I decided to read this book because I saw a description of Uprooted, and thought it looked interesting, but I hadn’t read anything else by Naomi Novik, so I started with this series. I’m glad I did. This book is set during the Napoleonic Wars but has dragons that form an Aerial Corps There are many more dragons on the French side than the British side, so when Captain Will Laurence discovers a egg that is about to hatch aboard a French ship he and his crew have captured, it is considered quite the stroke of luck for his army.
Just as with other dragon tales like Anne McCaffrey’s, the dragon will impress (bond for life) a human, and if not, the British will not be able to add the dragon to their Aerial Corps. These dragons do not form a telepathic connection with their riders, instead they speak. The dragon immediately shows preference for Captain Laurence and he names him Temeraire. After a section featuring the training Temeraire and Will Laurence go through to join the Aerial Corps, the story quickly shifts to the battlefield.
I really enjoyed this book a lot, and would recommend it to people that enjoy fantasy and history. I admit I am not usually a fan of alternate history books, but this is well written and the dragons add an exciting element that I really loved. I liked the combat scenes a lot, the author does a good job of making you feel like you are on one of the dragons engaged in the fighting. I also liked the relationship between Will Laurence and Jane Roland, it’s an adult relationship, a nice contrast to the parent-child relationship between Will Laurence and Temeraire. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, which will delve into Temeraire’s origins in China.
