Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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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 whichever country that claims it as their own a very valuable asset in the aerial […]

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6/19/2018 's CBR10 Review No:42 |

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 to Portugal, Laurence is not sure about how his solution will be received and decides […]

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1/31/2018 's CBR10 Review No:19 |

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 people back by providing them transport to Brazil.  Since the Portuguese are one of the […]

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1/31/2018 's CBR10 Review No:18 |

In a land down under

Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik

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With the French pushed back in the last novel, it is now time for Laurence to face the consequences of his treason.  After Temeraire and Laurence are crucial to the British victory, rather than continued confinement, the government chooses to deport them to the penal colony of New South Wales, or Australia.  After all, Temeraire refuses to go back to the breeding grounds, and the government feels more comfortable sending a rebellious and politically minded dragon to a far away corner of the globe where he won’t be able to influence the rest of dragons and further disrupt the status […]

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1/30/2018 's CBR10 Review No:17 |

The French are Coming – Wait, What?

Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik

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Laurence’s overarching character traits throughout the series have been his sense of duty, honor and morality (sometimes a bit stuffy and old-fashioned).  As a result, it was shocking but not out of character for him to make the decision he did in Empire of Ivory, and commit treason when the British government chose a course that conflicted with Laurence’s own sense of right and wrong.  Having seen the deadly effects of the dragon virus on the English beasts, and no longer considering dragons merely beasts such as cows or horses, but intelligent and developed beings, Laurence couldn’t stand by as […]

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1/29/2018 's CBR10 Review No:16 |

The moonlit wings reflect the skies that guide me towards salvation

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

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This time, the story kicks off right where the last novel ended, with Temeraire, the mercenary ferals and the remains of the Prussian army in sights of the English coast after their escape from the occupying French forces. However, there are no dragons to be seen, adding to the questions that have been building since the previous novel. It’s always hard to tell with series how much novelists plan ahead and know exactly where the broad strokes are going vs how much is figured out as they go. Novik has obviously been building up to this one with her references […]

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1/29/2018 's CBR10 Review No:15 |

Of course, even the dragons are orderly in Prussia

Black Powder War by Naomi Novik

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After the previous novel’s odd pacing, Black Powder War was a refreshing change. While this one also involves a long journey since Temeraire, Laurence and his crew must return from China, it is a much more interesting (and dragon filled) journey. After a fire leaves the dragon transport needing repairs, the ship pulls into port at Macau where Laurence receives a message telling him to go to Istanbul to pick up three eggs with no moment to spare. Based on this, Temeraire’s crew decides to make the overland journey rather than wait for weeks for repairs since dragon eggs are […]

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1/22/2018 's CBR10 Review No:14 |

Heritage Tourism for Dragons

Empire of Jade by Naomi Novik

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In the last part of His Majesty’s Dragon, Temeraire and Laurence realize that Temeraire is a not only a Chinese dragon as they already knew but a Celestial, a breed reserved for the Imperial family. After Temeraire discovers his special power, divine wind, in a battle with the French, the rest of the world knows it, too, and the second novel begins after the Chinese delegation’s arrival to determine what is to be done about Laurence and Temeraire. The group even includes the emperor’s brother, showing just how important Celestial dragons are to the Chinese. While China is too far […]

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1/22/2018 's CBR10 Review No:13 |


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