Black Powder War by Naomi Novik

History takes flight....Naomi Novik's deliciously addictive Black Powder War skilfully layers the history of the Napoleonic War with breathtaking imagination.

After their adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty's Aerial Corps and his extraordinary flying dragon, Temeraire, gratefully anticipate their voyage home..

But before they set sail, they are waylaid by urgent new orders. The British Government, having purchased three valuable dragon eggs from the Ottoman Empire, now require Laurence and Temeraire to make a more perilous over-land journey instead, stopping off in Istanbul to collect and escort the precious cargo back to England - and time is of the essence if the eggs are to arrive before they hatch.

A cross-continent expedition is a daunting prospect, fraught with countless dangers. The small party must be prepared to navigate frigid mountain passes and cross sterile deserts to evade feral dragons and Napoleon's aggressive infantry. And they will also have to endure an unexpected menace, for a Machiavellian herald precedes them, spreading political poison in her wake.

Lien, the white celestial dragon, absconded from the Chinese Imperial Court shortly after the humiliating death of her beloved princely companion. Fervently believing Temeraire to be the architect of her anguish, she has vowed to ally herself with his greatest enemy in order to exact a full and painful revenge upon everything and everyone the black dragon holds dear.

This is the third book in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, following on from Throne of Jade and on the whole it is a pretty good read.

In some way it felt like a book of two parts as opposed to one whole book. The book follows on from the closing events in the previous book, with Laurence, Temeraire and the rest of the crew waiting for the opportunity to start the long journey home to England. After a disastrous fire on board their ship, Laurence receives orders to make his way to Istanbul to pick up two eggs and make their way to England. It will not however be an easy journey, making their way across China and through to Turkey. Along the way they face hardship and feral dragons amongst other things. Their arrival in Istanbul isn't quite as warm as they may would like, and there are several occasions where the clash of cultures is explored to a degree.

After taking desperate action, the journey towards home continues, but unfortunately this means going through Austria, a land where the Prussians are currently experiencing a fight for their very survival against the might of Napoleon. Laurence and Temeraire soon find themselves forced to take part in the Prussians defence, at great risk of danger and death to themselves and their crews.

With the first half of the book concentrating on the journey from China to Turkey, there was, in my opinion, a stark contrast to the events in the second half, which were very political and more strategically based than we have seen before. It was interesting that Novik took the known facts of the Napoleonic War's 1806 offensives and tweaked them just enough to fit the dragons in, whilst still staying true to the main historical points and outcomes.

If anything, I would say that there was a little less humour in this book, although the addition of a new dragon named Iskierka (a very feisty young lady indeed!), there were still plenty of humourous moments to be had in amongst the darker parts of this book. I was, however, relieved to see that there was less evidence of Laurence referring to Temeraire as "darling" in this book. Not that it didn't happen, but just not as regularly and annoyingly as I found this term of endearment in the previous books. Lien once again provides a looming dark presence within the story, and the alliance that she forms, and her subsequent actions were interesting of themselves.

I would say though, that it does appear as though Novik has backed away from some of the themes that she started to introduce regarding the rights of dragons. I will wait to see whether or not this is a theme that she picks up and follows through with in the next book or not.

The fourth book in the series is out in September, and is to be called Empire of Ivory. Can't wait to get to read it!

Rating: 4/5

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Finding Wonderland

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

Temeraire (His Majesty's Dragon) by Naomi Novik

Published under the name His Majesty's Dragon in the US this is the first book in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. The book is called Temeraire in the UK and also here in Australia.

Set amid the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars, Temeraire is a thrilling tale of one of the most dramatic chapters of European History with a brilliant veneer of bold fantasy.

As Napoleon's Grande Armee tears Europe apart, his vast armada threatens Britain. But the battles are not fought upon land and sea alone, for both sides have an air force. And the fiery death they rain down upon their enemies has little to do with gunpowder - it comes from the very guts of the beasts they are flying: dragons.

