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Crucible of Gold (Temeraire #7)

by Naomi Novik (Goodreads Author)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 2,139 ratings · 327 reviews

Naomi Novik’s beloved series returns, with Captain Will Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire once again taking to the air against the broadsides of Napoleon’s forces and the friendly—and sometimes not-so-friendly—fire of British soldiers and politicians who continue to suspect them of divided loyalties, if not outright treason.

For Laurence and Temeraire, put out t...more

Hardcover, Del Rey, 325 pages

Published March 6th 2012 by Random House (first published 2012)

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Mar 18, 2012 Jacob rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, sci-fi-fantasy-etc, temeraire

Temeraire is back! I was starting to worry about that. It was kind of a shame, the way the series ended in the fifth book. I didn't think it would continue.

I SAID, it was a shame the way the series ended in the fifth book. Do I need to add a wink and a nudge here? Do I? Don't make me turn this review around, kids.

But I digress. At the end of the fifth book, Victory of Eagles, Laurence and his dragon Temeraire went into exile to Australia after being convicted of treason, and it was very sad. Aft...more Temeraire is back! I was starting to worry about that. It was kind of a shame, the way the series ended in the fifth book. I didn't think it would continue.

I SAID, it was a shame the way the series ended in the fifth book. Do I need to add a wink and a nudge here? Do I? Don't make me turn this review around, kids.

But I digress. At the end of the fifth book, Victory of Eagles, Laurence and his dragon Temeraire went into exile to Australia after being convicted of treason, and it was very sad. After all, surely nothing interesting would happen in Australia, right? Nothing worth devoting a book to, at least, right? RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT. And surely Naomi Novik agreed, which is why she skipped immediately from the fifth book to Crucible of Gold, the...seventh? Odd move there, Ms. Novik, but I suppose using that unusual numbering convention implies that Laurence and Temeraire's time in Australia makes up a "lost book" in the series, amiright? Clever of you, doing that.

But I digress again. Following the Missing Episode in the Adventures of Laurence and Temeraire, the intrepid captain and his dragon companion are called out of exile in Australia and sent, with fellow dragons Iskierka and Kulingile (previously unseen; it is implied that he hatched at some point during the last, lost "book") and their crew, to South America, where Napoleon's allies are besieging the Portuguese in Brazil. But everything goes awry: shipwreck, capture, and other disaster impede their every step (and wing-stroke), and once again Temeraire and Laurence must confront a very changed--and still changing--world.

It's all very exciting, and just as good as the other five books in the series--and it sounds like the final two books will be just as great. Honestly, I can't wait. Even with that mysterious gap in the series, the Temeraire books are a thrilling read.

I SAID, even with that mysterious gap in the series, the Temeraire books are a thrilling read.

Got it? Do we understand each other? Good.
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Apr 17, 2012 Kaethe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, colonization, dragons, fantasy, feminism, fiction, first-contact, friendship, gender, glbtq, history, native-peoples, p-o-c, pirates, plagues, politics, social-issues, war, slavery

The fun of writing an alternate history, I imagine, is that you can change anything you don't like. let me just say that if Novik were the creator of the universe, rather than just a world, things would probably be both cooler and better.

In this installment, our heroes travel to South America, fight, confound and are confounded by the forces of Napoleon, encounter new cultures and consider new ways of doing things. Fun and adventure that never feels brainless. I love these books. Not least becau...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Joe Howe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ok, this book, this series.

Yes, the premise (the Napoleanic era + Dragons)is shamefully ridiculous. No need to doubt your judgement there.

But the execution? Oh Sweet Merciful Lord, soooo good. It's light, it's fluffy, and it's flawless. The best treat is the characterizations of the main characters of the the Dragon and his Captain, but you go far enough into it and there's even some substance - meditations on how the war to fight Napoleon (good)balances against the preservation of the worst asp...more

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May 30, 2013 Wealhtheow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: disabled-character, historical, pocmaincharacters, queer-characters, regency

After repeatedly doing what they thought was moral, rather than following their orders, Laurence and Temeraire had finally broken free of the British Empire and began living a peaceful life in Australia. But alas, Laurence's dutiful nature cannot be overcome forever, and he and his draconic bff are convinced to rejoin the Aerial Service. They ship off to South America, in hopes of gaining new allies or at least, not losing their current ones.

