Book review | Temeraire series by Naomi Novik

The Temeraire series is a historical fantasy set during the Napoleonic wars in Europe. It follows the life of Captain William Laurence whom inadvertently finds himself the chosen lifelong companion of a foreign dragon, whose egg he recently helped "secure" from a French vessel.

Forced to leave his beloved sea behind and enlist in England’s Aerial Corps is not an easy transition for the former Captain. With no love lost between the navy and the Corps the conflicts are unavoidable. And to make matters worse his dragon, named Temeraire, is also a new exotic breed causing him to be the envy of everyone.

To be honest I hadn't planed to pick these up, figuring them for typical romantic novels. A tale of the love between a dragon and his human companion in a war infested world. Such a cliché...

This is not however your typical teen romance, it is so much more. Written in much the same style as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel by Susanna Clarke, Naomi does her best to detail Napoleons advances, Brittan's defensive position, political intrigues and scandals.

These first five books are worth the read, with colorful characters, changing scenery, complicated battle tactics and a brilliant imagination. It will take you through most of Europe, over to a mystic Asia and down in the unknown heart of Africa.

• Temeraire
• Throne of Jade
• Black Powder War
• Empire of Ivory
• Victory of Eagles

Naomi also prides herself for sticking to the real events of our history, not letting the story diverge too much from our own. Pride well deserved if I may say so which is quite a feet, considering a few thousand 20-ton dragons do leave quite a large mark wherever they go.

If you wish to continue with the saga of Temeraire after book five, you should probably first read my review of Tongues of serpents. [Even the magnificent book cover has lost much of the originality and does not fit together with the rest of the series...]