Publisher

Harper Collins

Printer

Clays Ltd

Year Written/Published

2006

Country

Great Britain

ISBN

0007219091

Binding

Hardback

Pages

327

Genre

Fantasy

Blurb

Set amid the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars, Temeraire is a thrilling tale of one of the most dramatic chapters of European history with a brilliant veneer of bold fantasy.

As Napoleon's Grand Army tears Europe apart, his vast armada is posed to engage Admiral Nelson's smaller fleet and threaten Britain. But the struggle is over more than land and sea, for both sides have an air force. And the fiery death they rain down upon their enemies has nothing to do with gunpowder – it comes from the very guts of the beasts they are flying: DRAGONS.

Weeks out of port at Madeira, a british vessel – the Reliant, commanded by Captain William Laurence – captures a french frigate. Within its hold lies a greater prize than the ship herself: a dragon's egg. And its close to hatching.

Young dragons must be put to harness immediately or they go feral. The person who harnesses the beast should be an aviator – once a bond is formed the dragon will accept no other. Though the men of the Air Corps are honoured, theirs is not a life appealing to a gentleman. To his shock the newborn ignores his chosen rider and approaches Capt. Laurence – changing his life forever.

But even more astonishing than the dragonet – named Temeraire by Laurence – are the documents with him, addressed to the French from the greatest dragon-breeders in the world: the Chinese. For the egg was meant for the Emperor Napoleon himself...

My Opinion

This book is about the culture of the gentlemen of Nelson's navy. Laurence is a very proper man, with very clear ideas about what's done and what's not, so when he suddenly finds himself paired to a dragon, out of the navy, with no prospects, he must get used to his new world, and fast. Temeraire proves to be an intelligent and worthy comrade, and Laurence's journey from being a stiff, formal navy captain to worthy aviator is personal and revealing.

The flow of the book is more or less constant – periods of activity broken by touching moments between man and dragon. The battles are detailed and exciting, although the heavy Latin dragon names are easy to lose track of.

I found this book thrilling – the idea of man and dragon together seems more real in such a setting, and more enjoyable than fantasies set in fantasy worlds. The strategies and manouvering drills were breaks in an otherwise hard-to-put-down story, and the ending is incredible, even for a book about dragons fighting over the English Channel.

Date Finished

14/11/2006

Rating

9/10