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artemishi 's review for:

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
5.0

Gods do I love this series. The stakes just get higher and higher, and all the hard coming-of-age lessons that life brings hit Temeraire in the best and worst ways. Novik has such a light hand with these truly heavy topics- in this book, slavery (from all angles), trying to maintain honor in warfare, concepts of ownership and rights and cultural sensitivities. Also, new concepts of religion/spirituality/ancestor worship in the plot line, and more cultures than the MC is (of course) initially aware of.

I actually likes this one slightly better than the previous book, and only a teeny bit less than book 2. It had a rollicking, well-paced plot that didn't try to take on too much, but did range through a few hefty things. I really do admire how realistically Temeraire learns about difficult choices (and Lawrence, too!) and how sticky life is. And the end was a serious cliffhanger.

As series go, this one has me gripped. It's not even a question of whether I'll continue it. I'm solid I'll be finishing this series (on audiobook, of course) before the end of the year.