His Majesty‘s Dragon
Somewhere on the Atlantic during the Napoleonic Wars: A British frigate under the command of Captain Will Laurence takes a French ship and the British Navy soldiers find a terrific loot, the egg of a dragon.
This egg of an at that point unknown dragon species is taken on board of the British ship and hatches before the frigate can make port.
The hatchling has to be put into a harness and the man doing so will become the dragon’s rider and companion. Since that means joining the Aerial Corps none of the Navy officers is keen on the job. But in the end it is the dragon who chooses his rider and he wants none less than Captain Laurance himself.
Dutifully Laurence accepts and gives the dragon the name Temeraire, after the French ship on which the egg was found. So their journey begins and Laurence soon finds out that Temeraire is not a mere beast but a very special dragon.
While the idea of dragon riders on their talking creatures is not new Naomi Novik uses it very well. For a change the story is place in a known historical background, the Napoleonic Wars. The existence of dragons is smoothly integrated into the historical context.
While taking the best parts of dragon lore this book also follows the great tradition of Britain‘s Sail ship commanding heroes.
Another strong point of the story are the well developed characters of the dragons. They are simply adorable as they come, large and small, clever or rather simple minded.
In this first book of the series we see Temeraire hatch and grow into a remarkable dragon. With Temeraire grows his human companion Laurence’s respect for these wonderful creatures.
Novik’s loving detailed descriptions of the dragon species gives them a great deal of realism and normality in her created world.
Fans of historical novels will certainly like the accuracy of the historical back story.
The unusual combination makes this book a great read for fans of fantasy fandoms as well as and historical literature. A healthy amount of humour makes the reading of this book an even more pleasant affair.
Do not be surprised if the book makes you wish for a pet dragon!