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majestys dragon napoleonic wars naomi novik alternate history captain laurence aerial corps historical fiction anne mccaffrey battle scenes patrick obrian horatio hornblower well written looking forward french ship character development rest of the series master and commander laurence and temeraire throne of jade napoleonic era
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it.
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2018
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So the other day nothing made me happy.  I started book after book and put them back down again, wondering if it was them or me.  And then, over coffee with The Housemate, during which we agreed that sometimes you have to work to find the book that catches hold of you, she talked again about the Temeraire books and how much she was enjoying them.  Since we had His Majesty's Dragon in our shared library, I gave it a try that night, and lo, it was good.  It was very, very good.

The story engaged me right from the get-go.  I'm a sucker for dragons, so I was predisposed to enjoy it, but I don't read just anything about them.  I got lured in by action, good characterization, and an intriguing premise, that in the Napoleonic wars, England and France (among other countries) use dragons as aerial corps. A newly-hatched dragon may accept a harness from a human, and if s/he does, then the two of them are virtually tied together for the life of the human. In ideal circumstances, they become best friends, family even.

So when Captain Laurence finds himself in the position of having to harness a dragonet who has hatched aboard his ship, he is not happy.  His life is the navy, and he knows how hard the life will be in the air corps, how much he'll have to give up. But he quickly learns how much more he gains when he and Temeraire are paired, and in fact the relationship between the two is the best part of the book.  Temeraire is an absolute delight, and watching Laurence come to love him is soul satisfying.

There's a good deal of military detail, but it's not off-putting, and in fact the battle at the end of the book is quite exciting.  There were moments of comedy, of heartbreak, and drama. It's an easy read, and a quick one, and it did what nothing else was doing for me this week, it captured my imagination and my interest, and kept me reading.  I can't wait to start the second book in the series.
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Dmascarenhas
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great battle-and-adventure heavy series!
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2017
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Like some recent reviewers, I read "Uprooted" before eagerly seeking out more Naomi Novik books, and when reading the reviews, I decided to wait a while before starting this series. My decision ended up being wise, because I truly loved this series!
It is however written in a completely different style, and you can't in any way compare this to other books of Novik's, or other fantasy books in general.
The writing is beautifully crafted in classic English, but without the rambling boredom you'd associate with that linguistic style. The humor is dry and witty, and the action is everywhere. If you're like me and re-read the battles of Gondor and Helm's Deep over and over as a teenager, you should thoroughly enjoy these books. I was also a huge fan of the dragon Temeraire as a character; in a way, this series is a love story between him and his captain, Laurence. Their companionship through adventures at high seas, many continents, and of course the Napoleonic wars is at the center point of the whole series, and it's actually a lovely relationship you can really invest in as a reader (I know that's hard to believe, what with one half being a dragon). There's a reason Stephen King liked this book...
The only way the series can appear to a disadvantage is if you compare it to anything else in the fantasy fiction realm. It's just too different and individual, and you have to really embrace the style and story without trying to measure it up to other pre-existing standards.

