Hey Jared,
I am once again completely astonished and enamored with this compelling series. Historical fantasy is not my fancy, but I’ll be making an exception from now on. I need more of these dragons in my life and have already got the next book from the library.
Title: Throne of Jade
Series: Temeraire; Book 2
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Alternate History/Fantasy
Audience:Young Adult/Adult
ROTS Setting: Alternate History: Early 1800s, Dragons, Naval Ships
Synopsis: When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces. Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands–and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East–a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.
Recommendation: I surprisingly/not surprisingly have fallen in love with this series. Highly recommend it.
It’s been far too long since I read the first book. I’d even begun to second guess my memory of that glorious introduction and it turns out I have an excellent memory. The story picks up right where the last one ended, or about two weeks later but nothing has happened in the intervening time.
The plot is slow to get started and that is completely intentional. The reader and characters don’t know what’s going to happen or how long the current situation will be allowed to continue. Since I already was emotionally involved with the characters from the first book this slow start kept me turning the pages because I sincerely wanted to know when the agony would end. Eventually things began to resolve but the future was still hanging in the balance.
Like the first book, there wasn’t a whole ton of action. There were regular lulls of conversations and conversations over meals, but what action we did get was well done. Each time it highlighted something important about the characters, setting, or plot which made it all deeply satisfying.
I now have so many questions about the dragons we see in the books and even more questions about the world history. So many good things and the attention to detail, like how does one feed a large dragon population, was all just amazing.
In summary, an excellent second step. I very much look forward exploring this series further.
Robert
Reading Over The Shoulder 
As I remember the first few books are really good but it might fall off towards the end.
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It better not…..or at least not much.
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