At this point I kinda don't know why I shouldn't be r...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first dragon book of hers that I gave less than 5 or 4 stars to. I don't think it's a stand-alone book. Heck, I've read them all and I was still confused by who did what when. It's a tough call about how much backstory to toss into each book in a series and I think she under-did it.

Temeraire seems to have lost some of his intelligence and love of learning--and he's caught in the whole competition with other dragons to the point of dullness. He'd matured so much through the first coup...more

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May 24, 2012 Wharkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I finally finished Crucible of Gold. Naomi Novik wrote another great Temeraire book but I’m not sure why it took me so long to read this one. I usually fly through these. All the different cultural interactions between humans and dragons are fascinating.
She keeps a lot of traditional dragon lore in there: vanity, greed for gold or in this case “prizes” this is set during the Napoleonic wars after all, and the dragons seem to be manned by ex naval officers and seamen. Yes they are that large, at...more

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May 08, 2012 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

These books want so badly to be Master and Commander with dragons. I can't fault the author for wanting to follow so successful a formula, but at times she follows it too closely for my tastes. Granted, most people will probably not even realize the parallels, since the M&C series appeals to a much different set of readers.

But they have dragons! you say, and I will grant you that they are original in that they veer off into a much different history of the Napoleonic Wars. But of course they...more

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May 18, 2013 Onefinemess rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, alt-history

OHhhhh YOU wacky Napoleonic/Victorian dragon alt-history thing. I like you and hate you. Not quite love, because the annoying parts are really annoying (to me). The way people act drives me right fucking crazy. BUT I think it's a setting thing, not a bad writing thing. This is pretty much the only exposure I have to the whole Victorian gentleman/woman thing, but I can already tell you that I hate it. Even dragons make it only barely tolerable. Because everyone acts like a goddam idiot.

Novak's ta...more
OHhhhh YOU wacky Napoleonic/Victorian dragon alt-history thing. I like you and hate you. Not quite love, because the annoying parts are really annoying (to me). The way people act drives me right fucking crazy. BUT I think it's a setting thing, not a bad writing thing. This is pretty much the only exposure I have to the whole Victorian gentleman/woman thing, but I can already tell you that I hate it. Even dragons make it only barely tolerable. Because everyone acts like a goddam idiot.

Novak's take on how dragons affected the cultural progress of the various countries and continents IS really fascinating and seems decently researched and thought out. I didn't like her take on Australia (not many interesting local dragon species), but that's a taste thing, not a quality thing.

So we started with the various European takes on dragons, then on to China, Africa and Australia and now we're hitting South America. I would have expected North America next, but it looks like they're heading back to China at the end of this one. With all the interminable bits of time these books spend on really slow boat travel and how terrible it was (really terrible) and how often things went wrong (always), you'd think she'd at least finish up the world tour while they were CLOSE to NA and not have to make the epic trek back later. Maybe they'll get waylaid/derailed again...since that happens pretty much every book.

Hmm, also there are apparently only 2 more books, so I AM really curious how she's going to work North America into this. I mean, why hit every continent but one?

I dunno. Final thoughts... a close to my ramblings? I enjoy the setting more than anything done within it, I guess. The progress of the war, the way the countries interact with each other, Novik's take on a way to get at an earlier abolition that works within her world, the different ways in which each culture deals with its dragons (which feels convincing enough to me as a reader - although I have no idea how well they would hold up to a discerning reader with a relevant educational background), dragon breeds and interbreeds. All that stuff is great. But most of the time when someone opens their mouth ........ *shakes fist*

So, a very subjective

THREE STARS

I think someone who likes all this Victorian bullshit would really dig these books.
Oh, and there is some off-camera dragon sex in here, followed by what really seemed to be some dragon morning sickness ...(less)

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Apr 02, 2013 Anne-Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, adventure, australia, south-america, alternate-history, dragons, kindle

I am very fond of this series. I was a new arrival in the world of Temeraire just this past Christmas, so in just three months, I've read all the novels published to date.

