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courtney8374's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Very satisfying conclusion to an excellent series.
sakeriver's review against another edition
I like how this series has progressed and this volume made a creditable ending to it all. All in all very entertaining, and just what I wanted to be reading right now.
claudiacantread's review against another edition
3.0
I think if your main draw to this series was the war with Napoleon you would be very satisfied but if it was all the side characters you learned to love you might be disappointed like me. We barely see half of them! I wanted a more detailed wrap up of not just the war. Not just one throw away sentence per character.
c4nd1e's review against another edition
4.0
Temeraire is one of my favorite series of all time. I love all of the characters and the overall story. Plus, the narration for the audiobooks is spectacular.
The series had some slow bits and sometimes the opposite happened where the story felt rushed. Occasionally the story jumped forward without transitioning well between the scenes. For example, the characters would be in the middle of a suspenseful scene, the chapter would end, then the next chapter would pick up a week later in a completely different situation and slowly the reader would be let in on what happened to get the characters to where they were at present.
Overall, this is an amazing series and it kept my interest well. I'm happy with the ending, and I'm looking forward to reading the short stories and novellas that Naomi Novik wrote for the series.
The series had some slow bits and sometimes the opposite happened where the story felt rushed. Occasionally the story jumped forward without transitioning well between the scenes. For example, the characters would be in the middle of a suspenseful scene, the chapter would end, then the next chapter would pick up a week later in a completely different situation and slowly the reader would be let in on what happened to get the characters to where they were at present.
Overall, this is an amazing series and it kept my interest well. I'm happy with the ending, and I'm looking forward to reading the short stories and novellas that Naomi Novik wrote for the series.
dontpanic42's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps a bit rushed at the end, but I’ll give it a full five stars anyway as a very satisfying conclusion to a wonderful series.
hagbard_celine's review against another edition
3.0
An ok and basically satisfying ending.
Having reached the end of this series, I find myself simultaneously impressed by the author's comprehensive alternative history and disappointed by its lack of radicalism. This is a fundamentally *liberal* book, concerned with bourgeois rights and dignities (and utterly preoccupied by honor), and the anti-colonialism appears only as a happy accident, it seems. The grand ideological triumph of the series is for British dragons to become thoroughly middle class and respectable parliamentarians. Oh well. It is an underwhelming (if practical) vision of liberation.
Having reached the end of this series, I find myself simultaneously impressed by the author's comprehensive alternative history and disappointed by its lack of radicalism. This is a fundamentally *liberal* book, concerned with bourgeois rights and dignities (and utterly preoccupied by honor), and the anti-colonialism appears only as a happy accident, it seems. The grand ideological triumph of the series is for British dragons to become thoroughly middle class and respectable parliamentarians. Oh well. It is an underwhelming (if practical) vision of liberation.
stalwart's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent conclusion to a rousing series
There are so many excellent aspects of this book and this series to focus on: well-drawn characters, exciting adventure, and clever world-building. But what particularly struck me in this book was Novik's expertise at shifting tone. One page you're on dragon back in the middle of the smoke and blood of a furious battle, the next page you find yourself immersed in political intrigue and logistics, only to conclude the chapter with rollicking domestic comedy worthy of Jane Austen. Simply superb.
There are so many excellent aspects of this book and this series to focus on: well-drawn characters, exciting adventure, and clever world-building. But what particularly struck me in this book was Novik's expertise at shifting tone. One page you're on dragon back in the middle of the smoke and blood of a furious battle, the next page you find yourself immersed in political intrigue and logistics, only to conclude the chapter with rollicking domestic comedy worthy of Jane Austen. Simply superb.