Naomi Novik's "Black Powder War", #67
Jul. 18th, 2010 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katikatAfter their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty’s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and Temeraire must detour to Istanbul to escort the precious cargo back to England. Time is of the essence if the eggs are to be borne home before hatching.
Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn–thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master’s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?
Review: Unfortunately, I didn't like this one as much as the previous two. It read more like a diary - we went, we saw, we did, xyz died, we moved on. It was all... told, not felt. I missed the intimacy of the previous books, especially "Throne of Jade" was amazing - it didn't cover as much plot, but more in-depth. In this one, there was too much going on so most of it was told pretty fast with little or no reaction at all from Laurence or Temeraire. What we did get was Temeraire's complaints about how people treated dragons in Europe: I agreed with him, but it was unnecessary to read about the same argument again and again and again. The third time around I was thinking "Okay, I get it, author, move on!"
I hope that the next one in the series will be better.
Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn–thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master’s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?
Review: Unfortunately, I didn't like this one as much as the previous two. It read more like a diary - we went, we saw, we did, xyz died, we moved on. It was all... told, not felt. I missed the intimacy of the previous books, especially "Throne of Jade" was amazing - it didn't cover as much plot, but more in-depth. In this one, there was too much going on so most of it was told pretty fast with little or no reaction at all from Laurence or Temeraire. What we did get was Temeraire's complaints about how people treated dragons in Europe: I agreed with him, but it was unnecessary to read about the same argument again and again and again. The third time around I was thinking "Okay, I get it, author, move on!"
I hope that the next one in the series will be better.
