His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
by
Natasa Djordjevic
- 8:52 AM
“I should rather have you than a heap of gold, even if it were very comfortable to sleep on.”
What if Dragons were around during the Napoleonic Wars? What if they were used to fighting? This is the premise of this book and boy does it stand up to the challenge. I loved it. Pure fantasy, pure entertainment, not to be missed.Capt Will Laurence and his crew board a French ship at sea. Aboard the ship, they find a dragon egg. The egg is about to hatch. The French ship has been delayed by disease and weather and the shell of the egg is hard. When they discover what they have, Will has the men draw lots to see if they can halter the dragon. The English dragon force is severely limited, and this dragon is more than needed in the English ranks. At the hatching, the dragon doesn’t seem to like anyone, especially the chosen one. However, he approaches Will and asks him a question. Yes, dragons are born sentient and with full abilities to speak. Will answers the question and then the dragon asks what is his name? Will tells him his name is Temeraire. Thus begins the stunning adventures of Will and his dragon Temeraire. Will must resign his commission and follow Temeraire to his assignment with the English flying forces. But Temeraire is a very unusual dragon, and he gets more unusual as time goes by. It seems he is a Chinese dragon, a Chinese Imperial. Not bred to be a fighting dragon at all, however, his intelligence can help both he and Will face the war.
