Crucible of Gold, Naomi Novik

"Former Aerial Corps captain Will Laurence and his faithful dragon, Temeraire, have been put out to pasture in Australia – and it seems their part in the war has ended just when they are needed most.

The French have invaded Spain, forged an alliance with Africa’s powerful Tswana empire, and brought revolution to Brazil. With Britain’s last desperate hope of defeating Napoleon in peril, the government that sidelined Laurence swiftly offers to reinstate him, convinced that he’s the best man to enter the fray and negotiate peace. So the pair embark for Brazil, only to meet with a string of unmitigated disasters that forces them to make an unexpected landing in the hostile territory of the Incan empire.

With the success of the mission balanced on a razor’s edge, an old enemy appears and threatens to tip the scales toward ruin. Yet even in the midst of disaster, opportunity may lurk – for one bold enough to grasp it."


Looking back, and rather unexpectedly, I have only written a review of Temeraire, which is weird because I've definitely read two other books since I started blogging these books. Fortunately, the last few weren't all that good by the standards of the series, and the first half of the review can serve to cover them.

For the last few books Temeraire has been in a bit of a slump. As Novik widened the focus of the Napoleonic war away from the European theatre (i.e, the important bit) we've spent a lot of time travelling elsewhere. In some cases that's been good; China and Africa, and when we reach it in Crucible of Gold, South America have all been interesting in showing alternate cultures that developed differently because Dragons exist. But the flipside of that is that Novik is intent on reminding you how big the world is, and how long it would take to travel across it to all these places, meaning that between forty and eighty percent of each book is them flying or sailing to new places.

That was interesting the first time, simply in presenting some of the limitations of Dragons as transport. By the third book? Less so. It all detracts from the bit that IS interesting, which is the actual war with Napoleon. By making the stories, every story for the last few, be about the travel the actual events of the story get pushed to an afterthought. It doesn't help that the reasons for each mission is usually pretty similar. We tour Africa chasing Dragon's who have stolen Lawrence, tour Australia chasing a Dragon who has stolen an egg, and tour South America chasing ... well, actually, slight twist, in this one they're being chased, having stolen a person.

Once we get that out the way, and actually reach the end of the journey however, the story picks up. We finally get back to the war; in this case a new front as France and an African alliance challenges Portugal in Brazil. This is the bit I wanted to be reading about for the last few books. If you're going to set your books during the Napoleonic war with Dragons, please include some Napoleonic war, rather than just some travelling.

Also Try:
Temeraire, Naomi Novik
Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkein
Megamorphs 3: Elfangor's Secret, K. A. Applegate

Temeraire, Naomi Novak

"Captain Will Laurence has been at sea since he was just twelve years old; finding a warmer berth in Nelson's navy than any he enjoyed as the youngest, least important son of Lord Allendale. Rising on merit to captain his own vessel, Laurence has earned himself a beautiful fiancée, society's esteem and a golden future. But the war is not going well. It seems Britain can only wait as Napoleon plans to overrun her shores.

After a skirmish with a French ship, Laurence finds himself in charge of a rare cargo: a dragon egg bound for the Emperor himself. Dragons are much prized: properly trained, they can mount a fearsome attack from the skies. One of Laurence's men must take the beast in hand and join the aviators' cause, thus relinquishing all hope of a normal life.

But when the newly-hatched dragon ignores the young midshipman Laurence chose as its keeper and decides to imprint itself on the horrified captain instead, Laurence's world falls apart. Gone is his golden future: gone his social standing, and soon his beautiful fiancée, as he is consigned to be the constant companion and trainer of the fighting dragon Temeraire…"

This was a reread inspired by my friend Alex looking for a new book to read - knowing his love of historical fiction, and especially his fondness for Sharpe, I figured this would be an excellent next step. It's one of the best, and most unusual, works of speculative historical fiction, boiling down to 'Napoleonic War with Dragons' but stretching far wider than the European theatre that suggests.

Few writers have such a solid grasp of narrative than Novak, who builds a world that is enjoyable to read about and doesn't strecth credibility too far within her central premise. As the series builds her grasp of the politics and world wide picture comes into focus, and it's here that Temerarire excels. Bringing in Chinese politics, Australian rebellions, Portugese Empire building in South America, the invasion of Russia, whilst also sprinkling in divergences such as France invading England by air, or the rise of a Pan-African anti-slavery nation.

These twists keeps things fresh from a historical perspective, whilst the main characters, Captain Will Laurence and his Dragon, Temeraire, make for hilarious protagonists. Frequently faced with intemperate, uncomprehending adversaries within British society, as well as enemies abroad, they stand as a mixture of Sharpe, Hornblower and Mr Darcy, as confident delivering pithy put-downs to fellow fliers as in battling the French.

A novel and often head-scratchingly inventive novel, these first few books are the high point of the series, and well worth reading.

Also Try:
Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe
Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel
Neil Gaiman, Sandman