Victory of Eagles

Temeraire, Book 5

By: Naomi Novik

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Naomi Novik's triumphant debut, His Majesty's Dragon, introduced a dynamic new pair of heroes to the annals of fantasy fiction: the noble fighting dragon Temeraire and his master and commander, Capt. Will Laurence. Now in the latest novel, they soar to new heights of breathtaking action and brilliant imagination.

It is a grim time for the dragon Temeraire. On the heels of his mission to Africa, seeking the cure for a deadly contagion, he has been removed from military service - and his captain, Will Laurence, has been condemned to death for treason. For Britain, conditions are grimmer still: Napoleon's resurgent forces have breached the Channel and successfully invaded English soil. Napoleon's prime objective: the occupation of London.

Separated by their own government and threatened at every turn by Napoleon's forces, Laurence and Temeraire must struggle to find each other amid the turmoil of war and to aid the resistance against the invasion before Napoleon's foothold on England's shores can become a stranglehold.

If only they can be reunited, master and dragon might rally Britain's scattered forces and take the fight to the enemy as never before - for king and country, and for their own liberty. But can the French aggressors be well and truly routed, or will a treacherous alliance deliver Britain into the hands of her would-be conquerors?

Dragon tales: don't miss the rest of the Temeraire series.

©2008 Naomi Novik (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

A good book, but difficult in some ways

Would you listen to Victory of Eagles again? Why?

Yes. If I listen to the series again, I don't skip books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Temeraire. This book lets us into his head, and Naomi Novik does an incredible job of making his thought process notably not human. He's almost childlike at points, but never unintelligent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book can be difficult. Lawrence is punished for doing the right thing, and he spends this entire book suffering the consequences. While realistic, it can be unsettling to see this, especially when there's no indication that this burden will ever be removed from him.

Great read!

Loved it! Her books are always great, but this is my favorite Temeraire so far!

Loved this book!

I have read the books as well as listened to the audio several times. I enjoyed them just as much each time.

Good action, but the formula is starting to show

This book, the fifth of the series, marks an improvement over the rather confused action of the last novel. The story returns to Britain, and to a Napoleonic invasion that must be fought off with the help of the disgraced main character. Where it retains the "Patrick O'Brien meets Jane Austin meets Tolkein" style, this is a more conventional narrative focused much more on warfare, with only brief (and not too convincing) diversions on the politics of England and the nature of honor. Fortunately, the battle scenes are fascinating, and occasionally wrenching, and there is plenty of action to go around.

But even as the action swells, the main drivers of the series, the characters of Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, become less dynamic. Will, especially, spends much of the book moping over his "treason" of the previous novel, and generally being cut off from friends and compatriots that have driven the relationships in previous novels.

If you liked the previous novels, this one is also a good read. But, in the end, this book continues the strangely unsatisfying approach the author has adopted - it ends on a cliffhanger, with few of the major issues resolved, and the series promising that the next novel will again take us to another, seemingly randomly decided-upon, far away land in the alternate universe of Temeraire, and thus further from whatever resolution Ms. Novik eventually hopes to achieve.

Great Story.

I love this series! I enjoyed the conflicted main character and his companion. It causes one to wonder about his/her own character and integrity in the same situations. Lots of action!

Such bamf!

Very good

Much joy etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc and so on

Favourite In Series So Far

Am really enjoying this series. Novik is an exceptional writer and develops many wonderful characters. Regarding this particular installment, there was lots of aerial action, new interesting characters were added in, there was a compelling storyline and I really like how she treated Captain Lawrence in the story. It deepened this character another degree, which serves to strengthen the overall series.

Everything about this series is very cool - the historical aspect, the intelligent dragons, the human characters, the storyline, the writing and the narration. It's top notch in everyway and this particular story was my fav thus far. Highly recommended.

Awesome inventive and exciting battles

Loved it! Awesome inventive and exciting battles and climaxes gave me chills. Simon was excellent as well as in the other Temeraire books

Quite good

While this story doesn't hold the same tone of thrilling adventure, dealing instead with a homeland invaded and desperate acts, there is still all the same delight to be taken in Tamaraire and Lawrence. The performance by Vance is nothing less than what I would expect.

Victory of Eagles

Well written and expertly narrated. Full of excitement and intrigue. 10/10 will recommend to friends and family.