Empire of Ivory is the fourth novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik. Set in Africa, the novel follows William Laurence and his dragon Temeraire's search for a cure to the disease that has paralyzed the dragon community. Novik visited southern Africa in search of places in the fourth novel.
Empire of Ivory was released in paperback in North America by Del Ray on September 25, 2007. The British hardcover edition was published by Voyager on November 5, 2007.
The first portion of this book is a bit muddled, but the story flows well from hooks planted two books earlier. Again, we get another major culture and their treatment of dragons, and we finally address one of the most glaring problems of the story's timeline: the slave trade out of Africa. There's a lot to like here, even if some of the story goes a bit slow, and other moments feel a little too contrived.
The Temeraire series is a wonderful set of buddy-adventures across the world, which is unfortunate because the marketing for the Temeraire series failed miserably by focusing on the Napoleonic warfare aspect. This is not military fiction, and instead captures that strange Age of Sail culture of 'civilized war' alongside a realistic treatment of dragons.
I had forgotten how amusing the scenes were where dragons caught a cold, but to see that elevated to the key threat within this novel was very satisfying. As always, I'll avoid spoilers, but both the title and the back of book makes it obvious that Empire of Ivory is an African adventure. This, similar to the last few novels, offers the reader a chance to explore Naomi Novik's deep worldbuilding through the eyes of Lawrence and Temeraire. We learn plenty of the African continent, the colonial Empires and the impact of slavery (in conjunction with …
The Temeraire series is a wonderful set of buddy-adventures across the world, which is unfortunate because the marketing for the Temeraire series failed miserably by focusing on the Napoleonic warfare aspect. This is not military fiction, and instead captures that strange Age of Sail culture of 'civilized war' alongside a realistic treatment of dragons.
I had forgotten how amusing the scenes were where dragons caught a cold, but to see that elevated to the key threat within this novel was very satisfying. As always, I'll avoid spoilers, but both the title and the back of book makes it obvious that Empire of Ivory is an African adventure. This, similar to the last few novels, offers the reader a chance to explore Naomi Novik's deep worldbuilding through the eyes of Lawrence and Temeraire. We learn plenty of the African continent, the colonial Empires and the impact of slavery (in conjunction with dragons).
In fact, I appreciate Naomi Novik's treatment of slavery and the abolition movement. It's neither ignored, nor plastered over with modern 21st century sensibilities. I think it's a good balance of condemning the practice while accepting how fundamentally it secured European dominance.
Review of 'Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This fourth book of the Temeraire series may actually be the best so far: it juggles a large cast, boldly shines a light on ethical middens of the nineteenth century British Empire, and is a romp the whole way through. At times I was compelled to do the upside-down dog-paddle of glee.
