365 pages
English language
Published Feb. 23, 2006 by Ballantine Books.
In the wake of their adventure in China, Captain Will Laurence of His Majesty's Aerial Corps and his dragon, Temeraire, are sent on a mission to protect three valuable dragon eggs on a trip back to England from the Ottoman Empire, but the vengeful Chinese dragon Lien allies herself with Napoleon to stop them.
A great continuation of a great series. Not quite as good as the first (IMO), but still a really good book.
Black Powder War continues the adventures of Lawrence and Temeraire as they return from China, and if you enjoyed Throne of Jade, then this will be equally enjoyable. In fact, I suspect if the two books were combined into one, it would have been a much bigger success, as the journey to China culminates in a great deal of Napoleonic warfare merged beautifully with the realistic handling of dragons that has put this series on the map.
Despite starting these novels for Age of Sail battles, I find myself preferring the adventure more than the action. Naomi Novik sketches out a wonderfully rich alternate history that our main characters wander through, passing through the Gobi, up into the Karakorum, and finally into Istanbul and continental Europe during Napoleon's greatest victories. There's a surprisingly large cast that surrounds Temeraire and not all of them make it home. Those losses keep …
Black Powder War continues the adventures of Lawrence and Temeraire as they return from China, and if you enjoyed Throne of Jade, then this will be equally enjoyable. In fact, I suspect if the two books were combined into one, it would have been a much bigger success, as the journey to China culminates in a great deal of Napoleonic warfare merged beautifully with the realistic handling of dragons that has put this series on the map.
Despite starting these novels for Age of Sail battles, I find myself preferring the adventure more than the action. Naomi Novik sketches out a wonderfully rich alternate history that our main characters wander through, passing through the Gobi, up into the Karakorum, and finally into Istanbul and continental Europe during Napoleon's greatest victories. There's a surprisingly large cast that surrounds Temeraire and not all of them make it home. Those losses keep the adventure tense, and when we shift into the depth of the Napoleonic Wars, the stakes are raised but I found myself missing the exploration and introduction of familiar cultures that have been made alien through their use of dragons.
Ultimately I wish this novel was combined with Throne of Jade, as they pair wonderfully together and I assume the author planned both at the same time. As it is, Black Powder War as a standalone is excellent, but it could have been so much more.
Recommended.
Ejecting from the series at this point. It's not bad, it's just not my thing.
Enjoyed it, but not quite as much as the first two. It has that "middle of the series" feel and too much of it is about getting from A to B or B to C, which are still interesting, but not really what I want to be reading about most.
New characters Iskierka and Tharkay are very good, but Laurence's behaviour seems inconsistent at times, and I felt there were too many ends left dangling and questions left unanswered. Hoping the next book gets back up to the standard of the first.
