So here I am, once again playing catch up with my reviews. This is another recommendation from Excuse the Quality and boy, does he know the kind of books I like (even though I keep failing spectacularly to recommend him books.... and tv.... and music). Even though he recommended it to me many times, the main reason I picked up this book was due to one of my favorite authors, Jim Butcher, talking her up as one of his favorite and under-the-radar authors. And I must say, I should have listened to EtQ earlier.
Naomi Novik is the author of the Temeraire series which is a re-imagining of the Napoleonic Wars. The biggest difference between these books and history? DRAGONS! How can this not be AWESOME!? The main character is William Laurence, mostly referred to as Laurence, who is captain in His Majesty's Royal Navy. They are at war with France and when Laurence defeats and captures a French ship in battle, they raid the hold only to find a dragon egg.
Unfortunately the egg is close to hatching and so there's no way that Laurence and his crew are going to get it to the Dragon Riders in time. The dragon is likely going to have to bond with one of the sailors. Awesome, right? Nope - apparently, the dragon corps and their partnered dragons are not well regarded at all. And surprise - the dragon decides on Laurence who promptly dubs him Temeraire (which according to about.com means reckless).
His Majesty's Dragon is the first book in the Temeraire series. There are nine books in total. I've read the first four so far and it's been an fantastic ride. Going all over the UK to China and back a-dragonback with Laurence and Temeraire. If you love heartwarming fantasy, historical fiction, dragons, battles and intrigue - this is a great series for you. I give Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon 5 out of 5 stars and the Temeraire series 4.5 out of 5 stars. d
Finally! I thought you'd like that one. Actually at this point you've read more of them than I have. When I started the 3rd book had only just come out so that's the last one I read.
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