Book Nook: His Majesty's Dragon

What if the Napoleonic Wars were fought with Dragons? Well, it would pretty much have been written about the same way, except with epic aerial battles and a whole new set of spiffy uniforms, officers, and talking dragons to exchange the pleasantries of social etiquette with. Oh, and Napoleon may have actually come closer at invading England than in real life.

In the first book in Naomi Novik's Temeraire Series, His Majesty's Dragon, Naval Captain Will Laurence and his newly hatched dragon, Temeraire, are both novices to the English Aerial Corps who use dragons to fight Napoleon's forces in conjunction with HMS Navy and Infantry. Laurence and Temeraire must quickly learn to navigate the queer outsider society of the Corps while holding to their own personal morals. Temeraire is a highly unusual dragon, bred in China, and has a unique intelligence and often resists the strictures of English military life and society in general. Will these two have what it takes to work together and save England?

Wow, I didn't mean to make this wonderful, lighthearted story sound like something dredged from the history books that only history focused masochists would ever pick up. His Majesty's Dragon is told in the style of the sea stories popularized by C.S. Forrester's Horatio Hornblower series and Patrick O'Brien Aubrey/Maturin series. Novik focuses maybe a little too much on the propriety of the right clothing in certain situations, but her narrative of battles and the act of flying just lifts you up and brings you along for the adventure. With a combination of wit, adrenaline, fighting, and friendship Laurence and Temeraire forge and inseparable bond with each other and the reader.

I would definitely suggest this book series to fans of Horatio Hornblower and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern. I think dragons can be universally appealing, and written as they are with their own personalities, but I recognize that maybe not everyone wants to read something with so much fantasy influence.

*This blog is part of a grant Medfield has been awarded through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Library and Services Technology Act administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.