This is definitely not a stand-alone novel; Novik's world is too complicated to jump in mid-story. Characters from past novels appear in the narrative with no explanation, not even which names go with dragons and which with humans.

I have hit upon the happy strategy of simply ignoring the huge cast of extremely minor characters...more I am very fond of this series. I was a new arrival in the world of Temeraire just this past Christmas, so in just three months, I've read all the novels published to date.

This is definitely not a stand-alone novel; Novik's world is too complicated to jump in mid-story. Characters from past novels appear in the narrative with no explanation, not even which names go with dragons and which with humans.

I have hit upon the happy strategy of simply ignoring the huge cast of extremely minor characters, which is a bit like what the author herself does. There's a character introduced in this novel, a Mrs. Pemberton, who loyally follows the main characters (or at least, more "main" than she is) into hardship and danger. She is last mentioned on page 274 as the party gazes at Rio in the distance; she is not mentioned again for the balance of the novel. Where did she go? Who knows?

In any case, this is a solid entry in the series. I found it much more enjoyable than the last one (set in Australia, a country which YES, WE GET IT, IT'S BIG!) In Crucible of Gold, our doughty crew faces shipwreck, being marooned on a desert island, battle, and most frightening of all, possible marriage arrangements. Novik renders her early 19th-century world, with its manners and social mores, beautifully.

One thing was missing, though. In earlier novels, we're shown a very dislikable character who treats his dragon in a shamefully callous manner--hmmm. We come to understand how very clever dragons are. We are shown how other civilizations (especially China) handle dragon / human interactions. Novik cleverly runs this parallel to a subplot on African slavery. Readers, and Laurence himself, slowly begin to realize that dragonkind in Temeraire's Britain are in fact, slaves: intelligent creatures made to do the bidding of their human masters. But in this current novel, Novik pays but little attention to the awakening of social conscience.

And while Laurence may have learned to respect his non-Navy peers, begun to understand the social structure of the coverts, accepted the homosexual orientation of a close friend, taken a moral stance on slavery, and refused to follow an immoral order from his superiors, but he STILL hasn't figured out that women are not frail flowers. (less)

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Sep 10, 2012 Shoshana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, fantasy, realistic

Crucible of Gold is a great addition to Naomi Novik’s ongoing Temeraire series (the seventh out of a coming nine, if my memory serves me). Laurence has changed so dramatically at this point, and isn’t even done. Temeraire is still changing. The politics of the Napoleonic wars have changed according to the influence of dragons, and are changing still as the Tswana have become a serious player and, now, as the (in this alternate world still extant – and strong) Inca Empire begins to get involved....more

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Aug 01, 2012 Margaret Mcgaffey rated it 4 of 5 stars

My sister and my son have been after me to read Temeraire for years, and I even have His Majesty’s Dragon on my eReader, signifying my intention of checking this series out. However, I have a lot of books to be read (two bookcases of them in fact), and it never leapt to the front of the pile. So when I saw Crucible of Gold on the book signup at Library Thing, I figured I’d give fate a chance at my reading schedule. Sure enough, I won, and I am grateful for it.

It’s often said that once the book i...more My sister and my son have been after me to read Temeraire for years, and I even have His Majesty’s Dragon on my eReader, signifying my intention of checking this series out. However, I have a lot of books to be read (two bookcases of them in fact), and it never leapt to the front of the pile. So when I saw Crucible of Gold on the book signup at Library Thing, I figured I’d give fate a chance at my reading schedule. Sure enough, I won, and I am grateful for it.

