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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Possibly the 'Temeraire' novel that I've enjoyed the most since the first instalment, Empire of Ivory begins a little slowly but swiftly builds place and ends on a tremendous cliffhanger. I really enjoyed the fact that we got a much more expanded feel of the world in which Lawrence and Temeraire live: a sense of the alterations to history, geography and nationhood which must necessarily have occurred thanks to the interactions of dragons and humans. I wish, wish, wish, however, that we had been given more of a sense of the Tswana people from their own point of view, and that the characters of colour who had speaking roles had been sketched in with a little more depth: there's a flatness that comes perforce from a lack of ability to speak, and I was left uneasy and undecided in my own mind as to whether or not the book did edge over the line into the territory of Scary Black People with Spears every now and then. I suppose it depends on how this feeds into the upcoming books, and how great an impact and an agency the (apparently quite unified and powerful) African human-dragon coalition possesses.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
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:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Things are finally picking up again in the saga, whooo. Novik made great use of the pandemic + colonialism + imperialism themes in this book, and that ending has definitely made me curious to read on soon to find out what happens next!
Mmmh. It was still a good read, but not up to the first couple books.
This book takes yet another detour around the Napoleon wars, and sends the characters to another trip, in this case to Africa, where we get to meet a different culture and the way they relate to dragons. This particular book has a much stronger and explicit anti slavery message.
The action is pretty good, but spending so much time in transit does make it for a slower pace. There is some interesting character development for Lawrence and Temeraire at the end, so I'm looking forward to how their characters move forward on the next books.
This book takes yet another detour around the Napoleon wars, and sends the characters to another trip, in this case to Africa, where we get to meet a different culture and the way they relate to dragons. This particular book has a much stronger and explicit anti slavery message.
The action is pretty good, but spending so much time in transit does make it for a slower pace. There is some interesting character development for Lawrence and Temeraire at the end, so I'm looking forward to how their characters move forward on the next books.
This book ends on a cliffhanger which is something I really hate. On the plus side, the series is complete so I don't have to wait an eternity for the next book, but still.
I strongly dislike Laurence. I enjoyed him in the first book, but he's soooooo boring. Temeraire is interesting, the other dragons are interesting, the other aviators are interesting, the whole "Dragons in the Napolean wars" idea is interesting. This book though is mostly Laurence travelling and being a boring robotic "patriot".
The African dragons were interesting but as soon as you begin to think (even a touch) about it, the whole plotline falls apart. So, I'm not going to delve into it because if you don't see the giant holes already, why ruin it for you? Because once you start noticing the holes the wholeblanket plot falls apart.
The pacing of this book is SO BAD. There are multiple great plot (ideas) going on(going to get the cure, getting kidnapped, African dragons taking over, sharing the cure with France) but they're all executed quickly and on a surface-level. Most of the book is taken up with the execution of regular everyday tasks and travel... "they were hungry. they ate. they talked. Laurence made the kids study. Laurence and Temeraire have a variation of the same conversation." Over and over.
Also the inclusion of random side plots that are never developed, occur suddenly, and don't aid in the development of character or plot or anything. For example, Harcourt'spregnancy. We're just randomly informed she's pregnant because she's been sleeping with Riley. Then they get married. Then .. .??? Nothing. What purpose did this serve? We didn't get to know any of the characters, her pregnancy didn't make her unable to do anything (she just had to vomit here and there), it didn't advance any of the major plotlines, we never actually saw her interact with the father (if memory serves, even at the wedding she's separate from him). Why was this here? Why were these pages not used to better serve the actual story (I'd have loved for more depth to the kidnapping segment, or the ending, or really any of the major plot ideas).
The more I think about this book, the more flaws I find with it, and the less I like it. I'm really unsure about what the rest of this series (because there's FIVE more books) is going to be like...
I strongly dislike Laurence. I enjoyed him in the first book, but he's soooooo boring. Temeraire is interesting, the other dragons are interesting, the other aviators are interesting, the whole "Dragons in the Napolean wars" idea is interesting. This book though is mostly Laurence travelling and being a boring robotic "patriot".
The African dragons were interesting but as soon as you begin to think (even a touch) about it, the whole plotline falls apart. So, I'm not going to delve into it because if you don't see the giant holes already, why ruin it for you? Because once you start noticing the holes the whole
The pacing of this book is SO BAD. There are multiple great plot (ideas) going on
Also the inclusion of random side plots that are never developed, occur suddenly, and don't aid in the development of character or plot or anything. For example, Harcourt's
The more I think about this book, the more flaws I find with it, and the less I like it. I'm really unsure about what the rest of this series (because there's FIVE more books) is going to be like...
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book a lot, it was gripping and a return to form after a somewhat disappointing third book. The ending made me instantly pick up book four even though it was late evening at the time (goodbye sleep).