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book_concierge's review
4.0
The Napoleonic War is the framework for this fantastical adventure tale that includes not only naval battles, but air combat aboard dragons. A French frigate is captured by a British ship, and among the spoils is a dragon egg – one that is about to hatch. Unfortunately, a newly hatched dragon must be harnessed immediately, and the person who harnesses the beast is forever bound to it. As luck would have it Captain Will Laurence is the person the dragon chooses to be his master, which means leaving his established Navy career to begin training with the Air Corps.
What a rollicking good adventure / war story! Temeraire is a dragon unlike any I’ve previously encountered in literature. He’s intelligent, a keen judge of character, loyal to a fault, intensely curious, brave and playful. Capt Laurence is truly an officer and a gentleman – principled, duty-bound, intelligent, a fair taskmaster, kind to animals, and a true leader. I love how the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire develops over the course of the novel.
If I have any complaint it’s that more than half the book is taken up with Temeraire’s training and the slow discovery of his breed, and attributes. Of course, this part of the book also introduces the reader to the many dragon breeds, their characteristics, captains and crew and the rules of aerial maneuvers. It’s a training session for the reader as well, before we ever get into combat. But the combat scenes are exhilarating. I kept wondering why this hasn’t already been filmed. It’s a movie I would definitely go to see.
I’ll definitely read the next in the series.
What a rollicking good adventure / war story! Temeraire is a dragon unlike any I’ve previously encountered in literature. He’s intelligent, a keen judge of character, loyal to a fault, intensely curious, brave and playful. Capt Laurence is truly an officer and a gentleman – principled, duty-bound, intelligent, a fair taskmaster, kind to animals, and a true leader. I love how the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire develops over the course of the novel.
If I have any complaint it’s that more than half the book is taken up with Temeraire’s training and the slow discovery of his breed, and attributes. Of course, this part of the book also introduces the reader to the many dragon breeds, their characteristics, captains and crew and the rules of aerial maneuvers. It’s a training session for the reader as well, before we ever get into combat. But the combat scenes are exhilarating. I kept wondering why this hasn’t already been filmed. It’s a movie I would definitely go to see.
I’ll definitely read the next in the series.
kyouwa_today's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.0
Loved that this was set in the Napoleonic wars - awful to use loved animals as war weapons though! Enjoyed this tale and will seek out the rest of the series
mrs_bonaventure's review
4.0
Pure entertainment. The concept is interesting (how would an Air Force have changed the course of the Napoleonic wars?) but really, beyond that - dragons!!! Temeraire himself is a gentle, polite, educated, 20 tonne dragon who speaks French as well as English and likes to teach himself Newtonian mathematics. What can I say? I like dragons..
samthesunrise's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
mberquam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bellhore's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
Peace and love to Will and Termeraire, I absolutely love them, but I was bored.
leylabelle's review
5.0
All I’m saying is this upstanding gentleman calls his male dragon dear without a single “no homo” disclaimer? Yeah Naomi writes for the girlies…
dream_book_12's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sydthewitch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, and War
Minor: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Colonisation, and Classism
midnightgarden's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Okay, I really love dragons. I think that's the only reason why I made it through this book. I really enjoyed the relationship between Temeraire and Captain Lawrence but it was incredibly slow and also not a whole lot actually happened. I think there's also the problem that I'm not really interested in in alternate timelines too much, and I'm also not super interested in Napoleonic war era books so it's not like it had a lot going for me in that regard anyways.
I did actually finish it and I rarely finish books that I feel like are less than three stars so that has to say something for this book and I might even try to pick up the next one if I ever need a dragon fix and there's no other dragon books in my Libby queue.
I did actually finish it and I rarely finish books that I feel like are less than three stars so that has to say something for this book and I might even try to pick up the next one if I ever need a dragon fix and there's no other dragon books in my Libby queue.