It’s often said that once the book is done, you cannot tell if it was a character-, plot-, or idea-focused novel at inception because all those elements blend smoothly. This is not the case with Crucible of Gold, which bothers me not at all, an odd statement in a reader who tends to get frustrated when where the book is going remains unclear.

Crucible of Gold is a people book, using the term “people” to identify sapient beings. While much later in the series, it neither drags down with the history, nor keeps the new reader guessing about the crucial elements, making this a plausible read even for those uncomfortable with reading out of sequence. I would say, however, that unless you’re willing and able to read the earlier books as prequels, you should start at the beginning as a lot has happened before this novel that would have made the center pin for the previous books. If knowing these things in advance would spoil the read, this is not the starting point for you.

But going back to the type of book this is, I’ll give you an example: The book starts out with Laurence reinstated into His Majesty’s Aviators for the sole purpose of seeing if a previous abduction offers him any insight into a way to sway the Tswana dragons from Napoleon so they will not endanger Portugal’s hold on Brazil. Seeing as Laurence was banished for refusing an immoral order, and he sides more with the Tswana dragons who are trying to rescue people who were taken as slaves, it wouldn’t have taken much for this novel to have a strong plot driving the characters at every step.

It doesn’t work out that way at all.

There are interpersonal conflicts between Laurence and the scraps of humanity that are all they are afforded to sail them to Brazil. Temeraire is at once attempting to have Laurence given the right amount of respect and bemoaning his lack of a trained crew to manage his own comfort. Hammond, the diplomat, is struggling to balance his own positions with those of Laurence. And those are only the tip of the iceberg that is this novel.

Disaster after disaster strikes this voyage, one of which is hinted at on the cover art, and the reader is drawn into conflicts that explore relationships between aviators and crew, aviators and sailors, officers and common sailors, and most especially, between human and dragon. Which isn’t even accounting for the dangers of weather when at sea.

Temeraire learns a whole new way of looking at the connection between dragons and humans, a way that appeals almost as much as proving himself in battle. His efforts to influence Laurence, and Laurence’s efforts to come up with workable, fair solutions to each situation, even when he himself holds deep, and warranted, grudges at times, make this novel a fascinating study of relationships and interactions. The situations are only complicated, to the better, by the other dragon pairs, each with their own conflicts and driving ties.

If you like people novels–heck, if you like alt history which looks at personalities as the key element in what determines the fate of individuals and nations–it’s worth checking out the novels of Temeraire, whether you start with the latest, as I did, or go back to the first…as I now plan to do.
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Jul 20, 2012 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-naval-adventures, fantasy, historical-fiction, dragons

"Crucible of Gold" continues Naomi Novik's amazing run in the "Temeraire" series. You would think that a story about dragons fighting the Napoleonic Wars would start to grow stale, but Novik's imagination spans continents and civilizations while remaining fresh, vibrant, and surprising.

"Crucible of Gold" starts with Laurence and Temeraire in Australia, and Laurence hears the great good word that he has been reinstated as an officer in His Majesty's Aerial Corps. Britain, perhaps desperate for La...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Julia Reed rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik is definitely one of my favorite guilty pleasure series, another in a long line of alternate-history Napoleonic War British Military fiction (wait, you were unaware that was a genre?). Unfortunately, the last book "Tongues of Serpents" was a major disappointment. It felt like Novik didn't know where to take her characters and so she decided to let them wander around the Australian desert for 300 pages or so, while she worked out what they were to do next. Fort...more The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik is definitely one of my favorite guilty pleasure series, another in a long line of alternate-history Napoleonic War British Military fiction (wait, you were unaware that was a genre?). Unfortunately, the last book "Tongues of Serpents" was a major disappointment. It felt like Novik didn't know where to take her characters and so she decided to let them wander around the Australian desert for 300 pages or so, while she worked out what they were to do next. Fortunately, Crucible of Gold is a return to form for the author and the series.

