356 pages
English language
Published Dec. 27, 2006 by Del Rey Books.
His Majesty's Dragon, published in the UK as Temeraire, is the first novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. It was first published in 2006. It won the 2007 Compton Crook Award for best novel in the science fiction/fantasy genre during 2006 by a first-time author.
A played-straight period naval thriller, but with dragons! I really enjoyed this one!!! I think the audiobook narrator I had was especially good, he really sold Laurence's POV. Likely to continue enjoying these but not to drop everything and read them all right away.
This series is beautiful, a witty exploration of the Napoleonic Wars that considers the real implications of dragons in a society, but the logistics stay interesting because of the real impact it has on colorful characters throughout the series.
Do yourself a favor and give these a try!
Very different - and equally well executed - style from the last series I read by this author, and a lovely book.
Interesting take on the Napoleonic Wars, if air forces of dragons were involved.
The main character is a career Navy man who is suddenly thrust into the air force he always looked down on. Novik does a great job of showing the way he comes to terms with his new life.
This was an fun, casual book. While the plot or characters aren't incredibly amazing, they are decent and the setting is very cool. I'll certainly be looking into real history to see how this novel and the subsequent ones compare. I did enjoy Temeraire as a dragon and the Epilogue sets the stage for future conflicts that will be interesting to read about.
For my full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-his-majestys-dragon-by.html
High-fantasy-slash-historical fiction: the Napoleonic wars with the addition of dragons which form an aerial fleet akin to a modern Air Force.
This book is excellent, for what it is. I just don't happen to like what it is. YMMV.
The good: Naomi Novik has mastered the standard writing style and characterization of the late 1700s. I don't think I've ever before read historical fiction that's actually written with the language of the era under consideration, and it's kind of amazing...
The bad: ...but it's also kind of dull. There's a reason I don't read a lot of late 18th century literature: I don't like the writing style or the characterization. I'm well aware this is a personal preference and there's nothing absolute about this quality judgement, but the fact remains that it bores me to tears. It's stilted and stuffy and everyone is phenomenally un-self-aware. Ugh. (Another preference: I don't …
High-fantasy-slash-historical fiction: the Napoleonic wars with the addition of dragons which form an aerial fleet akin to a modern Air Force.
This book is excellent, for what it is. I just don't happen to like what it is. YMMV.
The good: Naomi Novik has mastered the standard writing style and characterization of the late 1700s. I don't think I've ever before read historical fiction that's actually written with the language of the era under consideration, and it's kind of amazing...
The bad: ...but it's also kind of dull. There's a reason I don't read a lot of late 18th century literature: I don't like the writing style or the characterization. I'm well aware this is a personal preference and there's nothing absolute about this quality judgement, but the fact remains that it bores me to tears. It's stilted and stuffy and everyone is phenomenally un-self-aware. Ugh. (Another preference: I don't want my dragons to talk. And these are some very chatty dragons.)
So I gave it up, because life's too short and there's too many books out there.
This book's largest weaknesses are the slow development of the plot, which could have stood a lot more individual character development (particularly during the ridiculously long segments regarding Temeraire's training), and the blatantly Gary Stu-ish main characters. Lawrence's behavior is depicted as basically irreproachable, no matter how surly he gets, and-unsurprisingly-Temeraire turns out to be one of the rarest, smartest, bestest dragons in the world. Until, that is, it turns out that he is THE smartest rarest bestest dragon in the world! How shocking! Honestly, this reminds me a tad of McCaffrey's "The White Dragon", though at least Ruth had shortcomings.
Still, loving dragons as much as I do, I can't bring myself to dislike the book too much. A lot of thought has been put into the dragons and their various colorations, and species relationships. I only wish that this book has come out when I was 12, and …
This book's largest weaknesses are the slow development of the plot, which could have stood a lot more individual character development (particularly during the ridiculously long segments regarding Temeraire's training), and the blatantly Gary Stu-ish main characters. Lawrence's behavior is depicted as basically irreproachable, no matter how surly he gets, and-unsurprisingly-Temeraire turns out to be one of the rarest, smartest, bestest dragons in the world. Until, that is, it turns out that he is THE smartest rarest bestest dragon in the world! How shocking! Honestly, this reminds me a tad of McCaffrey's "The White Dragon", though at least Ruth had shortcomings.
Still, loving dragons as much as I do, I can't bring myself to dislike the book too much. A lot of thought has been put into the dragons and their various colorations, and species relationships. I only wish that this book has come out when I was 12, and could have appreciated it more fully; it definitely strikes me as more of a YA read.
I probably would have passed this premise up had I not read a favorable review on tvtropes.org of all places. I'm glad I picked this up, it's a good read, well-researched without feeling like I'm being hit over the head with the author showing her work. Novik tells an interesting tale.
An enjoyable book, with a unique take on dragons as intelligent beasts who bond with their handlers to serve as beasts of war. It may sound familiar, but details and method of execution in the story make it something quite new in my experience of reading fantasy. The twist of setting the story within an ongoing war between forces of Britain and the French army as led by Napoleon is a lot of fun.
This is a fun read, and focused very tightly on the development of the relationship between the protagonist and the dragon whom he has harnessed. As such it is a splendid character piece, but there was a part of me that hungered for a more complex plot for these two to navigate. That being said, judging by the sample of the second book of the series that was included at the end of this volume, that …
An enjoyable book, with a unique take on dragons as intelligent beasts who bond with their handlers to serve as beasts of war. It may sound familiar, but details and method of execution in the story make it something quite new in my experience of reading fantasy. The twist of setting the story within an ongoing war between forces of Britain and the French army as led by Napoleon is a lot of fun.
This is a fun read, and focused very tightly on the development of the relationship between the protagonist and the dragon whom he has harnessed. As such it is a splendid character piece, but there was a part of me that hungered for a more complex plot for these two to navigate. That being said, judging by the sample of the second book of the series that was included at the end of this volume, that wish may be fulfilled later in the series.
