Naomi Novik’s Throne of Jade: A Book Review

Click the picture to support this blog.

Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik’s follow up to Her Majesty’s Dragon, follows the Celestial dragon Temeraire not long after his great victory over Napoleon. In this tale, the scene shifts from England to a transport ship destined for China and then the ancient country itself. While the journey is long, perhaps too long at times, Novik blends her penchant for battle, pushing Temeraire through one prior to departure, one at sea, and climatic struggles within China itself, with the international intrigue of Temeraire himself. While the dragon has bonded to Laurence, there are only a handful of his breed in the world, all of which are bonded to members of the Chinese royal family. Thus, despite his royal lineage, a past that Laurence often overlooks himself, the captain is seen as below station and not suitable of such a large, elegant animal.

With these debates in hand, the duo journeys to China in hopes of staying together. Yet the encounter espionage, murder, and a culture that not only reveres dragons, but treats them like men. With Throne of Jade, Novik has a gem. She now knows her destination, and she dazzles down this course of action with intent. At the focal point of her tale rests the bond between Temeraire and Laurence, but beyond this fact is the ambition and intellect of the dragon himself. Novik spreads her and her dragon’s wings, pulling the reader through a tale that enthralls and is a must read.

Naomi Novik’s Her Majesty’s Dragon: A Book Review

Click the picture to purchase and support this blog.

Naomi Novik’s Her Majesty’s Dragon blends historical fiction and fantasy as dragons are thrust into the midst of the Napoleonic Wars. The first book of the lengthy Temeraire series, Her Majesty’s Dragon follows the events that lead to the dragon’s discovery in egg form on a French vessel to the animal’s bonding with a British naval captain Laurence, the pair’s training, and their participation in staving off Napoleon’s invasion of Brittan. While Novik does not dazzle with flowy or flowery prose, she does enthrall the reader with the story. The novel is a page turner, one you will fly through and find yourself coming back to with little thought as to why or to the time spent reading it.

Novik flawlessly leads the reader into the heart of Laurence, through the sea of emotions that accompany his forced bond with the dragon, his change in carriers, and his eventual love for his beast. In terms of the dragons, these are not beasts at all, but rather intelligent dragons that not only talk to each other, but also their captains and caretakers. Each dragon possesses unique traits and abilities, and thus they, like planes in an air force, each serve a diverse purpose. Thus, beyond Laurence and his trials, Temeraire shines as a character of both depth and importance, enough depth to draw the reader in and make them care about the dragon as much as the human aviator. These emotions allow the plot to flow, the tale to captivate, and the pages to fly by.