Helpful Score: 1
The fourth book in Naomi Novik's series - which is a "realistic" look at what the Napoleonic wars would have been like if fought with an aerial corps of dragon - continues a story begun in the second book, when a courier brought a flu-like disease back to England. The disease has spread to nearly all the dragons, and by pure coincidence, Temeraire and co. know what the cure is.
Ms. Novik sends her heroes to Africa, and once again creates an entirely new dragon-culture where dragons are protectors and ancestors to the human villages. The world she's created with the dragon city brings up questions of how her world would continue without the occupation of Africa by the European powers. The issue of slavery is addressed full-on, as Temeraire denounces the slave trade and tries to improve the lot of dragons in Britain.
Ms. Novik sends her heroes to Africa, and once again creates an entirely new dragon-culture where dragons are protectors and ancestors to the human villages. The world she's created with the dragon city brings up questions of how her world would continue without the occupation of Africa by the European powers. The issue of slavery is addressed full-on, as Temeraire denounces the slave trade and tries to improve the lot of dragons in Britain.
Novik has been dealing with race, culture and gender in all of these books with more or less success. I gritted my teeth through various parts of the second book and its literal "dragon lady" stereotype, but when I came to the noble, dignified black missionary and his wife, and the deepest, darkest Africa complete with evil tribesmen I had to stop reading. Novik may be trying to deal with the stereotypes as they existed at the time, but I just couldn't stomach it any more.
Novik manages to raise the bar for herself with each installment of her fascinating Temeraire series, which imagines a world of dragons used in battle (much like aircraft) in the time of Napoleon's ascendance. Laurence and Temeraire return from China to discover a plague has all but decimated England's dragons, and they journey with a contingent to Africa to find a cure. The ending leaves me eager for the next book of the series, as well as Peter Jackson's movie.
Surprising great read... Author injects dragons into history.
I loved this book just as much as the ones before it. It was well-written, and the characters were as likable as ever!
Loving the series more with each book, hope book 5 comes soon!!!
It was pretty good. Read the fifth before the fourth and was anxious to comprehend what had happened.
