An historical fantasy with dragons (Temeraire - Naomi Novik)

Member Name: whiteroseuk

Product:	Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Date:	06/03/09 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely story with delightful dragons

Disadvantages: It's not real!

I recently read a very good review on a book, and it sounded like the kind of story I would enjoy, so I decided to spend some of my vouchers on it, and I wasn't disappointed. Temeraire by Naomi Novik, is one of the most charming books I have read in a long time.

The Author.

Naomi Novik was born in New York in 1973, and says she was raised on Polish fairy tales and Tolkein. She studied English literature at Brown University and did Graduate work in computer science at Columbia University. She has also worked in design and development computer games. She won many awards for Temeraire, also known as His Majesty's Dragon, which was her first novel. More information about her can be found at her website. www.temeraire.org/index.cgi

The background

The novel is set during the Napoleonic era, and is a historical fantasy. Genuine historical characters such as Napoleon and Nelson are mentioned, but the world is very different from our own, in that they have intelligent speaking dragons, as an airborne fighting corps. There are many species of dragons, with many different abilities, and they are used in combat with the enemy. Dragons are known and prized around the world but the aviators which are their handlers, are not so well respected amongst the other services. The handlers are introduced to the Dragons as they hatch, and stay with them for the rest of their lives, sacrificing all hope of a 'normal' family life.

The story

Captain William Laurence ran away to sea when he was a boy, and has worked his way through the ranks, to make Captain of the ship Reliant. Our story opens when Captain Lawrence has just taken a French ship in battle, and is accepting the surrender of the French Captain. Lawrence was surprised that the French ship outgunned and much smaller than the English ship fought so fiercely to keep from being captured, but all become cleared when the crew find a large dragon egg being transported in the hold. This is a rare prize indeed, and the crew know they must care for the creature to the best of their ability, as the aerial corps is in dire need of new dragons.

They recognise that the dragon is ready to hatch, and so crew draw lots, as to who should be presented to the hatchling, as his handler, but when the momentous hatching occurs, the dragon himself has other ideas, and chooses Laurence, and will have nothing to do with anyone else. Captain Laurence recognises his duty, and hands his ship over to the next in command, and takes on the position of the dragon's handler. Laurence feels the life he had planned out, with a young lady back home with whom he had an 'understanding' has slipped away from him, and he knows that his father will disapprove even more than he did about his seafaring career. Will Laurence come to terms with the life changing association with Temeraire? Just what type of dragon is this unusual creature? The story unfolds, as the pair get to know each other, and earn about their duty to each other, and to their country.

My thoughts
I loved this book, and found it easy to read, and the characters were very believable. Laurence is pushed into a situation not of his making, and it takes him a while to come to terms with it, but although he isn't happy at first, the development of his
relationship with the young dragon is a journey which is delightful to read. Temeraire is just charming, and is portrayed with the innocence of youth and yet with an outstanding intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. He too grows and develops as a character throughout the book, as his understanding grows.

I also loved the amount of detail in the book, the many types of dragons that the author mentions, describing their appearance and their abilities. At the end of the book, there are extracts from various works on dragons, which I thought was a lovely touch, making the story all the more believable.

The only aspect which I found difficult to come to terms with was that anyone, of whichever nation would want these magnificent creatures to fight, so that they could get injured, and sometimes even die in battle, although that might have something to do with the fact that I am a pacifist at heart, and hate the thought of war in any form.

I enjoyed the way the author wove her fantasy around historical characters and facts, and again this added to the credibility of the book. I also enjoyed the interesting twist towards the end, which paves the way for further stories about this delightful dragon. There are more books in the series, and so I shall be looking forward to spending more of my dooyoo vouchers, to get these too.

Summary: Fantasy that you wish were reality