Drachenfeind

Temeraire #8

by Naomi Novik

Er vergaß den Freund, doch niemals ihre Freundschaft.

Nach einem Schiffsunglück hat Kapitän Will Lawrence alles verloren. Doch sein größter Verlust ist ihm nicht einmal bewusst. Denn durch den Unfall hat er keine Erinnerung mehr an seine Zeit als Feuerreiter oder an seinen Drachen Temeraire. Allein muß er sich den Intrigen und Machtkämpfen der mächtigen Familien Japans stellen.
Währenddessen reist Temeraire ohne seinen Kapitän nach Moskau, um es gegen das größte Heer, das die Welt je gesehen hat, zu verteidigen. Im Schatten des Kremls werden sich der Kapitän und sein Drache wiedersehen - und es wird sich herausstellen, ob es tiefere Bande gibt als bloße Erinnerungen ...

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Historical, Audiobook

572 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2013

About the author

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers. Her website is at naominovik.com

Reviews

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something strange happened while I was reading Blood of Tyrants... I started to like Temeraire again. This series had me at 'Napoleonic Wars' and 'dragons', but while the first few books ranged from serviceable (His Majesty's Dragon) to standout (Black Powder War), by the time Empire of Ivory rolled around, these books had started to get bogged down in a Carmen Sandiego-esque need to visit exotic world locales and became less about the War or the dragon. For me, the series peaked at Napoleon's invasion of England and began a downward slide soon after, and if it wasn’t for a few things here and there, I would’ve completely lost all hope.

Crucible of Gold was one of those things and a step in the right direction, but as I said before, something's not right when Austerlitz and Jena get maybe a paragraph and there's chapters dedicated to African slave traders or setting up an Australian penal colony. I wasn't sure which Temeraire would be making an appearance in Blood of Tyrants, the Napoleonic War invested Temeraire of Black Powder War or the random globetrotting filler Temeraire of Tongues of Serpents, but to my dismay turned surprise, both. Since, in maybe a first for the Temeraire series, Blood of Tyrants is divided into three parts sufficiently distinct they can probably be read as easily as three separate novellas as one full novel, I’ll just talk about each part separately and why Part Three makes this the best Temeraire book in some time.

Part One - if I could pretend this never happened, I would. As promised, Lawrence is shipwrecked in Japan and unfortunately this part involves the same kinds of excesses that made the last few books (Crucible of Gold somewhat aside) such chores to read. With the war raging in Europe, I could care less about what happens in Africa or Australia, and with the general narrative focused on defeating Napoleon, these side plots really provide no purpose other than filler that takes away from what’s supposed to be the main draw of the series. There’s just no point other than Naomi Novik telling us this is what happens to Lawrence and his crew, and while Novik does provide a glimpse of early nineteenth century Japanese culture with dragons, that doesn’t make this any less filler. Combined with Lawrence’s incredibly convenient amnesia which hardly affects the rest of the story and what even the book describes as useful, numbing minutiae, and Part One just seems like an intentional detour to drag out the book.

Part Two - better, like on Throne of Jade’s level. Still missing one crafty French general, but the court intrigue in China at least doesn’t feel as blatantly filler as the shipwreck storyline. While nothing in Part Two is really needed to understand Part Three, it does pick up some loose plot threads from Throne of Jade and explain why China would enter the war, and this time at least the explanation makes more sense than the whole fiasco with the Incan Empire in Crucible of Gold. Plus, Novik likes to show off where the logistics of draconic warfare is concerned, so having the various strategies used by the British vis-à-vis the Chinese side by side make for some interesting comparisons. Skippable sure, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Part Three - where have you been all this time? I’m thrilled Novik finally, finally gets to what I’ve been waiting for ever since Black Powder War, an actual, honest to goodness campaign that doesn’t involve the heroes being sent to another continent while the battles are being fought. Napoleon’s back. He’s invading Russia. Lawrence and Temeraire are there. That alone makes Part Three way more worthwhile than anything that’s come out since Empire of Ivory, and seeing how Napoleon’s actual invasion of Russia has shaped Novik’s fictional campaign is a real treat. Too bad awesome villain(ess) Madame Lien is still missing in action and the book ends on a cliffhanger with the Russian winter, but I am totally stoked to see what comes next.

In a nutshell, Blood of Tyrants is definitely the strongest Temeraire novel since at least 2007 (even without pretending Part One never happens), simply because Naomi Novik brings the series back to its roots. Fans of the series should be happy to know Temeraire is finally back on track.

[Tamara]

I guess i'm the only person who didn't mind the amnesia plot? Given that the Temeraire books are not exactly a font of deep and introspective characterization, even a fairly cheap device like amnesia was fairly effective at wringing some out.

