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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
The dragons get COVID-19, and Laurence goes to Wakanda.
I fell down the Temeraire re-read rabbit hold hard this summer. I enjoy the books, and the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence, and all the cognitive dissonance. This is the one where they travel to Africa.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Better than book 3 by far. I enjoyed the depiction of Africa as able to stand up to slavers and self govern.
Another Temeraire book down. I have to say I'm really liking how much this series keeps surprising me. There came a point where I wasn't even sure what was going to happen next, all I knew was that I needed to keep listening/reading.
This installment focuses on a disease plaguing the dragons that Laurence and Temeraire need to find a cure for in Africa. Sounds simple enough, but I was really surprised how much Empire of Ivory went beyond its initial premise. Something I thought offhand about the disease was actually addressed in this book and our heroes confronted it in such an emotionally provocative way that only they could.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. For the most part, this book's goal is to be a big ol' set up for the next book. However, no matter how I feel about each individual book, I can always count of them being distinct from one another. Empire of Ivory continues this tradition by very much focusing on its own story and characters. This works so well that you don't even mind the cliffhanger ending and the urge to pick up the next book to know what happens next.
Considering the time period and that a third of our time in spent in Africa, slavery is bound to be something that needs to be addressed. We've had passing mentions of it, but it is here that Novik uses it to not only build her characters, but also fuel a lot of the conflict. There is a minister character in this that offers a very good argument against a common justification for these actions and Novik wrote the man's faith so well that I was actually looking forward to seeing more of him. However, this turned out not to be the case, as he is used mainly as an aid to his wife's character and thus we don't get a whole lot of him being an actual person outside his introduction. I was a bit annoyed with yet another religious person is made to look like an idiot, but Novik does so much else right, that I'm inclined not to hold this against her too much. I just felt the author could have done what she wanted without going the direction she did with the minister, all I'm saying.
I will say though, that the minister's wife is a pretty good character that I wouldn't mind seeing more of in the future. We get to see a lot of the new environment because of her, which is always great, though I do wish we got a lot more context of the relationship with her husband. Mainly because I don't completely buy certain decisions she makes later on.
Like I said, we get a whole new location and so we get to see a lot of new dragons along with an exploration into how different cultures interact with them. We get probably one of the best dragon locations yet in this setting, one that I definitely wanted to see more of. Not to mention we get a lot of really good action scenes, including a full on battle near the end of time down south, probably one of the best ones we've had, and there were tons in Black Powder War.
However, while I can say that the middle section was the most intense and well paced part of the story, I think this book truly shines in its third part. These are where the emotions really hit as our duo faces the toughest decision of their lives, but nevertheless make the choice we knew they would make; the right one.
This also leads to an excellent interaction with the big bads of the series, before we end off on an insanely enticing cliffhanger that makes me want to jump immediately into Victory of Eagles. I'll have to wait a little bit until then, but it's sure to be one heck of a ride. For now, I'm going to give Empire of Ivory a 9 out of 10. There's not much else to say except this is another awesome book in an awesome series. While I don't think this series is infallible (just look at what I thought about Throne of Jade) I do know that I'll be sticking with it until the end, even if there is another slump in the future. With a unique blend of fantastical creatures and riveting take on history, Temeraire truly is something special.
This installment focuses on a disease plaguing the dragons that Laurence and Temeraire need to find a cure for in Africa. Sounds simple enough, but I was really surprised how much Empire of Ivory went beyond its initial premise. Something I thought offhand about the disease was actually addressed in this book and our heroes confronted it in such an emotionally provocative way that only they could.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. For the most part, this book's goal is to be a big ol' set up for the next book. However, no matter how I feel about each individual book, I can always count of them being distinct from one another. Empire of Ivory continues this tradition by very much focusing on its own story and characters. This works so well that you don't even mind the cliffhanger ending and the urge to pick up the next book to know what happens next.
Considering the time period and that a third of our time in spent in Africa, slavery is bound to be something that needs to be addressed. We've had passing mentions of it, but it is here that Novik uses it to not only build her characters, but also fuel a lot of the conflict. There is a minister character in this that offers a very good argument against a common justification for these actions and Novik wrote the man's faith so well that I was actually looking forward to seeing more of him. However, this turned out not to be the case, as he is used mainly as an aid to his wife's character and thus we don't get a whole lot of him being an actual person outside his introduction. I was a bit annoyed with yet another religious person is made to look like an idiot, but Novik does so much else right, that I'm inclined not to hold this against her too much. I just felt the author could have done what she wanted without going the direction she did with the minister, all I'm saying.
I will say though, that the minister's wife is a pretty good character that I wouldn't mind seeing more of in the future. We get to see a lot of the new environment because of her, which is always great, though I do wish we got a lot more context of the relationship with her husband. Mainly because I don't completely buy certain decisions she makes later on.
Like I said, we get a whole new location and so we get to see a lot of new dragons along with an exploration into how different cultures interact with them. We get probably one of the best dragon locations yet in this setting, one that I definitely wanted to see more of. Not to mention we get a lot of really good action scenes, including a full on battle near the end of time down south, probably one of the best ones we've had, and there were tons in Black Powder War.
However, while I can say that the middle section was the most intense and well paced part of the story, I think this book truly shines in its third part. These are where the emotions really hit as our duo faces the toughest decision of their lives, but nevertheless make the choice we knew they would make; the right one.
This also leads to an excellent interaction with the big bads of the series, before we end off on an insanely enticing cliffhanger that makes me want to jump immediately into Victory of Eagles. I'll have to wait a little bit until then, but it's sure to be one heck of a ride. For now, I'm going to give Empire of Ivory a 9 out of 10. There's not much else to say except this is another awesome book in an awesome series. While I don't think this series is infallible (just look at what I thought about Throne of Jade) I do know that I'll be sticking with it until the end, even if there is another slump in the future. With a unique blend of fantastical creatures and riveting take on history, Temeraire truly is something special.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Dragons! I love the rich detail of Novik's Africa in this 4th book, Laurence and Temeraire's continued steadfast loyalty to each other, and did I mention...entertwined with this historical fiction series set in the Napoleonic Wars...dragons? Dragons!
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No