Jared,

Oh ya! China was a nice distraction, but the cannons and dragons are what really pull me into this series.

Title: Black Powder War
Series: Temeraire; Book 3
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Alternate History/Fantasy
Audience:Young Adult/Adult
ROTS Setting: Alternate History: Early 1800s, Dragons, Naval Ships
Synopsis: Captain Will Laurence and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are ordered to retrieve and escort a precious cargo of valuable dragon eggs from Istanbul to England. They take the Old Silk Road from China to Istanbul, crossing deserts and mountains. En route to England, they help the beleaguered Prussians battle Napoleon.
Recommendation: I surprisingly/not surprisingly have fallen in love with this series. Highly recommend it.

Temeraire and his humans finally leave China, overland, and end up in the middle of a doomed war….. That’s par for the course.

The journey wasn’t that interesting in itself, but the fallout from all the events in China saved it from becoming too tedious. Then we get the “feral” dragons and I just want to know more. Istanbul ended up being a complete waste of time and I was very happy to see them move on.

Eventually we get to the war, and I loved every minute of it. Slow to get going but expertly done. The details and strategy were exquisite. I felt the cunning of Napoleon and the hopelessness of those who tried to stand against him.

As for the characters, I liked every bit. Not much else to say. They were well written and developed with little or no critique.

In summary, it was another solid book and continuation of the series. I really want more dragon specific strategies and tactics and details along with more of the war, battles and conflicts. I hope there won’t be any more long journey’s in the next couple of books though.

Robert

LINKS

• Naomi Novik’s Official Website