His Majesty's Dragon

By Naomi Novik

RECOMMENDED

In a word: Breezy

Plot:  Napoleonic Wars - with talking DRAGONS!  Will Laurence is a captain in His Majesty's Navy aboard the HMS Reliant.  When his ship captures a French frigate, they find a very precious cargo aboard.  A dragon's egg!  The egg hatches aboard the Reliant and the Dragon "bonds" with Laurence.  This forces Laurence to resign from the Navy and become a part of the Aerial Corps - a fleet of dragon riders who take to the air in service of Great Britian.  This also means he must basically give up any social life he planned to have, as the dragon, named Temeraire, will become his main focus in life and the Aerial Corps is only family.  Termeraire and Laurence learn to work together, and soon become the closest of companions.  Termeraire, who is of a rare breed unknown in England, is a quick learner and very inquisitive.  Which is a plus, since he will soon be in the middle of a battle to save Britain!

Thoughts:  This is a nice, light read.  The story flowed very smoothly. The characters do tend to be a bit cookie cutter.  Laurence is noble, gentle and insists on playing by the rules  He treats Termeraire like an equal and is soon a role model for the other riders.  From letting his dragon bathe to reading him stories at night - Laurence is almost a saint and he does get a bit wearisome at times.  Termeraire is smart, tenacious and a quick learner.  He thirts for knowlege (particularly about dragons, since he doesn't know what sort of breed of dragon he is).  He soon become a role model for other dragons - who mimic some of his behavior.  He never becomes stale - I REALLY like Temeraire!

This book is the first in a series and it shows.  While there is a big battle at the end of the story, most of the book is spent introducing you to characters and the alternate history Novik has created by adding dragons into the Napoleonic Wars.  All in all, a very nice read and a rousing tale, I will likely continue with the series - mostly because I liked Termeraire and these are his books.

If you like this, try reading: Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery; Bitterwood by James Maxey; The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien