After having enjoyed Spinning Silver and Uprooted, I then turned to Naomi Novik’s established nine book series, Temeraire.
It opens with English naval captain, Laurence, taking control of a French vessel in the Napoleonic Wars. The French have fought admirably, and it soon becomes clear why - they are in possession of a rare dragon egg intended for the Emperor.
Dragons are highly valued by by both countries, as they are used in the Air Command to control the skies of battle. The egg is about to hatch and all attention is focussed on it, for a dragon must be harnessed upon hatching or it will run wild. The value of dragons for England is so high, there is no question of not attempting the harness; yet for the person from whom the dragon accepts the harness, it means loss of all previous livelihood and a requirement to enter the Dragon Corps, a rough and undervalued legion of the armed forces.
When the dragonet hatches it’s eyes meet Lawrence’s and he speaks to him, forming an instant bond. Lawrence is initially horrified and distraught, for all plans of continuing in the navy are now dashed and he must make his way to join the Corps.
Yet it very quickly becomes apparent that Temeraire is no ordinary dragon. He is very quick to learn, understand and reason. His high level of language ability and relational skills mean a strong and permanent bond quickly forms between him and Lawrence.
As he moves to the training school and gets to know other captains and their dragons, it seems the rumours about these men are false, and these are good, honest men who truly love the dragons in their care.
The book charts their Lawrence and Temeraire’s friendship as well as those around them, as they train and prepare for a major battle against Napoleon.
It’s a great idea, introducing the concept of dragons into a world we are already familiar with and into a time of history that is already well documented. I have commented before (The Rain Wild Chronicles) on Robin Hobb’s books that I find the regular writing about dragons fascinating - why do they occupy such thought in human minds? In fact, these books would be enjoyed by anyone who has also enjoyed Hobb’s series. There are some strong similarities between them and there is an ‘old-fashioned’ style to both, that is: no bad language, really only allusions to sex, and the violence is all in acts of war. As such, they would be perfectly suitable to younger readers too (aged 14+) who enjoyed some old fashioned warfare ideas with a mythical element woven in. In fact the writing even feels like it was written at the time it is set, and there are strong elements of honour, valour and doing the right thing, even at great personal cost.
Later books include travel to China and amazement about the different dragons there. There are ongoing skirmishes with France in warfare, and travels throughout Africa, Australia and South America. As time goes on, Temeraire increasingly wants to fight for the rights of dragons, and there are parallels to the push to end slavery which is being championed at the same time by Wilberforce.
I really enjoyed this series, and each book captured my attention in different ways. Sometimes the battle scenes or warfare were extended, and at times the political implications were a little harder to grasp, but overall it is a wonderfully interesting and creative tale about the bond between Laurence and Temeraire and the choices they made as they fought for their country.
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