In this, the third adventure of the Temeraire series of novels, Captain Will Lawrence, Temeraire, and their crew fly from China to the Middle East to obtain three dragon eggs that the British Aerial Corps had purchased, and then bring them to England without delay (as their orders state). However, things don’t quite go as planned. Numerous obstacles get in their way, and just before they can make it home, they are virtually drafted into the Prussian military, as the Germans have just entered the war against Napoleon.
My thoughts are mixed with regard to this novel. Author Naomi Novik gave us an exhausting tale in the lives of Captain Lawrence, Temeraire and their crew. The story covers a lot of ground, both in terms of geography and plot development (take that Robert Jordan), but the end was where I found the biggest problem. The tale comes to a close, but it ends on a definite cliffhanger, more so than the previous two books. But there was still more resolution than in some series.
While the story covers a lot of events and distance, it’s still about the same length as the other two novels. That’s an impressive feat. There were times during my reading of this book when I was thinking about something that happened earlier in the novel and I was surprised to realize that it hadn’t happened in one of the earlier novels. Novik really accomplished a lot with this tale (in terms of the narrative).
As I was reading the book, one thought kept occurring to me: "no one is safe". Well I shouldn’t say that. Temeraire and Lawrence will survive until the final book, but even then I can see one or both of them perishing under Novik’s pen strokes. Numerous lives were lost in the battle sequences, but more than that, Temeraire lost even more crewmen to the elements as well as battles. Crewmen who seemed like they might actually survive to the end because Novik had given them plenty of moments to show of their skills and personalities. And that was rough to read.
However not all of Temeraire’s crew was lost to death. John Granby, his second in command was "promoted" when one of the dragon eggs hatched early. And the scene when little Iskierka (the baby dragon) came into the world was truly funny. Especially with the way that Temeraire behaved when he learned that he was losing Granby to her. It was with this scene and a few others like it that Novik was able to provide readers with a much-needed dose of levity. Which, at that point, was very important in the book because so much of the tale had been depressing.
And that brings me to another problem with the tale. There were so many depressing and frustrating plot points in the book. Both for the characters and the readers. At times I was reminded of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” because of the helplessness that Lawrence and Temeraire both felt when going through these ordeals (as well as the frustration that I felt as a reader).
That aspect coupled with the tale’s abrupt end is responsible for my partially negative view of the book. But the book was far from bad. Novik knows the characters and as such writes them wonderfully. Every comment that she wrote about Temeraire and his behavior was priceless. Not only that, but the dragonette, Iskierka provided several enjoyable scenes. And as a reader, you really felt for Lawrence when he was forced to make some really difficult decisions. Unfortunately, despite all that, I’m still left somewhat dissatisfied about the book. What’s worse, the teaser that Novik gives us of the next book in the series doesn’t provide any more resolution than the actual end did. And it ends on an even bigger cliffhanger.
All in all, it was a decent book, and if you’ve read the previous two novels, then you should definitely read it; just be aware that it’s the weakest part of the saga (thus far). I’m still excited about the fourth book, but I just wanted this story to be a little less depressing.
