In the first book, Captain Will Laurence finds his life turned upside down when the newly hatched dragon from a captured French ship decides to bond with him. This meant that Laurence had to give up his naval career to become an aviator, a branch of the service that is neither as formal nor as highly regarded as other branches. And yet, Laurence's growing attachment to the young dragon he names Temeraire quickly begins to assuage his loss of career and social standing.
By the time the second book begins, the idea of separation of man and dragon has become almost an impossibility. When the British government decides to return Temeraire to the Chinese, things become sticky indeed. Therein lies the tale...
I enjoyed the book, but found it slower and some how less dense than the first book. More political and cultural difficulties, less action, and less of the wonderful relationship between Laurence and Temeraire...
Fiction. Alternate History/Fantasy. 2008. 312 pages.
I felt the same about Throne of Jade. Actually none of the subsequent books has been as much fun for me as the first one was, but the second and third were by far my least favorites. After that things improve, and there's more of Temeraire being awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteAll right, then, I'll continue -- if we can just get back to Temeraire being awesome!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were eying His Majesty's Dragon at the store the other day. It won't be long before we succumb and buy it. Or me, and then he'll be the first to read it. :-) This sounds like a great series, even if this second book was slower.
ReplyDeleteI really liked His Majesty's Dragon and the two lead characters, Laurence and Temeraire. Especially Temeraire! It is so easy to love this dragon...
ReplyDeleteI read the first two books in this series and loved them, but I still haven't read book 3! I really must get to it because I own them all at this point and it would make a smaller TBR pile...
ReplyDeleteI wish I owned them all and could move right through them! On the other hand, I have so many in the TBR pile right now and trips to the library keep me distracted.
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