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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
tense
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
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was genuinely terrified reading the blurb of this book and seeing that it would take place somewhere in Africa given the era it is set in and the attitudes some characters have expressed regarding foreign places, people, cultures etc... Thankfully it all sort of went well. In that they did achieve a mission, some death was avoided, and in other cases, revenge was gained and I was glad for it (though people within the book, showcasing not surprisingly but no less gross displays of hypocrisy and intolerance) It's hard to say more without giving everything away, but it was certainly an interesting read. Many choices were made, many thoughts were thought (or perhaps not). I missed several characters, loathed others, and overall just got really stressed and annoyed at many points in this book. Still a worthy entry into the series and I'm beyond desperate to get a hold of the next ones and find out what an earth can come next. These books do know how to do a decent cliffhanger I will say.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
These books are ok. I think I've tired of the formal language in them. I mean, I understand why the author is writing this way...it's set during the Napoleonic wars. I just don't really care to read it. It wears on me. As for the story itself; the main character & his dragon have returned from Japan to find that all the dragons in England are sick & dying, so they return to Africa to find a cure. While they're there, they get captured, ignite the fires of vengeance in the black populace who has had enough being captured for slave trade, then eventually bring back a cure for the dragon-pox or wyrm-flu...whatever...leading up to the cliffhanger at the end. blah blah blah Very little fighting with Napoleon, which has always been the most interesting aspect of these books for me. I *would* like to find out how this series ends, but this is book 4 & there are currently 8. They aren't terrible books, but I do read them with a certain 'oh, come on...can we just wrap this up?' attitude. My current vote for friends: skip this series.
Ah! I'm so concerned! Yet so enthralled.
Love how she uses dragon presence to explain actual historic developments, like Paris's widened avenues.
Love how she uses dragon presence to explain actual historic developments, like Paris's widened avenues.
This is my third reread of this book (but my first readthrough of the Subterranean Press special edition), no matter what Goodreads says, but apparently I haven't written a review for this book yet, so the shape of this review is going to be different than what I expected.
Empire of Ivory is probably one of the top three books in the series. It's probably my third favourite book in the series (my second favourite is Blood of Tyrants which is, objectively, probably one of the worst books in the series but I DON'T CARE COME AT ME). There's some strange inconsistencies (hats have suddenly become important, despite hardly being mentioned at all the previous three books. Up to this point in my reread, I had just assumed that the history of the world was different enough that they never really gained the importance they held in real world Regency Era England. I'm going to stick with that, because they never really make a return. More importantly, the disappearance of Warren, only for him to pop up again in the final act without a word or mention of it was also strange).
But overall, this book has a ton of laugh-out-loud funny moments, and one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire series. It's wonderfully written, and has some absolutely beautiful descriptions of scenery. This might have been my third reread, but I get something new out of it every single time I reread it (in this case, how absolutely ridiculous Laurence can be at times, I love him).
Now to the review of the edition of the book I read, which was the Subterrean Press special edition, illustrated by Maurizio Mamzieri, someone who, apparently, has NEVER READ THE BOOKS. Ever. In his entire life. It's the only way I can think about how this came about.
First image, we have Edinburgh. It takes place when Temeraire and the ferals have to find themselves space to lay down in the streets of Edinburgh. The illustration shows some sort of strange, limbless, green dragon wrapped around a church spire, breathing fire. I think? it's supposed to be Temeraire? That the green was possibly just a choice because he was worried that the black would fade into the background too much. Except that Temeraire doesn't breathe fire. Temeraire has never breathed fire. Also, Temeraire has limbs. My friends have dubbed this dragon Steve, because there literally isn't a single other dragon it could be.
The second image, we have, again, what I assume to be Temeraire, actually black this time, flying above a ship. I don't know which ship this is; it's certainly not The Reliant. I don't know who the other dragons are, flying around in the background. And this is by far my least favourite depiction of Temeraire I have ever seen, anywhere. Less a dragon than a wyvern, if wyvern's also lost their hindlegs. It's not great.
The third image, we have Steve again! Glad to see you came along to Cape Town, Steve.
And the fourth image shows some sort of blue dragon, this time with limbs, hunting an elephant by shooing... a beam of light from its mouth? I don't get it.
Honestly, I heard Subterranean Press originally had the rights to print the first five books, and I was disappointed they only got to four, because the fifth book is my favourite in the series. I loved Anke Eissmann's paintings in the first three books, and their attention to even the smallest details in the scenes. To see it replaced with this, I was less than impressed, and frankly, I'm kind of glad that Sub Press never did get to Victory of Eagles, because I would have been very, very sad.
Empire of Ivory is probably one of the top three books in the series. It's probably my third favourite book in the series (my second favourite is Blood of Tyrants which is, objectively, probably one of the worst books in the series but I DON'T CARE COME AT ME). There's some strange inconsistencies (hats have suddenly become important, despite hardly being mentioned at all the previous three books. Up to this point in my reread, I had just assumed that the history of the world was different enough that they never really gained the importance they held in real world Regency Era England. I'm going to stick with that, because they never really make a return. More importantly, the disappearance of Warren, only for him to pop up again in the final act without a word or mention of it was also strange).
But overall, this book has a ton of laugh-out-loud funny moments, and one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire series. It's wonderfully written, and has some absolutely beautiful descriptions of scenery. This might have been my third reread, but I get something new out of it every single time I reread it (in this case, how absolutely ridiculous Laurence can be at times, I love him).
Now to the review of the edition of the book I read, which was the Subterrean Press special edition, illustrated by Maurizio Mamzieri, someone who, apparently, has NEVER READ THE BOOKS. Ever. In his entire life. It's the only way I can think about how this came about.
First image, we have Edinburgh. It takes place when Temeraire and the ferals have to find themselves space to lay down in the streets of Edinburgh. The illustration shows some sort of strange, limbless, green dragon wrapped around a church spire, breathing fire. I think? it's supposed to be Temeraire? That the green was possibly just a choice because he was worried that the black would fade into the background too much. Except that Temeraire doesn't breathe fire. Temeraire has never breathed fire. Also, Temeraire has limbs. My friends have dubbed this dragon Steve, because there literally isn't a single other dragon it could be.
The second image, we have, again, what I assume to be Temeraire, actually black this time, flying above a ship. I don't know which ship this is; it's certainly not The Reliant. I don't know who the other dragons are, flying around in the background. And this is by far my least favourite depiction of Temeraire I have ever seen, anywhere. Less a dragon than a wyvern, if wyvern's also lost their hindlegs. It's not great.
The third image, we have Steve again! Glad to see you came along to Cape Town, Steve.
And the fourth image shows some sort of blue dragon, this time with limbs, hunting an elephant by shooing... a beam of light from its mouth? I don't get it.
Honestly, I heard Subterranean Press originally had the rights to print the first five books, and I was disappointed they only got to four, because the fifth book is my favourite in the series. I loved Anke Eissmann's paintings in the first three books, and their attention to even the smallest details in the scenes. To see it replaced with this, I was less than impressed, and frankly, I'm kind of glad that Sub Press never did get to Victory of Eagles, because I would have been very, very sad.
adventurous
This series has been really well done. The first book really drew me in with the characters and world, gave me a solid understanding, which continued and deepened throughout the second and third books (even if they sometimes seemed a little meandering). The climax of this book so beautifully brought the threads of the previous books together.
A nice contrast to the previous war-centered books, and introduces great discourse around alt-history of the African slave trade.