You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.66k reviews for:
Téméraire - Tome I: Les dragons de sa majesté
Guillaume Fournier, Naomi Novik, Naomi Novik
4.05 AVERAGE
4.66k reviews for:
Téméraire - Tome I: Les dragons de sa majesté
Guillaume Fournier, Naomi Novik, Naomi Novik
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
I have been eying this book along many a recommended bookshelf, and finally picked it up. And was thoroughly entertained all the way through, and have already started on the second. It is exactly what I wanted to read right now without even knowing it.
Novik's language is excellent, and her use of period language is perfect according to my ignorant eye. Her knowledge of the naval tactics of the time is wonderful to read and translates even better into the sky.
I find myself rooting for the characters more than I have in while.
Novik's language is excellent, and her use of period language is perfect according to my ignorant eye. Her knowledge of the naval tactics of the time is wonderful to read and translates even better into the sky.
I find myself rooting for the characters more than I have in while.
My dear, what a delightful book! I read a couple of these when first published but forgot most details.
Lawrence and Temeraire's relationship is wonderful; this fuelled the story for me. I loved this reimagining of England during this era with dragons and Novik's introduction of women and philosophy into the story.
Lawrence and Temeraire's relationship is wonderful; this fuelled the story for me. I loved this reimagining of England during this era with dragons and Novik's introduction of women and philosophy into the story.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF'd at 75%
why?
THE DRAGONS WERE JUST TOO FUCKING BIG
i know this is absolutely a me problem, however I feel the need to do some explaining.
there is a limit to how big a creature can get before it can no longer be sustained by its environment. the largest predator on land is the polar bear, at approximately 1 ton, also known as *half the size of the smallest dragons in this book*. and polar bears are an outlier, as they are the subject of what's known as Arctic gigantism, where creatures will get larger in cold environments due to losing less heat per square inch.
the dragons in this book get up to 50 tons. you know what weighs 50 tons? a fucking blue whale. y'know what definitely cannot fly? a fucking blue whale.
blue whales get so big largely due to their choice of food, which is krill. the difference between krill and , say, a herd of cows, is that krill are obscenely abundant and only take 10 days to hatch. female krill can lay up to 10,000 eggs at a time, multiple times per 3 month spawning season, which can equal up to 100,000 babies.
cows on the other hand, typically only have one calf per pregnancy, and take two years to get to slaughter weight. the largest dragons will eat herds of them at a time. can you see how this starts to get inefficient? the amount of food required to sustain one large dragon, let alone several, would quickly become absolutely disastrous for the ecosystem and economy.
of course, I doubt many people who read this book were looking at it through a speculative biology lens, but I think those who were would also have noticed Novik's lack of research on that front. it's particularly irritating due to how much thought is put into both the variation and lifestyle of the dragons, but their practical applications as well. those aspects make this book feel otherwise very grounded, which makes the sheer size of the creatures feel very jarring.
why?
THE DRAGONS WERE JUST TOO FUCKING BIG
i know this is absolutely a me problem, however I feel the need to do some explaining.
there is a limit to how big a creature can get before it can no longer be sustained by its environment. the largest predator on land is the polar bear, at approximately 1 ton, also known as *half the size of the smallest dragons in this book*. and polar bears are an outlier, as they are the subject of what's known as Arctic gigantism, where creatures will get larger in cold environments due to losing less heat per square inch.
the dragons in this book get up to 50 tons. you know what weighs 50 tons? a fucking blue whale. y'know what definitely cannot fly? a fucking blue whale.
blue whales get so big largely due to their choice of food, which is krill. the difference between krill and , say, a herd of cows, is that krill are obscenely abundant and only take 10 days to hatch. female krill can lay up to 10,000 eggs at a time, multiple times per 3 month spawning season, which can equal up to 100,000 babies.
cows on the other hand, typically only have one calf per pregnancy, and take two years to get to slaughter weight. the largest dragons will eat herds of them at a time. can you see how this starts to get inefficient? the amount of food required to sustain one large dragon, let alone several, would quickly become absolutely disastrous for the ecosystem and economy.
of course, I doubt many people who read this book were looking at it through a speculative biology lens, but I think those who were would also have noticed Novik's lack of research on that front. it's particularly irritating due to how much thought is put into both the variation and lifestyle of the dragons, but their practical applications as well. those aspects make this book feel otherwise very grounded, which makes the sheer size of the creatures feel very jarring.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Fine. The relationship between Laurence and Temeraire was the best part. I found it hard to imagine the crews on each dragon, and wish the images had been included in the front rather than the back (I didn't know they were there!). A bit eye crossing with the number of names for me.