From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1)

Naomi Novik

Start date: December 1, 2013

Finish date: December 31, 2013

Discussion: 2013 Reads

Why we're reading this: The ALT pick for December.
[close] The ALT pick for December.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 297 topics — 6,650 comments total

2013 Reads

ANHoD: Looking to buy Within the Sanctuary of Wings in Paperback
By Tracey · 6 posts · 42 views

last updated Aug 24, 2018 05:13PM

OMW: BrainPals
By Hershel · 89 posts · 543 views

last updated Apr 07, 2018 02:35PM

showing 10 of 43 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 07, 2010 Sandi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2010, e-books

Call me crazy, but I like fantasy novels to be plausible. I like magic as long as it has an explanation or usage that seems "realistic" within its own fictional world. Mythological creatures need to make some sort of sense.

When Barnes & Noble offered the first book of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series as one of its Free Fridays books, I wasn't going to pass up a chance to read it for free. It has received so much praise from people who know their fantasy. I just have to say that it was okay, but it Call me crazy, but I like fantasy novels to be plausible. I like magic as long as it has an explanation or usage that seems "realistic" within its own fictional world. Mythological creatures need to make some sort of sense.

When Barnes & Noble offered the first book of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series as one of its Free Fridays books, I wasn't going to pass up a chance to read it for free. It has received so much praise from people who know their fantasy. I just have to say that it was okay, but it didn't wow me. The first part was really good, but it started dragging enough in the middle and the end that I started questioning the world Novik created and it started seeming really implausible.

The first thing that got me was the way dragons are hatched with a full command of the English language or whatever language they are exposed to in the egg. They not only know human language, they speak it. I'm pretty sure dragon physiology would not allow them to speak any human language. Novik doesn't even use the telepathic communication angle that other writers have used to work around this.

The second thing that got me was the feeding of dragons. They seemed to subsist on very little given their size and there were always plenty of cows and sheep around to keep them fed. Given the number of dragons in captivity, it seems like it would take an awful lot of resources to keep those dragons fed. I'm sure the environmental impact wouldn't be pretty.

I also wasn't convinced by the battle scenes. It just seems like it was impossibly difficult to fight a war from the back of a dragon, especially with all the harnesses.

There was a lot more that didn't convince me, but I won't go into it. However, I will say that Novik's formal prose was perfectly suited to the period of His Majesty's Dragon. She got the language right and never slipped into modern usage.

If you love dragons, you might love this take on them. I'm not a big fan though. This book was okay, but not great. I don't think I'll be reading the rest. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 02, 2010 Justin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, alternate-history, england, dragons

I think that most of the fantasy I’ve been reading lately has been taking itself quite seriously. Lots of death, sex, political intrigue, and bleak futures. The first book in Novik’s Temeraire series is exactly what I needed: a fresh take on a well-worn fantasy trope that doesn’t need high-minded literary aspirations due to it being so fun to read. Not to say that it isn’t literary either; His Majesty’s Dragon is a pretty great work of fantasy fiction.

This first book introduces the reader to Wil I think that most of the fantasy I’ve been reading lately has been taking itself quite seriously. Lots of death, sex, political intrigue, and bleak futures. The first book in Novik’s Temeraire series is exactly what I needed: a fresh take on a well-worn fantasy trope that doesn’t need high-minded literary aspirations due to it being so fun to read. Not to say that it isn’t literary either; His Majesty’s Dragon is a pretty great work of fantasy fiction.

This first book introduces the reader to William Lawrence, a sea captain in the Royal Navy. The books take place in an alternate version of Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, where dragons not only exist but are fairly common, and a key element of most nations’ military forces. After a quick battle with a weakened French ship, Lawrence recovers a prize of great value: a dragon egg, ready to hatch. The intelligent animal unexpectedly picks Lawrence to bond with; duty compels Lawrence to leave his beloved ship and become an aviator, simply for the sake of putting another British dragon in the skies. However, his initial reluctance to leave his sheltered life as an officer and gentleman to become a social pariah (as most aviators usually are in this England) quickly fades, as he begins to form his own bond with the unique black dragon, who he has named Temeraire after the famous Royal ship of the line. Lawrence and Temeraire’s training progresses quickly due to the dragon’s extraordinary intelligence and unique flying abilities, but a clever plan by Napoleon to invade England forces them into action, and unveils some startling truths about what Temeraire is and where he came from.

The entire book rests on the relationship between Lawrence and Temeraire, and it does so comfortably. Both are excellent, sympathetic characters. Lawrence’s stilted manners and fish-out-of-water naiveté contrasts perfectly with Temeraire’s wide-eyed innocence and occasional childish enthusiasm, making them an easy pair to like and root for. Admittedly, though, their relationship does take some getting used to. Between the histrionics each goes into at any perceived threat towards the other and Lawrence’s baffling tendency to refer to Temeraire as “my dear,” there are some initial overtones of gay man-dragon love. But as the book progresses, Novik does a fantastic job of defining the strong, unique relationships between the captains and their sentient dragons. I perceived it as a mix of the feelings a person would have towards a child and a particularly loved pet. In any event, once the initial “wtf?” feeling wears off, it is written well enough to make some of the scenes between the dragons and their respective people heart-wrenching, if occasionally too sentimental.

As with any good alternate history that takes place in wartime, the battles are the highlights of this book. Novik eschews the “dragon-rider” approach, and instead puts forth the notion that dragons can support actual crews of various sizes, who operate much like naval crews of the time would. Thus, each battle scene mixes the tense, orderly progression of a naval clash with the chaos of aerial warfare. Also, we’re talking about dragons that can do cool dragon things like spit acid and claw things apart. It really doesn’t get much cooler than that.

The story is probably the weakest element of the book, in that it’s understated and doesn’t take a whole lot of surprising turns. This book has a distinct “introductory” feel, meaning that the establishment of the characters takes precedence over the actual plot. This doesn’t actually cause any problems for the majority of the book, since the world and characters are so interesting that the story shines in a bit of their reflected light. However, the ending retains that simplicity; once the final twist is revealed, everything resolves itself with simplicity that strains credulity. Considering the buildup to the climactic scenes, I simply don’t buy how things turned out.

The ending was almost unsatisfying enough for me to knock a point off, but I had so much fun reading this book that I decided to let it go. This is good, solid fantasy. I’ve never been a dragon guy; I’ll admit to never having read a Pern book despite being a longtime sci-fi and fantasy reader. So, I can’t really speak to how His Majesty’s Dragon holds up to other books in the dragon genre, assuming that there is such a thing as a “dragon genre.” But I can overwhelmingly recommend this book for fantasy readers, alternate history readers, and those with a penchant for wartime or historical fiction that don’t mind some flights of fancy. I’ve already bought the next two; I’m sold. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2009 Daniel rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

An enjoyable book, with a unique take on dragons as intelligent beasts who bond with their handlers to serve as beasts of war. It may sound familiar, but details and method of execution in the story make it something quite new in my experience of reading fantasy. The twist of setting the story within an ongoing war between forces of Britain and the French army as led by Napoleon is a lot of fun.

This is a fun read, and focused very tightly on the development of the relationship between the protag ...more

Like · see review