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catherine_t 's review for:
Empire of Ivory
by Naomi Novik
Laurence and Temeraire return to England with Prussian refugees and discover that the entire Corps has been infected with a terrible tuberculosis-like disease; several dragons have died already, and there is no known cure. In desperation, Laurence is dispatched with several dragons of their formation to South Africa, in hopes that if nothing else, the climate will effect an easing of the symptoms.
Once in Africa, they start looking for anything that might possibly cure the dragons and discover a (to humans, at least) smelly mushroom that somehow miraculously eradicates the dragons' symptoms. In their search for more of these mushrooms, Laurence and his fellow captains and crew fall into the hands of a native tribe who cultivate the mushrooms and who, naturally, look upon white men as enemies.
I enjoyed this book, though I do think it's possibly the weakest of the series so far. In writing the above synopsis, I found myself thinking, "Mushrooms to cure TB in dragons... um, well, OK." The mechanism by which the mushrooms cure the dragons isn't ever explained. Perhaps that's in keeping with what would have been early 19th-century technology and science, but it still hits a jarring note, at least in retrospect. Fortunately, the characters and the plot do tend to keep the reader from thinking too deeply about that aspect while reading.
The ending is a real cliff-hanger, though, I must say that much without giving anything else away.
Once in Africa, they start looking for anything that might possibly cure the dragons and discover a (to humans, at least) smelly mushroom that somehow miraculously eradicates the dragons' symptoms. In their search for more of these mushrooms, Laurence and his fellow captains and crew fall into the hands of a native tribe who cultivate the mushrooms and who, naturally, look upon white men as enemies.
I enjoyed this book, though I do think it's possibly the weakest of the series so far. In writing the above synopsis, I found myself thinking, "Mushrooms to cure TB in dragons... um, well, OK." The mechanism by which the mushrooms cure the dragons isn't ever explained. Perhaps that's in keeping with what would have been early 19th-century technology and science, but it still hits a jarring note, at least in retrospect. Fortunately, the characters and the plot do tend to keep the reader from thinking too deeply about that aspect while reading.
The ending is a real cliff-hanger, though, I must say that much without giving anything else away.