very appealing/engaging, especially the lead dragon, Temeraire, and his human partner/friend, Laurence, (who defied English interests/law by delivering a cure for the deadly dragon virus to the French for the benefit the all dragons throughout the world).
dalnewt:
Here's yet another series that I want to read but still haven't.... I found out about her because she is married to Charles Ardai, the publisher of Hard Case Crime and a very talented writer in his own right....
Paul
paulgoatallen wrote:
dalnewt wrote:
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik is scheduled for release July 13th. I love this historical fantasy series which envisions the Napoleonic war fought with the help of air-borne dragons. It's simply a wonderful melding of facts concerning the Napoleonic period/war with a fantasy in which varied dragons exists in all countries of the world. And, the characters are very appealing/engaging, especially the lead dragon, Temeraire, and his human partner/friend, Laurence, (who defied English interests/law by delivering a cure for the deadly dragon virus to the French for the benefit the all dragons throughout the world).
dalnewt:
Here's yet another series that I want to read but still haven't.... I found out about her because she is married to Charles Ardai, the publisher of Hard Case Crime and a very talented writer in his own right....
Paul
So far the Termeraire series consists of five books His Majesty's Dragon, Black Powder War, Throne of Jade, Empire of Ivory, Vol. 4, Victory of Eagles. All have been exciting, innovative and utterly engaging. There's also a boxed set for the first three books as follows, Temeraire Volume 1-3 Box Set. I found the first book, "His Majesty's Dragon," in the regular fiction section of my local B&N store. Yep, it wasn't in fantasy, apparently it's considered serious fiction. The series starts out with Laurence, a naval captain, aboard his English ship capturing a French ship and taking possession of a 'large' black dragon egg. Laurence comes from an aristocratic family and, as a lesser son, wants to distinguish himself in the war and marry the aristocratic girl next door. All that changes when the egg hatches aboard his ship and the juvenile dragon bonds with him. He's devastated as he must assume the role of dragon captain (since dragons only bond with one person). His dreams are destroyed and he must content himself to live an isolated life away from society with the dragon corp. He names the dragon Termeraire after the largest ship in the English navy. From the outset Termeraire is precocious, larger than most other dragons and can do things dragons aren't suppose to be able to do. The book goes on to describe the experiences of Laurence and Termeraire as they arrive at an isolated Scottish Dragon haven for training. There's many characters, including various well-described dragons and dragon captains and crews. Note, in this series many of the dragons are huge, flying battle ships with crews of 6 or more and some have special qualities such a acid spitting, fire breathing, etc........ It really is a great series. The books go on to describe the adventures of Laurence and Temeraire fighting the war in Europe/Prussia, traveling to China on a semi-diplomatic mission due to Termeraire's royal lineage, traveling to Africa with desperately sick dragons friends in an effort to secure a cure for the deadly dragon virus and ultimately defying English law concerning the cure. The most recent book starts with Laurence stripped of his rank and imprisoned aboard a ship off the coast of England and Termeraire, (forcibly separated from Laurence), trying to carve out a life in the isolated dragon breeding grounds of Northern England.
I felt as if my hasty sketch of Temeraire series didn't do it justice so I copied a few of the reviews for the first book
The Washington Post - Rachel Hartigan Shea
… all hail Naomi Novik for seizing on an entirely different set of literary conventions for her fantasy debut -- the dashing Brits-on-ships genre perfected by Patrick O'Brian. In His Majesty's Dragon , Novik plunks her scaly beasts into the Napoleonic Wars, as members of the Aerial Corps, air cover for the beleaguered Royal Navy as it fends off a French invasion.
Publishers Weekly
In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has its own breeds, but none are so jealously guarded as the mysterious dragons of China. Veteran Capt. Will Laurence of the British Navy is therefore taken aback after his crew captures an egg from a French ship and it hatches a Chinese dragon, which Laurence names Temeraire. When Temeraire bonds with the captain, the two leave the navy to sign on with His Majesty's sadly understaffed Aerial Corps, which takes on the French in sprawling, detailed battles that Novik renders with admirable attention to 19th-century military tactics. Though the dragons they encounter are often more fully fleshed-out than the stereotypical human characters, the author's palpable love for her subject and a story rich with international, interpersonal and internal struggles more than compensate. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Imagine that you are a British navy captain in the Napoleonic Wars. The last thing you want is to ruin your career and marital prospects by joining the Aerial Corps, a rather uncouth and secretive branch of the service, but duty calls, and the dragon egg you captured from aboard a French ship is about to hatch. Yes, a dragon egg-in this first of a trilogy, the British sea story is given a new twist: instead of tall ships, we have enormous flying dragons that make up an aerial combat force. Each dragon is paired at hatching with a captain, and the two form a close bond that gives an emotional center to what might otherwise have been just another alternate history. Novik's engaging debut is a perfect blend of the familiar and the fantastical, with both exciting air battles and the natural history of dragons described in what would be well-researched detail if it didn't happen to originate in the author's imagination. Fans of historical fantasies like Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell may enjoy. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [The second volume in this "Temeraire" series, Throne of Jade, will be published on April 25; the third and final, Black Powder War, on May 30.-Ed.]-Jenne Bergstrom, San Diego Cty. Lib. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
There's two other positive editorial reviews (by VOYA and KLIATT) on the B&N site for "His Majesty's Dragon. All the Temeraire books following "His Majesty's Dragon" have likewise received positive reviews.
