Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo - an unhatched dragon's egg - Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain's Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte's invading forces.

Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands - and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East - a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

The second book in the Temeraire series, following on from Temeraire (His Majesty's Dragon), this book opens with a delegation from the Chinese insisting that Temeraire should be returned to it's rightful owner. Laurence is insistent that he will not be separated from Temeraire, and vice versa, leading to a showdown with the government. Laurence is basically forced to accompany the Chinese delegation back to China - a trip that involves a voyage several months long.

Whilst sea faring adventures were part of the first book, it is certainly a much greater focus in this one, (much as I imagine Patrick O'Briens books would be) as the ship that Laurence and Temeraire are travelling on travels the route, calling in at slave ports in Africa, a newly captured port in South Africa amongst other places. Also dealt with is the differences between the members of the navy and the members of the Dragon corps, and the cultural differences between the Chinese and the English.

With Laurence and Temeraire facing danger from some of the more dangerous ship mates, creatures from the deep, illness and other challenges, when they finally arrive in China, it has to be a relief. And yet, they are not yet safe, for a variety of reasons. For both Laurence and Temeraire there is a surprise in store when they see how dragons are treated in China, particularly a dragon as rare and valuable as Temeraire. Finding themselves drawn into Chinese politics much more than they ever thought they would be, the time in China is also a time of education for the both of them.

Whilst the story itself is very entertaining, the only thing that I do wonder about, is that the author seems to approach topics that might be quite difficult to deal with, and then back away again. For example, when calling in at the slave trading port, Laurence explains slavery to Temeraire. It so happens that the captain of the ship comes from a pro slavery family, and Laurence is anti-slavery, so there is opportunity for conflict there. However, when Laurence is forced to think about the way that dragons are treated in England, in comparison with in China, there icorrelationllation between the slavery discussion, and it is kind of just glossed over. The other things that tend to be glossed over are some of the issues around relationships between the human characters of the books.

For all of that, the book is very entertaining, and if you like nautical themed books, this might be an interesting read of that nature, with a twist!!

Rating 4/5

P.S I am really behind on my reviews...coming up (when I get around to them) are posts on The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Poison Study by Maria V Snyder, Seducing the Spy by Celeste Bradley and The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket).


Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Finding Wonderland

12 comments:

  1. I picked these two books up at the library last week. Glad you like them. :P

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  2. I love this series with a capital L but I rate it hugher. I don't care much about the people. I just love Temeraire and his interaction with the res of the dragons and Laurence! I gave it a 5. Of course I never got around to review it. LOL.

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  3. I gave the first one a higher grade. This one I rated lower because she almost tackles issues well, but then it is like she gets scared to take it too far....she kind of skims over lots of things IMO.

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  4. I bought the first two of this series based on all the positive buzz even though it's outside of my normal reading range. I still need to read them though :)

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  5. They are very good...I hope you enjoy them!

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  6. I enjoyed both the first and second book in this series. Your review is excellent!

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  7. I should have put the third book in this series on my list of books I wanted to read by the end of the year, but while I want to read it, at the same time I like the series so much I would hate to see it end!

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  8. Oh, and I didn't review the second one (it was July and July was a BAD month), but I liked it less than the first one.

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  9. I loved them both the same and I have the 3rd one and still haven't read it. I have this theory that if I hold out for a bit more it will be less of a wait for the next book in the series.

    I'm pathetic. I know.

    And OMG I need to start reading what I type before I post. hugher???? res?!?!?! LMFAO @ myself.

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  10. Kailana....she's working on the fourth book I believe, so the third book isn't the end!

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  11. I know! But she will take time to come out with it and stuff...

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