Pulled from exile in Australia, Will Laurence and his dragon Temeraire are sent to South America to try to settle slave result in the Portugese colonies in Brazil. However, shipwreck, treachery, and the damned French get in the way of the mission, per usual, and they're soon stranded in the Incan empire, where the Queen of the Incas is in the midst of choosing a husband. Will they convince her to stay neutral in the war, or will she become the bride of the recently divorced Napoleon, and bring with her the wealth and power of the Incas and their dragons? Can Will ever redeem himself after being sentenced to treason? Can Britain hope to prevail against Napoleon with only a few dragons and fewer allies? This series really gets better and more fun with every book.

In Novik's alternate history, dragons provide the balance of power that most colonised and enslaved people never had. Remember the Conquistadors? In our world they cut off the head of the Incan Emperorer and conquered and decimated his kingdom. In Novik's world, they still cut off the head of the Incan emperorer...but then they were torn to shreds by the emperorers dragons. There is still African slavery in Novik's timeline, but the slave traders are no match for rampaging African dragons who want their people returned to them and to their homeland. It's interesting to wonder how the world today might be different if the balance of power in the previous centuries had been a bit more balanced. (less)

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Jun 08, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, high-school, historical, kindle

Temeraire series #7
high school & up

Laurence & Temeraire continue their adventures; they have resigned themselves to settling in Australia when an old acquaintance from China arrives. He brings with him the possibility of restoring Laurence's rank and requests that they come to the aid of the beleaguered Prince Regent of Portugal. The Prince Regent is currently in Brazil and Portugal is key to the hope of beating Napoleon.

Oh, I love this series. Temeraire and Laurence are quite out of th...more

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May 04, 2012 Robin Carter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Review:
As per the last book tongues of Serpents this book lacks something that the early books had, i dont know if there is some missing passion for the character (but i doubt that), is it a lack of knowledge of the local setting of the book or is there some distraction due to the Movie? What ever it is the lack of true passion in the book shows for me in the writing.

Even with that the characters are familiar and well liked, the dragons grow with each book and develop as characters, and the time...more Review:
As per the last book tongues of Serpents this book lacks something that the early books had, i dont know if there is some missing passion for the character (but i doubt that), is it a lack of knowledge of the local setting of the book or is there some distraction due to the Movie? What ever it is the lack of true passion in the book shows for me in the writing.

Even with that the characters are familiar and well liked, the dragons grow with each book and develop as characters, and the time period is compelling with the ships of the line and the adjusted history of the world teasing the reader with what is new and what is history.

Will i keep reading the series...Yes, i still enjoy Temeraire and his world.

(Parm)

Book description:

Naomi Novik's beloved series returns, with Capt. Will Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire once again taking to the air against the broadsides of Napoleon's forces and the friendly - and sometimes not-so-friendly - fire of British soldiers and politicians who continue to suspect them of divided loyalties, if not outright treason.

For Laurence and Temeraire, put out to pasture in Australia, it seems their part in the war has come to an end just when they are needed most. Newly allied with the powerful African empire of the Tswana, the French have occupied Spain and brought revolution and bloodshed to Brazil, threatening Britain's last desperate hope to defeat Napoleon.

So the British government dispatches Arthur Hammond from China to enlist Laurence and Temeraire to negotiate a peace with the angry Tswana, who have besieged the Portuguese royal family in Rio - and as bait, Hammond bears an offer to reinstate Laurence to his former rank and seniority as a captain in the Aerial Corps. Temeraire is delighted by this sudden reversal of fortune, but Laurence is by no means sanguine, knowing from experience that personal honor and duty to one's country do not always run on parallel tracks.

Laurence and Temeraire - joined by the egotistical fire-breather Iskierka and the still-growing Kulingile, who has already surpassed Temeraire in size - embark for Brazil, only to meet with a string of unmitigated disasters that leave the dragons and their human friends forced to make an unexpected landing in the hostile territory of the Inca empire, where they face new unanticipated dangers.

