Warning: Possible spoilers for both Throne of Jade and Temeraire, the first novel in the series.
I read the first book in the Temeraire series (Temeraire or His Majesty's Dragon) by Naomi Novik a few years ago, and thought it absolutely fantastic, and I was keen to read more of the series. It was not until relatively recently I was able to do so, but when I picked up Throne of Jade to read I was excited to revisit some of my favourite characters and the world they inhabited.
Novik's premise is simple: imagine the world during the Napoleonic war, but with the addition of dragons in the world and in the opposing armies. From this simple premise, Novik extrapolates carefully and with great enthusiasm to create a startlingly realistic alternate history. The attitudes of the characters, governments and society are well-established and explored in ways that would fit fine with the actual sensibilities of the time. (The presence of women in the aerial corps, for example: when this is brought up to characters who have previously been unaware of the fact they act shocked and appalled at the idea.)
In Throne of Jade, the Chinese celestial dragon Temeraire and his companion Laurence are told they can no longer be together as Temeraire may not belong to any but an Emperor. Being fiercely loyal and devoted to one another, the pair must travel to China to attempt to negotiate being able to stay together with the Emperor. Accompanied by various of their dragon crew, Laurence's old compatriots in the Naval Corps and Chinese delegates, they set off across the sea to a country where dragons are not only warriors, but also poets and scholars.
Novik's style in writing the Temeraire series is suitably antiquated as to almost resemble a regency novel and yet contemporary enough not to lose readers in the language. While the use of nautical terms (i.e. parts of the ship) are thrown around with relative abandon, it never hinders the reading - the meaning is either understood from context or simply not plot-centric. In addition, descriptions with a large amount of action are exciting, giving a real sense of adventure and adrenalin. For example, when a sea serpent attacks the ship as it nears China, the action is described concisely but without any loss of detail, and as such you feel as though it were happening around you. Novik's use of olfactory and auditory imagery helps to create a vivid picture of the scenes throughout.
While action scenes are exciting and vivid, the quieter scenes, such as Laurence's shopping trip through Peking and his conversations with Temeraire are borne along with consistent and interesting characterisation. I have not encountered a boring character yet in Novik's writing, and to me that is a mark of a good storyteller. Even the characters who are unpleasant are well-written, and throughout the first half or so of Throne of Jade, it is difficult to decide whether or not to like Hammond (for example) and Prince Yongxing is also relatively ambiguous for a while. Even the dragons are given distinct personalities: from Temeraire's childish curiosity to his mother's quiet elegance, all are almost as the humans they carry.
My only criticism of Throne of Jade was that the journey to China seemed to take an excessively long time. While having a dragon attack and a sea serpent attack to almost bookend the voyage was exciting at the time, I think either one could have been left out and not been missed. Once the Allegiance had arrived in Macao, the story immediately picked up the pace again and I was glad to be off the ship along with the plot.
Temeraire remains as perhaps my favourite alternate history series (and favourite series regarding dragons); upon finishing Throne of Jade I felt utterly exhilarated and was keen to start the next book relatively soon. Watch this space!
Have you read any of the Temeraire novels? What do you think of them?
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