His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1) in Reading Through the Ages

Aug 03, 2020 Melanie rated it it was ok

The warning should have been “if you like Robin Hobb”. Decidedly not my cup of tea.

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Aug 31, 2017 T.F. rated it really liked it

Dragon Air.But no dragons in the air. Only flights. But there is an alternate history where dragons fly the air. That is the world of Temeraire. It is the time of Napoleonic wars. And in addition to the navy, infantry, cavalry etc. that used to be available in those days, all sides in this alternate history have an air force - a dragon air force. So we have as hero a navy man who ends up developing a telepathic bond with a powerful dragon that is breaking out of its shell. Being the only man who Dragon Air.But no dragons in the air. Only flights. But there is an alternate history where dragons fly the air. That is the world of Temeraire. It is the time of Napoleonic wars. And in addition to the navy, infantry, cavalry etc. that used to be available in those days, all sides in this alternate history have an air force - a dragon air force. So we have as hero a navy man who ends up developing a telepathic bond with a powerful dragon that is breaking out of its shell. Being the only man who can control this powerful being, he has to give up the navy and turn aviator. The story follows the development of his relationship with the dragon which incidentally is a sentient being that can talk and his induction into the air force culminating in a battle with the enemy forces. Story is a nice feel good story. The hero is very much likable as is the dragon. The book moves ahead at a decent pace. All in all an enjoyable read. However based on the first book, I did have a couple of peeves about this story.
Firstly the world building was not intricate and the concept was not mind blowing. Robin Hobb and Anne McCaffrey did a much better job I felt in building the whole magic idea around the dragons. On an aside mentioning these 2 names makes me aware all 3 famous dragon fantasy authors are women as is Margaret Weiss who was written one too. Paoloni let me leave out. But yes I would have liked more intricate ideas around the types of dragons, their powers, their origins, how humans tamed them etc. Not sure if they appear in the subsequent books. Also I felt dragons talking was too easy for a fantasy - some kind of complex telepathic communication would have been more interesting. I also find one logical gap in most dragon stories. Dragons live longer than humans. Yet they mature much faster than humans. In a year they reach adult hood and then live like that for centuries. While humans grow over two decades and don't last a centuru.
My second complaint was regarding the intensity of the conflicts. Somehow none of the conflicts was deal with satisfactorily. There was a mystery around the aviator training that build lot of expectations but nothing came of it. There was an built up around hostility of aviators towards a non aviator. But even there sufficient tension was not built up. Then there was an arc around ill treatment of dragon which again didn't amount to much. Even the final battle was not sufficiently intense. Also I felt there could have been a bit of conflict between the dragon and its rider. Things were too easy. ...more

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Aug 30, 2020 Jillian added it

DNF ed. Not really my genre. Extremely over written.

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Dec 31, 2019 Kat rated it really liked it

If you’ve finished robin Hobb’s Dragon Ship series and you’re looking for more dragons in your life - look no further. Amazing historical fiction and if you don’t fall in love with Termeraire, you don’t have a soul!

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