Now with the success of the mission balanced on a razor's edge, and failure looking more likely by the minute, the unexpected arrival of an old enemy will tip the scales toward ruin. Yet even in the midst of disaster, opportunity may lurk - for one bold enough to grasp it. (less)

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May 01, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of the Series

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: Dyce

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, historical-fiction, novels

For those that don't know, this is the seventh in a series with an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars featuring fighting dragons. I thought the book before this one in the series, Tongues of Serpents, had been the weakest thus far, and feared it might signal the series had jumped the shark. Happily, I'd say that with this book Novik is back on form. There were no dull spots in this one, where we're taken to the land of the Incas and get a look at yet another variation on a draconic society...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Glee rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was nice to visit with Will and Temeraire again. More travels on behalf of, or in spite of, the British Empire. This time to South America and the Inca. This entry in the ongoing saga was like those family trips from my childhood - all seven or eight of us jammed into the trusty station wagon, kids bickering and whining about someone crowding into their space, with Dad ineffectually threatening us with the old "Don't make me have to stop the car" and someone insisting every five minutes or so...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Jennifer Rinehart rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have been more than patient, I waited for Temeraire and Lawrence to get back to the fight against Napoleon through three books and now this one drags the story to Incan South America (might as well have been back to Africa, the storyline is so similar). Uh uh, I'm done now (sorry if I sound ticked off, it's just that I adored this series, I even bought the first three books in audio version as well as paper).

But each book after has gotten more and more preachy, dragg-y and one off, it's like t...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Nicholas rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really want to like this series, but I'm afraid the previous two entries have fallen flat with me.

I enjoy the characters, but I don't really feel like they are progressing much. Novik is doing a good job of moving her characters around the globe and putting them in new settings. I liked the work she did w/ the Inca culture and it was nice to meet the Tswana again. Overall, however, we didn't learn much new about the characters and they didn't seem to evolve much. Sure we learned a personal sec...more

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Feb 27, 2012 William Bentrim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik (A Novel In the Temeraire)

This is the latest (2-27-12) book in the Temeraire series. I have not read the previous books but will definitely be doing so. I extrapolated from this book that Temeraire (the dragon) and his rider, Captain Laurence are in an ongoing war with Napoleon and his allies. This story has Temeraire taking care of business in South America and his encounter with the Inca empress.

Anthropomorphism is still one of my favorite themes. I greatly enj...more

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May 23, 2012 Sineala rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternate-history, dragons, e-books, fantasy, fiction, historical-fiction

Far better than the last book, thankfully. This time Temeraire and Laurence (and Iskierka and Granby and Demane and Kulingile and pretty much everyone else) are out of Australia, and due to an unfortunate shipwreck end up hanging out with the Inca. The alt-history aspect of the series gets, shall we say, pretty alt, and it seems like now finally there's a bit more effort put into exactly what various societies might have been like if they'd all had dragons forever. It's pretty cool. I think all...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Laney rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best additions to this series since the initial work "His Majesty's Dragon." Where some of the other novels have a tendency to plod along through the wilderness of both scenery and plot (*cough* Victory of Eagles), Crucible of Gold moves from one fast-paced adventure to the next, without being a connivance by the author to keep reader interest. Particularly, the humorous development of Iskierka's (the irrepressible pirate of a dragon)and Temeraire's (the musing, self-controlling philo...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Tamara added it

Shelves: south-america, brazil, pre-columbian, rio-de-janeiro, peru, amazon, dragons, travel, adventure, ship, sea, lgbt-content, war, historical, author-female, male-protagonist, fantasy

Jolly good and a return to form after the somewhat dreary sixths book. Yes, it's a travelogue, but it's a fast paced, exciting, occasionaly joyfully gruesome travelogue, replete with catastrophes, calamities and crocodiles. Plots, schemes, desert islands, things on fire, battles and mutinies come fast and furious, and theres a few surprisingly touching moments as Novik rather brutalizes the minor cast.

