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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I quite like the voice of Temeraire, and I don't mind Laurence, although this suffered a bit from Second Book Syndrome in that a lot of it seemed to be transportation and the issues are dealt with a little hamfistedly, perhaps, so I almost wish it was plot driven only. It was still a good beach read, but I liked the first book better. I think I'll hunt down the rest from the library.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not as good as the first in the series, His Majesty's Dragon, but still a fun, exciting, and engrossing read. (This is not my first time reading it, just my first time adding it to goodreads.)
This one is a 3.5 book - it's an easy, entertaining reading, without much depth to it.
I like these books. These are officially my Guilty Pleasure books, my Beach Reading books. They're nice and comforting to me because they take place in the early nineteenth century and they're fun because dragons. They're not all that complex but I don't even really care.
I do wish we could get some decent female characters eventually, though. I mean they're THERE, somewhere, but they don't have very many lines. Maybe next book.
This one takes place in China (as well as on a boat on the way to China) and there are lots of dragons there, and some of them are fancy. There's a lot of action in this one, guns and whatnot. It's fun.
I do wish we could get some decent female characters eventually, though. I mean they're THERE, somewhere, but they don't have very many lines. Maybe next book.
This one takes place in China (as well as on a boat on the way to China) and there are lots of dragons there, and some of them are fancy. There's a lot of action in this one, guns and whatnot. It's fun.
While I didn't feel like this book was paced as well as the first one, I can't get over how fascinating this is as a YA series. Lawrence feels antithetical to almost every protagonist in the genre and yet his interactions with Temeraire are legitimately engaging and endearing (Also, they actually *communicate* with one another about their feelings and ideas, so that is refreshing). This isn't a perfect book, but I can't wait to see how the experiences from this installment shape the duo moving forward. I am also getting more and more impressed at the command Naomi Novik has over her various narrative voices. Every world she creates has a "mood" that feels intensely immersive.
It's also interesting to see how Novik tries to balance Temeraire (a voice of "modernity") with Lawrence (a man of his time) so that he actually begins to question many of his "obvious" beliefs about personhood, gender norms, and freedom. Still some "uncomfy" stuff, but I'm hopeful that more of these themes will continue to evolve throughout the series (there's definitely development from the first book at least!)
I'm not an expert at this period in history, but the explanation of this fictional version of China seems vastly simplified (though in the context of this book it makes some sense since Lawrence is the narrator and he himself has only a vague awareness of political/cultural ideas).
Once I finish reading this series and see how the Chinese characters are developed in the future I would love to analyze this more closely with examples from Said's "Orientalism" to see how the book challenges historical renderings of "The East" and where Novik ends up reproducing stereotypes due to the research she likely did of first-hand historical accounts that ignored the Euro-centric viewpoint of INTL relations and how manipulative the uneven treaties offered by Britain and France were at the time. I also wonder if Novik will bring up the Opium wars, but I don't know how long this dragon-fantasy stretches on.
Speaking of history, if you enjoy history, then this book has a lot of hidden easter eggs that will catch your eye. If you don't already have some awareness of this history, obviously a dragon-buddy fantasy isn't the best place to look for absolute accuracy and an immaculate analysis of imperialism.
It's also interesting to see how Novik tries to balance Temeraire (a voice of "modernity") with Lawrence (a man of his time) so that he actually begins to question many of his "obvious" beliefs about personhood, gender norms, and freedom. Still some "uncomfy" stuff, but I'm hopeful that more of these themes will continue to evolve throughout the series (there's definitely development from the first book at least!)
I'm not an expert at this period in history, but the explanation of this fictional version of China seems vastly simplified (though in the context of this book it makes some sense since Lawrence is the narrator and he himself has only a vague awareness of political/cultural ideas).
