I brought this up in the ‘Napoleon bad‘ thread, and thought I’d give it a bit more exposure. I haven’t read these, just an excerpt League of Dragons which was included at the end of Uprooted. The book pictured is the 10th and final novel in the series. You can see them all at Naomi Novik’s site.
Capt. Will Laurence is serving with honor in the British Navy when his ship captures a French frigate harboring most a unusual cargo–an incalculably valuable dragon egg. When the egg hatches, Laurence unexpectedly becomes the master of the young dragon Temeraire and finds himself on an extraordinary journey that will shatter his orderly, respectable life and alter the course of his nation’s history.
Thrust into England’s Aerial Corps, Laurence and Temeraire undergo rigorous training while staving off French forces intent on breaching British soil. But the pair has more than France to contend with when China learns that an imperial dragon intended for Napoleon–Temeraire himself– has fallen into British hands. The emperor summons the new pilot and his dragon to the Far East, a long voyage fraught with peril and intrigue. From England’s shores to China’s palaces, from the Silk Road’s outer limits to the embattled borders of Prussia and Poland, Laurence and Temeraire must defend their partnership and their country from powerful adversaries around the globe. But can they succeed against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?
I have all of the series, and they’re pretty good.
The bit I read was interesting, but not enough to get me invested in the series, because military anything just isn’t my thing. I hope she branches out into other stuff now, because I loved Uprooted, it’s the kind of story that stays with you, and there are never quite enough women led stories. That’s not to say war doesn’t show up in that book, it does, but it’s balanced out by other elements. Novik is a wonderful writer, and I’d definitely like to read more.
War shows up in the Temeraire books, but it often takes second place to the characters. A lot of it is a comedy of manners and a lot is sociological study of dragon-influenced societies. As has often been said of Patrick O’Brien’s books, Novik is offering a mix of Jane Austen and C. S. Forester (with a bit of McCaffrey thrown in, unlike O’Brien). I’ll admit a bit of knowledge of the Napoleonic wars makes everything just that much more fun, but there’s plenty more to like. Just try the first one.
Gah, when I read about the frigate I was immediately thinking of Napoleon’s Egypt expedition -- the ships landing on a mysterious island that smells of rotten fish and death, with a strange geometry, tall buildings that make no sense, and a great altar -- which, of course, the French shift to haul back to Paris as a prize.