A minor theme picks up issues of family, parenthood and the passage of time and grounds all th...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Daniel Shellenbarger rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had hopes that Crucible of Gold would get the series back on track after Tongues of Serpents, but the same problems pervade. Foremost, whereas the first few books were pretty tight on their alternate history, sticking fairly close to historical events, from 4 onwards, things got increasingly silly (with the exception of book 5) and had less and less to do with the historical events of the Napoleonic Wars. Moreover, the dragon-friendly Incan Empire she creates in Crucible of Gold shares a lot o...more I had hopes that Crucible of Gold would get the series back on track after Tongues of Serpents, but the same problems pervade. Foremost, whereas the first few books were pretty tight on their alternate history, sticking fairly close to historical events, from 4 onwards, things got increasingly silly (with the exception of book 5) and had less and less to do with the historical events of the Napoleonic Wars. Moreover, the dragon-friendly Incan Empire she creates in Crucible of Gold shares a lot of themes with her dragon-friendly Tswana and Chinese Empires from previous books in that (once again) the noble savages are happy and have a wise and all-but-flawless system unlike the blundering Europeans (how post-modern stereotypical). This wouldn't be too unbearable if the story-telling and characters were up to the same standards of her early books, but even the dragons are starting to come off as flat and static characters without any real period feeling, the more so since half the cast seems to be bitter at life in general and British society in particular (why is it that the only society in the series that doesn't seem to be progressively right-thinking is the colonial imperialist British?) and disinterested in making any real effort to contribute to the war in Europe. Even worse, there's hardly any action. In fact, there are just two short fight sequences in Crucible of Gold, a dragon duel (which is awesome) and a boat raid against some French ships at anchor (in which the dragons play only a peripheral part). It doesn't feel like a methodically-researched period fantasy, it doesn't feel like thoughtful naval fiction, it doesn't even feel like much of a dragon story, so all that's left is a mildly entertaining adventure fantasy that doesn't really have much of a point or a purpose. Frankly, I've given up hope that the series will ever reattain the excellence it once boasted and any future entries will be borrowed from the library rather than gracing my bookshelves.(less)

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Jan 12, 2013 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

As soon as I discovered the Temeraire series, I read all the books that were then available, so I was delighted to see a new volume after a gap of several years.

It suffers from the problem of long-running series that there is now a lot of backstory, and with the gap aforementioned, I spent the first three chapters trying to remember who all these people were and why they were arguing. It's a tribute to the author that I remembered most of them, and a good many of the key preceding events, by th...more As soon as I discovered the Temeraire series, I read all the books that were then available, so I was delighted to see a new volume after a gap of several years.

It suffers from the problem of long-running series that there is now a lot of backstory, and with the gap aforementioned, I spent the first three chapters trying to remember who all these people were and why they were arguing. It's a tribute to the author that I remembered most of them, and a good many of the key preceding events, by the end of the book.

A quick "the story so far" and/or a list of characters would make it easier to get back in, though.

Breaking down my rating, since different books are good for different reasons:

Language/prose style: 4 stars. The language gives an authentic period feel, without being so authentic that it's unnecessarily hard to read. There is an odd thing which I noticed a couple of times, in which we get what at first sounds like Lawrence's interior monologue (written in free indirect speech, beginning with some phrase like "Lawrence wondered"), and then someone answers him and it becomes clear that he was speaking at least some of these thoughts aloud. It may well be how novels were written in the early 19th century. I found it a little disorienting, though.

Plot: 5 stars. Reading through, I realized that one of the things Naomi Novik does exceptionally well is put her characters in situations in which there is no clear solution to their problem that is both moral and easy to carry out. Every option is either morally questionable or costly or both. This happens again and again, and keeps the tension up and showcases the strong moral character of Lawrence, who will put his opposition to slavery ahead of his personal interests and even the interests of his country.

Character: 3.5 stars. As I've already mentioned, the characters are memorable, even though there are so many, and the dragons not less than the humans. The dragons' lack of sophistication when it comes to human concerns is occasionally, I felt, a little overplayed. It's hard to sustain naive characters long-term without their naiveté becoming annoying, and Temeraire, for me, is starting to cross that line. However, his naiveté and Iskierka's selfish boastfulness and willfulness do provide plenty of fuel for plot complications.

