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highly recommended |
Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain?s defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.
When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future?and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France?s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte?s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
From the Paperback edition.
A Wonderful Alternative 
This is a book you ought to pass on to the kids, give to the neighbor and otherwise share with all the friends! Well written with a flavor and consistency that is refreshing and true. The characters do not fail in and out of whom they are portrayed as and the responses are not outside the realm of possible!
A fine read!
His Majesty's Dragon
Stunning
This has fast become one of my favorite books, and I daresay it will remain so for quite sometime. The plot is fresh and fast-paced, the characters lovable, and the prose sumptuous. I recommend it to everyone I know, avid reader or not!
A wonderful read!
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.
Imagine an alternate history where Napoleonic wars were not fought just on land or sea, but in the air, on dragons. Imagine dragons so large that they command an entire crew climbing all over the large air-ship stand-in to repair the dragon from claw marks and have coordinated gunmen and bombers hand-dropping bombs from their mount.
Imagine if a navy man, captain of a ship and very set in his ways suddenly finds himself in charge of a newly hatched egg, and is pulled into the realm of England's air fleet.
Yes, this book is that good.
I'll admit, I had a hard time getting into it at first. The first few pages are entirely set on a boat. Master and Commander but without all the exciting parts. I started this book three times before I finally got to the part where they finally found the dragon egg, then I couldn't stop reading it.
I was instantly sent into the story. The tale of a dragon and his captain as they learn and grow together, get into battles, recruit men for their missions. It's all very wonderful. I can't wait for the next book.
The first of the Novik books about Dragons in Napoleonic Wars 
It liked it but now have to think if I liked it enough to spend $6.29 for each of the subsequent books in the series. Ok, I do.
The concept being we are in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars.
And all sides have dragons - the major weapons outside of sailing ships.
And the dragons are smart, in varying degrees - some are puppy dog dumb and some are intellectual tacticians.
But the dragons are almost just like Anne Mccafrey's - they bond with their riders at egg-hatching time and there is no room for a "normal" life.
So we have a story based in England with air wars over the channel between "wings" of dragons.
Very interesting, pretty well written...and I am now committed to reading more.
As an aside: not quite as deep a story as Robin Hobb writes, but not as dark and depressing either.
Historical Fantasy - Cool Concept, Average Story 
I had high hopes for this book. I'm not a big fan of fantasy stories, but I thought the premise was pretty cool - turn of the 18th century naval warfare that pits the British against Napoleon...with dragons providing air support.
The book was interesting, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed overall. The tone of author Naomi Novik's writing is right on target which is both good and bad. It's good because she captures the mood and experience of late 18th/early 19th century Britain. It's bad, because the language associated with that time period is rather verbose and overdone and I found it had the propensity to bog down dialogue.
This isn't so different from what one finds in Patrick O'Brian's "Aubrey/Maturin" series. The stories are authentic and exciting, but at times it can be rough-going to slog through the heavily stylized language.
The concept is creative, but the story itself a bit drab. And if you're looking for a lot of action, brace yourself as there's actually not all that much in this first installment of Novik's very popular series.
The strongest component of "His Majesty's Dragon" is how Novik painted the relationship between the dragon Temeraire and his rider Captain Will Laurence. Temeraire hatches aboard Laurence's ship. An attempt is made for Temeraire to imprint on one of Laurence's officers, but instead the dragon is drawn toward the Captain. He leaves the naval service and joins the British air corps. While a Captain feels very strongly towards his ship, you can imagine how much tighter that bond is between himself and living, breathing, talking, thinking and very inquisitive dragon.
Their relationship develops nicely throughout the story and I couldn't help being drawn in emotionally by Temeraire's child-like innocence, protective nature toward Laurence, and his awakening into the world around him. This is a major focus of the story and their relationship, I assume, will continue to develop as Termeraire grows throughout Novik's series.
The book was good, but not great. I enjoyed the read, the characters and the overall introduction into the concept of dragons being part of the "every day" in turn-of-the-century England.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
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