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wkortrightwx's review against another edition
4.0
Started out very promising, the middle part of the book drug on a little (I don’t always hate that for world building but it just felt a little tougher to get through) but the last 30-40% was riveting!
ceng1018's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
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
4.25
I'm really enjoying this series and the re-write of history during Napoleon's time.
jpsugars's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
llajax's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bansh3equeen's review against another edition
4.0
I found the 'Black Powder War' to be a solid addition to the Temeraire series, though out of the 3 I have read, it is definitely not my favourite. I found the first part of the book to be slow going for me, and I did have to push myself to keep reading, however once Part I was complete and Part II began, this was no longer a problem for me.
I was gratified to see the continuing development of characters and found myself liking the new addition to the cast by the end of the novel, and am hopeful he will continue on in further books. I was surprisingly struck by an event in the book which I did not see coming, however on reflection I found it to be a welcome addition to the overall story.
This novel (like most in this series I suspect) has a lot of detail on military tactics and descriptions - which is not a topic I would normally find interesting, however in this case, I found myself intrigued and even wondering 'Huh... I wonder what really happened at this battle? Should I google that?' To me this is a credit to the writer that can take a topic (military history) and make it appealing to someone who would otherwise find it a snooze. Dragons make everything interesting!
The writing and language was in keeping with the other books in the series so far, with dialogue especially being structured in a very formal way. On occassion I had to re-read a sentence to get the right inflection of tone, but otherwise I found it very well done.
I would rate this book closer to a 3.5 or 3.75 stars, however I would much rather give a higher star than a lower one as I think this book was a solid contributor to the overall series. I am looking forward to picking up the next one.
I was gratified to see the continuing development of characters and found myself liking the new addition to the cast by the end of the novel, and am hopeful he will continue on in further books. I was surprisingly struck by an event in the book which I did not see coming, however on reflection I found it to be a welcome addition to the overall story.
This novel (like most in this series I suspect) has a lot of detail on military tactics and descriptions - which is not a topic I would normally find interesting, however in this case, I found myself intrigued and even wondering 'Huh... I wonder what really happened at this battle? Should I google that?' To me this is a credit to the writer that can take a topic (military history) and make it appealing to someone who would otherwise find it a snooze. Dragons make everything interesting!
The writing and language was in keeping with the other books in the series so far, with dialogue especially being structured in a very formal way. On occassion I had to re-read a sentence to get the right inflection of tone, but otherwise I found it very well done.
I would rate this book closer to a 3.5 or 3.75 stars, however I would much rather give a higher star than a lower one as I think this book was a solid contributor to the overall series. I am looking forward to picking up the next one.
underbroen's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
arsenic0994's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
bright_night's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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
4.0
topdragon's review against another edition
4.0
During my lunch break today, I finished up Black Powder War, the third in Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" series. This is a solid entry in the series and, fortunately, a bit more balanced than the previous book. This novel takes the main characters from China to Turkey where they have orders to obtain 3 dragon eggs and transport them back to England. These aren't just any eggs, but a particular breed of fire breathing dragons which would ultimately give England a strategic leg up on Napolean's forces. Of course nothing is ever that easy and sure enough, multiple adventures ensue. They end up in German lands in time for the battle of Jena.
It is nice to see this series incorporating real historical events in an authentic way. Ms Novik continues to excel at building an extremely believable fantasy landscape. This is the real historical record, with the added addition of dragons. Normally, that would be pretty difficult to pull off but her dragons are so well thought out that they seemlessly interface with the "normal" society. More importantly, the story continues to excel with compelling, sympathetic characters. She shows the brutal reality of war with corresponding loss of life (and yes, some characters we know from the past do not survive this battle) and yet the novel is not at all a "war" novel. The characters, especially Lawrence and Temeraire continue to grow and mature in their thinking, and themes that began in the last book continue here. For example, the nature of how dragons are treated by different cultures, whether they should be servants or equals, is examined further.
These first three books of the series, according to Ms Novik's own blog, were held by the publisher until all were ready for publication as a way of launching the series. Consequently, many people believed them to be a trilogy. This third novel though, does little to wrap up anything but does spur interest in the next book. I am thankful for that as these books should be coming out at around one per year for quite a while to come. Already there are a total of 5 published volumes with more planned.
It is nice to see this series incorporating real historical events in an authentic way. Ms Novik continues to excel at building an extremely believable fantasy landscape. This is the real historical record, with the added addition of dragons. Normally, that would be pretty difficult to pull off but her dragons are so well thought out that they seemlessly interface with the "normal" society. More importantly, the story continues to excel with compelling, sympathetic characters. She shows the brutal reality of war with corresponding loss of life (and yes, some characters we know from the past do not survive this battle) and yet the novel is not at all a "war" novel. The characters, especially Lawrence and Temeraire continue to grow and mature in their thinking, and themes that began in the last book continue here. For example, the nature of how dragons are treated by different cultures, whether they should be servants or equals, is examined further.
These first three books of the series, according to Ms Novik's own blog, were held by the publisher until all were ready for publication as a way of launching the series. Consequently, many people believed them to be a trilogy. This third novel though, does little to wrap up anything but does spur interest in the next book. I am thankful for that as these books should be coming out at around one per year for quite a while to come. Already there are a total of 5 published volumes with more planned.