Cannonball Read 12

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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History and travel: bingo two for two in a series (#History/Schmistory & Travel)

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1) by Naomi Novik

Throne of Jade (Temeraire #2) by Naomi Novik

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I’m pretty behind on Bingo, so trying to catch up before it ends! Some quick reviews of two entries in a series I’ve been reading this year, both on audiobook: Temeraire (AKA His Majesty’s Dragon) and Throne of Jade, by Naomi Novik. Temeraire fits the History/Schmistory square, since it’s set in an alternate history, and Throne of Jade satisfies the requirements for Travel. This was the series Novik was known for before she delved into folklore fantasy with Uprooted and Spinning Silver. They’re difficult to compare, as […]

I finally tackle the Temeraire series (four months ago). #CBRBingo – And So It Begins

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1) by Naomi Novik

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This is why I never DNF books. Well, that and the OCD (legit, not just using it facetiously). I had a hard time getting into this (I’ve had a hard time getting into several books the last couple of months–my brain is not wanting to cooperate with me). It took me what felt like weeks to get past the first thirty pages. And it’s not like what was there was bad, I just couldn’t engage myself in it for some reason. Novik styles the book […]

How he trained his dragon

Temeraire by Naomi Novik

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Captain Will Laurence has spent his life in the Navy, and expects it to continue that way. However, being currently embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars, that life soon comes to an end – but not through death. Instead, having captured a French ship, Captain Laurence’s ship takes its cargo as a prize…a large dragon’s egg, whose inhabitant decides upon hatching that Captain Laurence will do nicely for a handler. In this alternate history, dragons that aren’t paired with handlers tend to go feral, therefore losing […]

From the East to the West

Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik

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While the novels are all divided into three parts, in some the breaking points between the parts are much more obvious than others – for example, His Majesty’s Dragon basically divided as the initial time between Laurence and Temeraire, their military training, and their time on active combat duty.  For others, it was less clear and the stories bled over between parts a lot.  This novel almost feels like three novellas united in one book, but in a good way. After the mostly successful mission […]

Now We Know What Would Have Happened if the Conquistadors Had Faced Dragons

Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik

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Fortunately after the slog that was the sixth novel in the series, Crucible of Gold has many of the elements that made the earlier novels so much fun – lots of interactions between different dragons and an introduction to another part of the world with some very well thought out analysis of how the presence of dragons would have affected global and local history. Over the past few novels, Napoleon has taken advantage of the Tswana dragons’ hatred of slavery and desire to get their […]



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