I want a dragon.
I want a dragon.
I want a dragon.
No, but seriously, I want a dragon.
His Majesty’s Dragon is a really unique and exciting first book in a series with which I’ll definitely continue. I walked into it with no background, other than a friend’s recommendation, and it actually took me by surprise, with quite a bit of delight.
So, some background here: Will Laurence is a seasoned captain for the British Navy during the Napoleanic Wars. His crew captures a French vessel on which they discover a dragon egg. This is a big deal, because dragon eggs are a hot commodity, but also NBD, because dragons exist in this universe, and there’s a whole military Corps of aviators trained to fly these dragons into combat. The early stakes come from the fact that when dragons hatch, they have to bond with a human before hunting, otherwise they’ll never make that bond, and we have to bond with our dragons so they can fight for the nation. What’s that gross thing that Jacob and Renesme (right? that’s a name, right? no? but it still made it into published fiction? anyway…) have in Twilight? That’s how it is with dragons. And this one finds himself drawn to Laurence, which ends up triggering a chain reaction that results in Laurence immediately having to quit the Navy and draft into the Corps, effectively leaving his fiancé, family and position in society, starting a whole new unexpected adventure.
It’s a really wonderful world, this alternate dragon-including world. I loved the formality and protocol of the military in turn-of-the-19th-century Europe combined with the total magic of dragons. In additional to fun female-empowerment stuff that’s going on, and fun fake science-y stuff, Laurence is a terrific hero in the making, a fish out of water forced to pivot into a world and career that he never wanted, and which never wanted him. He’s a spoiler and a maverick (see what I did there? because he flies?).
And his dragon, who he names Temeraire, is the damn bomb. He’s intelligent, feeling, young and curious, noble as hell, and deeply loyal. As are most of the dragons. I texted my friend who recommended the series, and said “He’s like [my dog]!” Which is only wishful thinking, because IF ONLY my dog would speak to me with words, and IF ONLY I could curl up on his forearm and read to him late into the night.
I really hooked into the emotional experiences of these creatures. I found myself crying on the subway when one passed away. And actually, the parts I didn’t like were the battles, because you know those French dragons that the British Corps are battling are just as feeling and smart and loyal, and noble. I hated the idea of any of them being hurt, to the point where I almost bailed out of the battle scenes to jump ahead to safety.
Onward with it. Hopefully into peacetime.