I don't know if this is a particularly unusual way to read the books - my impression is that i'm in a minority, anyway - but I've always cared a great deal more about Lawrence than I have about Temeraire. Temeraire is just kind of twee and cute and modern politically correct all the time. Lawrence actually has a fairly complex and difficult character arc buried under all the reticence and good manners (well, and a degree of authorial disinterest), from having his whole life upheaved, reassesing his sense of duty and doing it all while, at least in the early books, still being a product of his time. I'm beginning to lose track of all the war stuff and who is against who and the dragon emancipation business which feels like pandering to reader sensibilities. I could, however, spend a whole book reading Lawrence having awkward conversations with his mother and trying to decide who to promote to lieutenant.

Anyway, back to this book - that's why I liked the slower, lost-Lawrence stuff of the beginning. Afterwards when we're back to adventuring around and such, well, it isn't bad, but it all gets to be rather the same after a while.

[Manisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty standard rating from me (for this series).

[Ana Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've reached this far so I'll end the series.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that Temeraire is easily one of the best characters created in the fantasy genre in the past decade. A fascinating, charming, believable dragon who you would definitely want to be friends with.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, this book suffers from Reverse-Jordanitis. Jordanitis is a terrible disease, named after the late Robert Jordan. Jordanitis (an ailment of my own naming) occurs when an author writes too much about too little (I used to joke that Jordan could write 500 pages about Rand al'Thor going to the bathroom). This book suffers from Reverse-Jordanitis in that Ms. Novik has written too little about too much (hence reverse-Jordanitis). The book lurches from Japan to China to Russia and, reading it, I ended up feeling robbed. As the characters jump around there are a number of places where the jump felt "artificial" and where I wanted to know more about what happened. This book could easily have been two books (if not three) and I would have been happy. While previous books have spent time creating the newly-dragonized nations, this time we are only given snippets (the Japan section was especially given short shift in my opinion).

I can't recommend this book to anyone other than hard-core Temeraire fans. While better than some of the books in the series (books 3 and 4 are definitely not among my favourites), it is nowhere near the excellence of Books 1-2 or even the satisfying crunch of books 5-6.

[Linette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love spending time with Temeraire and Laurence. This book has three distinct storylines, and contains hardship and confusion, struggle and defiance, reunions and sunderings, adventure and humor, and sometimes even sweet success and exultation. And war, when they meet up once again with their arch nemesis, Napoleon.

These dragons are naive and idealistic in their expectations of humans to behave kindly and intelligently, even though they are frequently betrayed by us. Our odd notions of duty and law and rituals confuse them and they do their best to strip them away and show us the difference between right and wrong. These 'beasts' could teach us a lot if we let them.

I read as slowly as I could, trying to make it last, but it was difficult as I just wanted to burn through the pages. I won't say any more, as I don't want to risk spoilers, but I am already wishing I had the next book.

Until we meet again, Temeraire, be careful - you are much too impulsive and wanting to rescue everyone (unless they threaten Laurence of course, but you really musn't flatten them, no matter how much they deserve it).

Let the divine wind blow!

(I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

[Skyeofskynet · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of sad that there's just one book ahead of me.

So. Amnesia thrope. Something I love dearly when it's done good. The contrast between being the person you remember to be and the life you don't remember. It's like time stopped just for you, but not for the rest of the world. And it works well with Laurence, who rememebers himself as this upright navy guy, while in the last book he was finally out of the fucks to give. The way he doesn't even know if he should be thinking about Temeraire as a friend or an animal or a weapon, and he remembers only the things before big change.
And then he's slowly discovering what he did and he thinks it's Termeraire who might have made him do it. But it's was not the dragon, it was Laurence himself. There's this realization that he has betrayed his country at some point and lost everything but his honor, but the person he remembers himself to be was never able to do so. So what happened? What did the dragon do to make him that person?
Damn, it was done well.

I must admit it took me a long time (like six books long) to like Laurence. It was a long journey for him as well, from all the fucks to zero fucks to give. But I think this book has finally made him a true aviator, because he made that choice again.

[Serap(Agresif Spoiler Kraliçesi) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yani sırf bir kitap daha fazla olsun diye yazılmış gibi bence...serinin en az sevdigim kitabi oldu...of son kitabi okuma hevesimde kaçtı.