Once I finish reading this series and see how the Chinese characters are developed in the future I would love to analyze this more closely with examples from Said's "Orientalism" to see how the book challenges historical renderings of "The East" and where Novik ends up reproducing stereotypes due to the research she likely did of first-hand historical accounts that ignored the Euro-centric viewpoint of INTL relations and how manipulative the uneven treaties offered by Britain and France were at the time. I also wonder if Novik will bring up the Opium wars, but I don't know how long this dragon-fantasy stretches on.
Speaking of history, if you enjoy history, then this book has a lot of hidden easter eggs that will catch your eye. If you don't already have some awareness of this history, obviously a dragon-buddy fantasy isn't the best place to look for absolute accuracy and an immaculate analysis of imperialism.
ending seemed rushed. Much to hasty of a conclusion for me.
Things I didn't enjoy:
~ The pacing. Aside from the ridiculously long sea voyage (ARE WE THERE YET?), the pacing often jumped around oddly with sometimes quite significant or exciting events told rather than shown. For example towards the end of the book, the party is moved to the Emperor's palace in quite the bustle but we don't see it, instead the reader is plonked just after it happens and then immediately told that it had happened. That sort of thing occurred regularly and it grated on me.
~ Lack of dragon combat action. Clearly this volume wasn't that kind of book, but I still missed it.
~ People dying and it not seeming to matter. There was plenty of action even if only a little bit of it was dragon combat, but when most people were seriously injured or died I just didn't seem to care. Partly there is an endless flow of military dudes who I don't connect with or remember so I'm not bothered when they die, or their deaths scenes are written in such an odd way that they just seem to slide past with little effect.
~ After above-mentioned epic sea voyage, the arrival in China felt a bit anti-climactic
Things I really did enjoy:
~ Stuffy English people meet strange Chinese culture and have to literally kowtow. The lolz!
~ Temeraire meets news dragons, learns more about his heritage
~ English treatment of dragons gets a painful reflective examination particularly in the context of slavery, education, breeding and military duties. Laurence really did take it all on board and I can't wait to see what happens when they return home.
~ Political wranglings. I love me some good politics, although they were impacted by the above pacing issues and came to a head very abruptly.
~ In your face, France! (I'm English and few things make us happier than sticking it to the French :P)
Probably some other stuff too. It sounds like I'm moaning about more than I'm praising, but that's definitely not how it felt. Novik's writing style is easy to digest and overall I enjoyed this instalment well.
~ The pacing. Aside from the ridiculously long sea voyage (ARE WE THERE YET?), the pacing often jumped around oddly with sometimes quite significant or exciting events told rather than shown. For example towards the end of the book, the party is moved to the Emperor's palace in quite the bustle but we don't see it, instead the reader is plonked just after it happens and then immediately told that it had happened. That sort of thing occurred regularly and it grated on me.
~ Lack of dragon combat action. Clearly this volume wasn't that kind of book, but I still missed it.
~ People dying and it not seeming to matter. There was plenty of action even if only a little bit of it was dragon combat, but when most people were seriously injured or died I just didn't seem to care. Partly there is an endless flow of military dudes who I don't connect with or remember so I'm not bothered when they die, or their deaths scenes are written in such an odd way that they just seem to slide past with little effect.
~ After above-mentioned epic sea voyage, the arrival in China felt a bit anti-climactic
Things I really did enjoy:
~ Stuffy English people meet strange Chinese culture and have to literally kowtow. The lolz!
~ Temeraire meets news dragons, learns more about his heritage
~ English treatment of dragons gets a painful reflective examination particularly in the context of slavery, education, breeding and military duties. Laurence really did take it all on board and I can't wait to see what happens when they return home.
~ Political wranglings. I love me some good politics, although they were impacted by the above pacing issues and came to a head very abruptly.
~ In your face, France! (I'm English and few things make us happier than sticking it to the French :P)
Probably some other stuff too. It sounds like I'm moaning about more than I'm praising, but that's definitely not how it felt. Novik's writing style is easy to digest and overall I enjoyed this instalment well.