I could stand to see more character development. I don't feel that the characters changed very much in this volume, certainly not compared to the previous volumes.

Setting: 4 stars. I enjoy the world in which dragons (and other mythical megafauna like bunyips and sea serpents) exist, and their influence on history, despite large amounts of implausibility. Such a very alternate world would be unlikely to have produced the same Napoleon and the same Napoleonic wars, for example, and the amount of food such large creatures as the dragons would need to consume just to stay alive, let alone fly for days, is thoroughly fudged, but I forgive all that because of the fascinating possibilities it produces. Even though the population of South America is being devastated by European illnesses, as did indeed happen historically, it doesn't enable the Spanish to conquer them because of the presence of the dragons. Likewise with Africa, and the Tswana and the Inca Empire make for an interesting dynamic in a world less dominated by Europe than our own.

Overall, a good entry to an excellent series, and proof that not every traditionally-published book has to be the same-old same-old. Alternate history Napoleonic wars with dragons? Thank you, I believe I will. (less)

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Mar 10, 2012 Cris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-history, dragons, historical-fiction, war-battles

Oh, wow! Crucible of gold is an improvement on Tongues of Serpents with more of the action and adventure from earlier books in the series.

While I have one or two little suggestions that might have improved my reading experience, my biggest complaint is that I shall have to wait for the next book. Novik continued with her character development and rejoined world events. (view spoiler)...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's like a breathe of relief to come back to these characters, and to see these characters in a new setting made me very happy indeed. Especially when we see some characters that we haven't seen in much too long, thank you very much.

But, if you ignore my blatant fangirling bias of the series, I feel honestly, there's nothing quite too special about this one. As a lover of this universe, it's a great next installment, but on its own, I don't know what else to say. It's similar, in terms of how t...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Chris Bauer rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've been reading this series since the first book came out and have tremendously enjoyed the rich combination of historical fiction and "plausible" fantasy elements such as dragons. The first several books read like an awesome combination of Horatio Hornblower + Dragonriders of Pern and were very enjoyable. But this latest book in the series was more along the lines of Pride & Prejudice with dragons and a little Robinson Crusoe added for taste.

I can't recall the last time I felt like readin...more

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May 04, 2012 Algernon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

A good summer read, easy and fast. I know I'm reading it at the beginning of May, but we're already enduring a heatwave, so I wasn't in the mood for anything more demanding.

I've been a moderate fan of Temeraire adventures since His Majesty's Dragon , and I'm glad to find some improvement after the less satisfactory Tongues of Serpents . I still get the travelogue vibe that ignores the central Napoleonic Wars theme in favor of exploring exotic locations, but with Crucible of Gold there are act...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Audrey Dailey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

I thought this book, the 7th in the Temeraire series, was the last one but I was wrong--it is just the last one written. I'm glad there is still more to come!
I enjoyed this book more than the previous one. It was nice to feel like Laurence and Temeraire had a purpose again and I really liked the South American setting. Also, many of the books in this series spend A LOT of time talking about the dragons' eating habits (seriously) and while it came up in this one, I didn't feel like it was the ma...more

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About Naomi Novik

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to partic...more

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Quotes from Crucible of Gold

“. . . and it came out that this King Arthur and his knights had done nothing of real note but to kill innocent dragons all around Britain: almost certainly a pack of lies, as Forthing admitted they had not possessed even any guns at the time, and unpleasant lies at that.” — 2 people liked it

“They are ours,” he said, “although not properly the sailors: they are only along because we would not leave them to drown, and ought to be more grateful for it than they are. Laurence,” he said, turning, “this is Palta, and that man is called Taruca: Iskierka snatched him, and I cannot find she asked him in the least.” — 1 person liked it

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Crucible of Gold (Temeraire #7)

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