[Rk Stark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so incredibly disappointed with this book. The author should have waited another year to rethink the extremely poor plot crutch she uses for the first half of the book. Surely she could have come up with something more interesting then amnesia. There was no real need for it except to serve as some sort of stupid explanation of how much Laurence has grown, which could have been much better shown by using Junichiro as a foil.
Junichiro is a young Japanese man who helps Laurence escape to the sea where he can be picked up and returned to his people. Junichiro follows the dictates of his honor, which are poorly explained and barely examined, which means he has to leave his home. I understand that the author wanted to introduce the Japanese and needed an excuse of some kind to send his Japanese companion (whom is entirely forgotten for almost the entire second half of this book) back to Japan, but really to introduce Junichiro and then completely forget about him until the very last chapter of the book is just lazy, especially when so much of the book is wasted on the useless guilt of Temeraire and a ship wreck.
The most interesting part of the book was the very end, when they travel to Russia with a Chinese force to provide aid against Napoleon, and even that is very poorly written until the last couple of chapters.
Ultimately this book is no where near as good as the other books, with none of the excellent plot development, and imaginative writing of the other books. With very little exploration of the new cultures and countries visited, and a shamefully lame plot for the first 200 pages, I can say it was almost a waste of my time to read this. I can only hope that this series will end on a positive note, and not become one of those series where the author should have stopped writing midway through.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best in the series, but not bad. This book is broken into three parts. Because they could each be stand-alone books, I rate and review each part separately.

2 Stars for Part One, JAPAN: Laurence washed ashore about 60 miles from the only internationally accessible port -- Nagasaki -- after he got swept overboard, hitting his head, and losing his memory. The authorities are hunting him. A Japanese youth named Junichiro plays a role. Meanwhile, Temeraire frets and Iskierka lays their precious egg.

I don't much care for amnesia-based plots and this part felt pointless and slow. I didn't like the attitude aboard the British ship. But there are cool sea serpents and river dragons. I liked Sui Riu, a water dragon, the Guardian of the West. Vivid rescue scene.

4 stars for Part Two, CHINA: This part reminded me of Throne of Jade. Very good! Would almost go 5 stars if not for amnesia and rehashing past books with shadowy memories, and re-confronting the treason issue. Another weakness is the way Novik waxed on laboriously, showing how Laurence justified his —at the time illegal—willingness to look the other way with respect to a gay relationship among the aviators, which of course is commendable of him. But the internal reasoning was somewhat overkill, and we already went through all that when he first learned of the relationship, in Crucible of Gold.

But still, this is the best part of the book. Laurence and Temeraire help to thwart another rebellion / assassination against the emperor's son, Prince Mianming. Excellent pacing and wonderful battle scenes. Loved seeing how General Chu (a dragon) runs a military campaign with more than 200 dragons. Clever organization of food service and supplies. Secondary characters include Lily's formation, Arkady, Tharkay, etc.

Laurence recovers his memory towards the end of part two. Finally! A happy scene shows delighted dragons splashing under warm water spouts in the imperial courtyard.

Also, part two provides an interesting link with history (Brits engaged in opium smuggling -- bringing it into China to level the trade imbalance, addicting the populace, and some references to the White Lotus Rebellion).

3.75 stars for Part Three, RUSSIA: The setting is Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia with his Grand Armée. Excellent alternate history, but incomplete. Several battles commanded by the historically-celebrated General Kutuzov, but the tragic Battle of Borodino is tweaked a good deal. Vivid heartfelt scene of Russians burning their beloved Moscow, so Napoleon cannot gain anything from it. Graphic portrayal of abused and starving feral dragons in the Russian breeding grounds.

Characters include General Chu the Chinese dragon, Tharkay (rigged out in silk robes in one memorable scene) and our old Prussian friend Dyhern from Black Powder War.

But we're left on a cliff!! In wintry Russia, hungry and cold and hanging on a cliff! If only Novik had deleted part one (Japan), clearing space to finish this story.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one felt rather anticlimactic the whole way through - I don't understand the reasoning behind Laurence's memory loss, as far the plot was concerned, because it only seemed to hinder everything. Bring on the Final Installment!

[Kimbot the Destroyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are finally back to Napoleon and I am stoked to see how these final days are interpreted through the lens of "Now With DRAGONS".

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

'We did not get ourselves into trouble at all. .. It came to us without any effort on our parts.'

And that is exactly what happens in this book. Trouble keeps on coming for Temeraire, Laurence and their friends. One after another tight squeezes and bad luck.

Even though I wish the amnesia angle had been written a little differently I still enjoyed this story A LOT. And that is because of the dragons. This book is all about the dragons. Their bond with their riders and their interactions with each other are described at best in this instalment.

I absolutely loved the dragons!

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

2014 October 12

I loved it so much that I haven't really been interested in anything else since I finished it. So much, that I'm only happy reading the series over from the start. Dragons in 1812 Japan, China, and Russia! Dragons! I say!

Library copy

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't mind the amnesia but it felt really unnecessary. Still a pretty interesting story and was interested throughout. I read the next one like right after so now I'm having a hard time distinguishing timelines whoops. Full review soon.