Also, even though the two main characters are male, there are a few kick-ass female characters, Laurence's boss Jane Roland, and one young member of his crew -Jane's daughter- Emily Roland. They're not hugely developed characters, but still absolutely dominate in a male-ruled world of characters, and provide sufficient delight for female fantasy enthusiasts.
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Karolyn Morgan
5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous language and an exciting, fast-paced and believable story line are the hallmarks of this excellent series
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2017
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This review really applies to the entire series. This is an outstanding read, with rich language that effectively evokes the Napoleonic era, characters that are sympathetic and three-dimensional, and a fast-paced plot that sweeps from the British Isles to China and South America as the dragons are woven seamlessly into the history of the Napoleonic wars.
Lovers of Pern's Dragons or the tree-cats of Sphinx will be entertained by Novik's twist on the "everyone wants to be a dragon-rider/adopted by a tree-cat" theme. Unlike most fantasy or science fiction featuring intelligent animals or aliens, where the bond with them is highly coveted, Novik's England is a place where being an "aviator" is considered sort of a necessary evil. Certainly they are valuable to the nation's defense and all, but it certainly isn't a profession for a gentleman! Even a Navy career is disappointing to the protagonist's well-born Lord of a father, but when Laurence is thrust into his relationship with Temeraire his father refuses to even have him in the front door! He has to break off his engagement, because he couldn't ask a well-born lady to marry him now...it is a wonderful change of pace.
Novik also offers something else that fans of McCaffrey's Pern and Weber's Honorverse will appreciate--strong female warriors.
Between the gorgeous language, the expertly researched and presented historical backdrop and the delightfully charming main character Temeraire, this is a series you will want to read, listen to on Audible, then re-read and re-listen.
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Merlin's Owl
3.0 out of 5 stars Damn Napoleon's Eyes! The war against Napoleon will be won by...........DRAGONS!!!!!!!!!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2014
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Temeraire takes an interesting concept and launches it into a multi-book series (there are nine planned) which has attracted attention from Peter Jackson (of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fame) who has said that it might make a good TV series. To be honest, the attention that he brought to the book attracted me.
If you have read or seen  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Single Disc Edition) [DVD] [2003 ] and can remmber Jack Aubrey, the intelligent, cultivated and well-mannered captain then you have already met Captain William Laurence who is just as stiffly devoted to the sea and crew of his ship. But, imagine the very same wrenched away from the sea, and any chance of continuing his long-suffering romance on shore, to be the unwilling and unlucky object of attachment, and responsibility ensuing, that the imprinting of a newly hatched dragon to him ensures. There is no shirking this responsibility, and he doesn't hesitate for a moment, but what he finds as an old hand in a new world is not quite so awful as he first thought.
Lawrence names the somewhat unusual dragon after a famous ship-of-the-line. I thought it quite peculiar that the dragon spoke so soon after being hatched and speaks the King's English at that. Yet, this is an especially intelligent beast that learns in its gestation, within the egg, taking in the language of those around him. So, we have a relationship almost of a thoughtful, indulgent father and passive but keen child. But what a child! These dragons grow very rapidly to enormous sizes so they need to be crewed with maybe 20 men who take different firing positions and have various duties.
As other reviewers have commented, there could have been more editing to speed the story along. I am no teenager but I still found the story dragged around issues of rigging and training the beasts. But, the fact that there is a series ahead somehow gives me confidence that these issues will drop away if we persevere.
Which I think I will.
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EGil
3.0 out of 5 stars Good as a quick paperback or cheap Kindle buy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2012
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I have given a three star review here not because I find the book a good read, but because I think others would find it better than I did. The storyline and writing quality remind me of novels aimed at the teen market (although I think this was marketed as adult), and I'm sure that less experienced (less jaded?) readers would enjoy this more. It will appeal to anyone who enjoys lower-budget American sci-fi series, with the usual stock characters and predicitable outcomes.

The story is quite a good one, combining historical and fantasy fiction in some unexpected ways. However, if you are a fan of historical fiction, or indeed accuracy, this will not be the book for you. I found the inaccuracies and archaisms (especially in the language) to be irritating, and I know that to some it would be an immediate red card. This is another book that I feel panders to a stereotypical portrait of the 'English Upper Class' as written by Americans (see Gail Carriger as another example of this). The diction is stilted, and at times really appalling - wooden, unbelievable and hammy.

In short, don't expect much - I didn't, and found that it wasn't a bad story so long as that was clear. The Kindle version only cost me £1.50 in the sales, and to be fair I don't think it's really a story (or writing quality) worth more than about £4. Overall, I found it a quirky quick read, something to pass a few minutes while waiting somewhere, or for a short journey where heavier material and a more complex plot would be too much.

On a separate note, the series is quite long, and extremely repetitive, so best avoided unless you only like very safe bets - in this case, more of the same, however you rate it.
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M. Hepworth
5.0 out of 5 stars Who would have thought dragons and ships would be such a good fit?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2010
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Temeraire takes an unusual combination and makes it work surprisingly well. The setting is our world during the Napoleonic Wars, a little before the Battle of Trafalgar, but both sides maintain fleets of dragons as well as wooden-sided ships. This delightful version of the classic "what if" tactic of good SF produces something akin to alternative history fiction. In fact, the only major weakness is that she's very carefully balanced the abilities of dragons to make sure they haven't radically changed history.

Novik does a surprisingly good job of portraying the period and drawing authentic characters for the time. The main character, Will Laurence, is a touchy and proud Royal Navy captain who is thrown into the wilder world of Britain's dragon forces, and this outsider's perspective cleverly introduces them to us. The dragons come with differing abilities and sizes, and their place in military tactics is presented realistically.

Laurence is an engaging character, and his partnership with his new dragon Temeraire is well drawn. There's a modicum of romance, and although the focus is on the dragons and action, there's enough of a sense of a wider world. I'm definitely going to follow the later instalments with interest.
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The Goat
2.0 out of 5 stars Cracked
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2016
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Quite well written but a good concept becomes ultimately boring rather quickly. The faux history with napoleon is too lightweight and under researched to add any flavour. I enjoyed the first few chapters aboard the ship with the start of the bond but the endless training in Scotland was very dull. Not for me. Honestly how someone has the strength to struggle through ten dragon buddy books baffles me
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S. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars Dragons and riders
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2016
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What a fantastic book. Do you love dragons? This book is very different from others I have read. The Navy is transporting an egg, highly prized, before it hatches as they bond when hatched. Well, the egg hatches and has his rider. When they make land the sailer has to stay on landmwiththe dragon and go thru years of training and decide whether he will go it alone or stay with the military and do their bidding. This is a fantastic book. I highly recommend it.
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