Weeks out of port at Madeira, a British vessel - the Reliant, commanded by Captain William Laurence - captures a French frigate. Within its hold lies a greater prize than the ship herself: a dragon egg. And it is close to hatching.

Young dragons must be put to harness immediately or they go feral, and once harnessed, the beast will accept no other master. When the newborn ignores his chosen rider and approaches Laurence instead, his life is changed forever.

But even more astonishing than the young dragonet - named Temeraire by Laurence - is the revelation that the egg was meant for the Emperor Napoleon himself...

I don't read a lot of fantasy, but this book was attractive to me for a couple of reasons. One is that it has been getting a lot of positive reviews, and the second is that it could almost be classified as historical fantasy. Novik has taken the events of the Napoleonic wars, and just tweaked them, by giving the combatant countries an air force, not made up of planes or balloons, but rather of dragons. One of the reasons I don't read a lot of fantasy is that I don't really enjoy the world building that sort of has to happen to establish the rules for the society, hierachy, social rules etc. By only having to tweak the world as we know it a little, it means that the story can get going a whole lot quicker and for me that is a bonus.

When Captain William Laurence engages in battle with a French warship, he is kind of surprise that the crew fights so fiercely given that they are practically starving, and there doesn't seem to be any great treasure or anything on board, until they come across a dragon egg...very close to hatching.

The thing with dragon's eggs is that they must be harnessed and bonded with their rider pretty much immediately because otherwise they will go feral or will not accept another handler - a waste of a terribly precious resource, particularly in these troubling days. It is therefore agreed that the officers on board will all draw lots to see who the unlucky handler is going to be. It is considered unlucky because to be a dragon handler pretty much means leaving life as you know it behind, to live in the dragon coverts where they are trained and cared for. Gone are the chances to be courted in society - where naval officers are welcomed in society, dragon handlers are pretty much shunned. Also gone is pretty much any chance of marriage, family, and gaining advancement and material wealth.

So when the dragon shuns the chosen handler and instead attaches himself to Laurence, he is quite upset but realises that he has no choice as a man of great honour but to do his duty for his country. And yet, as he gets to know the dragon he has chosen to name Temeraire, he finds that he enjoys his new life- including their many conversations about life, reading books together, hunting, and eventually when they are bought back to England for training, getting ready for their coming life together during their manoeuvres. One of my favourite conversation between the two was when the normally unflappable Laurence had to explain to Temeraire why the men from the dragon corps visit the nearby town to visit the local prostitutes...very funny. I did find Laurence's habit of calling his dragon "My Dear" a little affected but I got over it eventually!!

The thing with Temeraire is no one really knows what kind of dragon he is, and so they don't know what his special skill is. They know he is a Chinese dragon but that is about as far as it goes. With his superior speed and intelligence he is still a very valuable asset and when his weapon is revealed it is very key in the battle against those fiendishly clever French men under the rule of Napoleon.

The other interesting dynamic in the book is the relationship between the other flyers and Laurence. It is very unusual for someone to swap from the Navy to the Flying corps (and vice versa), and Laurence brings with him very different ideas of how his crew should be run. It is interesting to watch both the other flyers and Laurence begin to get an understanding and working together. One of the more interesting relationships is between Laurence and a female officer by the name of Roland. There is a good build up in the relationship, but I can't help but feel that the author backed away from building the relationship up completely - but maybe that is just the romance reader in me talking!! I hope to see this relationship develop further in the next books in the series.

The other day I was in one of our department stores looking longingly at the second book in the series. I think I am going to have to ask the library to see whether they will order this one and the third one in the series in for me.

As an added bonus there is a short story on the author's website which fits between the first and second books, and there is also a web game that Harper Collins UK put up to coincide with the release of this book in the UK.

Overall, a very enjoyable read.

Rating 4.5/5

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Finding Wonderland
Bookworm
Books and Other Thoughts