Good morning, everybody!
As I mentioned in my last post, I am currently rereading Naomi Novik's Temeraire series ( the first book is called His Majesty's Dragons). I have read these books countless times. Well, maybe not countless, but certainly very often. Last summer I inhaled books 6 and 7 in, like, three days when I was in Alaska, and only last week I started again. Because of school and birthday parties and that sort of thing I'm much slower than I was on vacation but I'm not enjoying myself any less!
Let's start at the beginning.
Temeraire is a fantasy series. It is also surprisingly historically accurate. How does that work? Easy. The story is set around the time that Napoleon was conquering like, all of Europe (I know that's not entirely true, but I'm no historian and I have better things to do while reading than drawing a timeline). We follow British Royal Navy Captain William Laurence as he captures a French frigate carrying... a dragon egg. This is where the fantasy element comes in.
Dragons are nothing extraordinary in this alternative universe. They have served humanity for centuries. Together with their companions and captains, they form the Aerial Corps, which is the only aspect in Temeraire that does not follow history. The reader is witness of aerial battles and military manoeuvres that take place during, for example, the historic battle of Trafalgar. If you simply take away the dragons, all events in this series happened almost exactly in both the books and history, which serves as a nice bonus while reading.
The dragons in Temeraire are perfectly sentient beings, some of them more intelligent than their companions, with very different personalites. They are treated with fear, distrust and sometimes disrespect from the ignorant, but Corps members treat them as equals who happen to be thirty tonnes and capable of eating an elephant in one bite (depending on the dragon breed). Dragons serve in wars, accompanied by their Captain and crews, which can mean a lot of people depending on how big the dragon is.
Let's talk about contents.
Our main protagonist is Captain William Laurence, who, through a series of seemingly unfortunate events, is the one harnessing (and thereby sort of taming) and naming the hatchling from the egg on the French ship. This means that from now on, he is no longer a captain of the Royal Navy, but an aviator who works for the Aerial Corps. At first, he is extremely unhappy about it, as the aviators' lifestyle completely contradicts his own plans and ambitions. Soon, however, he develops a tight bond with the young dragon he named Temeraire (after a warship that actually existed - there's a painting of it in my English textbook).
Now, this bond is nothing unusual to those of us who are experienced in the genre of dragon fantasy. But that does not mean that it is any bit less heartwarming and beautiful to observe.
As Aerial Corps members, Laurence and Temeraire are rushed through their training so they can join the active troups as quickly as possible. At first, Laurence is met with resistence and rejection because he does not come from their own ranks, but as time passes he and Temeraire both slowly earn their comrades' respect.
So far, there are seven books in the series, and I really don't want to spoil anything for potentially interested readers, so I'll stop by saying that Laurence and Temeraire have a lot of adventures coming for them. Seriously. A lot.
Now, why do I like these books so much?
First of all, the concept is unusual and strange and exciting. Sometimes I come across pieces of military strategy that I don't entirely understand, but so far it hasn't stopped me from enjoying this rather unique reading experience. The story is wonderful and exciting and challenging enough that you don't feel as if you're just sort of swimming through the plot.
The characters the reader is introduced to are one and all very well planned out and incredibly interesting to watch. Although this is about military in the early nineteenth century, we are not confronted with an entirely male "cast", so to say. That is because the Longwings, a poison-spraying dragon breed forming the heart of Aerial Corps military strength, exclusively accepts women as their companions - so we are introduced to several almost badass women in high positions who plunge into battles just as enthusiastically as their male colleagues. This causes quite a bit of confusion and ideological crises along the course of the series which is really enjoyable to read!
Character composition and interaction offers a lot of wonderful friendships (and love affairs!) which warm my heart every single time whithout being cheesy.
Also, writing style. Even before I decided to be a writer myself, style was incredible important to me. No matter how interesting the story is, if the style annoys me I can't bring myself to finish a book. Temeraire is written in a very brief, precise kind of military-style due to the main protagonist's background but that in no way influences the emotional aspects. I admire Naomi Novik's writing skills even though I only read the books in the German translation!
Just read the books. Seriously. You probably won't regret it.
Love and kisses,
Jojo
(Sorry this is so long, I got a little carried away as I do when talking about books I love!)
No comments:
Post a Comment