[Kogiopsis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't want to dislike books in this series, but... I have to admit I kind of saw this coming. While I still liked it more (or rather, liked more of it) than Tongues of Serpents, it was ultimately both not fun and, perhaps more damning, suffers from incredibly weak pacing that makes it feel painfully like a setup rather than its own book.

Let's start with the elephant in the room, shall we: the amnesia plot. This was already going to be a hard sell, because amnesia plotlines are an overplayed and often badly handled trope, more associated with daytime soap operas than, you know, media that's actually well-written. I was nervous about it - in fact, I put off starting this book for a while because of it - but I wanted to believe Novik would handle it well and make it worthwhile. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. Three interesting things came out of the amnesia plot, and as of this book, all three are either ignored or underused.

Part 1 of the book puts the cast in Japan, with Laurence struggling to remember where he is and Temeraire unable to go look for him, and while this could have been interesting from both a political and worldbuilding perspective, it doesn't go anywhere. We get to see feudal Japan's relationship with dragons, which has potential, with draconic lords and a 400 year-old water dragon guarding the island's shores, but it's doubtful if any of that will become more than flavor by the end of the series. Two of the three interesting results of the amnesia come from Japan, though - one, the mention that the Chinese stole the Celestials from Japan, which finally explains why they have an ability associated with Japanese history; and two, the character of Junichiro.

I'm genuinely surprised that the reveal of the Celestials' origins didn't come up in Part 2, because it seems incredibly relevant as the cast continue on to China and are reminded, once again, of how few Celestials there are left in the world. I don't blame Novik for not wanting to dig into the long, complex, and bloody history between these countries, or worse yet try and propose some kind of reconciliation which would only have come off as pat oversimplification, but surely it matters?

Junichiro... well, he spends most of the book doing nothing and then makes a surprising but very logical choice at the end. I'm sort of reserving judgement on his involvement, as I feel like more will come of him in League of Dragons.

Part 2 is by far the best part of this book, as we get even more worldbuilding and politics in China - exactly, I think, what a lot of people expected Throne of Jade to be. This largely focuses on accusations that the British are still importing opium to China, and while one of my problems with Laurence's amnesia is that he's lost a lot of his character development, he does still demonstrate a solid sense of ethics in being absolutely infuriated at the trade. (This does, however, come with a side of absolutely not believing that the British Government could ever condone or tacitly encourage such a thing, because pre-Temeraire Laurence is incredibly gullible in the name of loyalty.) However, this is intertwined with a lot of strain between Temeraire and Laurence, which I just found deeply upsetting.

I've said before that I read these books for the dragons, and care about the humans only inasmuch as they relate to the dragons, and that was very much the problem I had with the way Laurence's amnesia impacted Temeraire. The fact is that, while Laurence does start to figure out and rebuild the affection he feels for his dragon, Temeraire spends so much time in this book miserable, either because Laurence is lost, emotionally distant, or because Temeraire genuinely believes that Laurence (and by extension others of his crew) would rather he not be part of their lives. It's painful, and it's made more so by the fact that somehow, despite Temeraire being objectively the most important person on the planet to Laurence, being around him doesn't seem to do anything for Laurence's memory, which...

Okay. So, I'm not a medical expert, but from what I understand the depiction of amnesia in this book isn't very medically accurate, and has more in common with distorted media tropes than the actual condition. With that in mind, the fictionalized version of amnesia generally has the patient recover through something related to a person they care about deeply, and is used as a storytelling strategy to highlight that relationship. With that in mind, I have two questions:
1. Why wasn't it Temeraire?
2. Why was it Tharkay?

Temeraire is the most important being in Laurence's life, bar none. If anyone's presence was going to trigger memory, it would make sense for his to do it; in addition to his importance to Laurence, being around a dragon has to be a multisensory experience with unique sounds, smells, and textures, and sense is known to trigger recall in general. If it's the strength of emotion, well, Laurence literally saves Temeraire from having his spine cut, and feels intense fear for him at that time - that would make perfect sense as a resonant moment to bring his memories back.

But it's not Temeraire, not even Temeraire's life in imminent danger. It's finding Tharkay. And I'm just... listen, I know Naomi Novik has written fanfic, so I absolutely do not believe she didn't see how this read. Laurence recovers his memory when finding Tharkay, tortured and imprisoned. He greets Tharkay with his first name. When they bring Tharkay back, he gets put on Laurence's own cot and then holds him up so he can sip wine. There's no way Novik didn't know what she was doing here! And this is the third interesting thing which comes out of the amnesia plotline, and I don't think it's going ANYWHERE, and that drives me nuts.

Part 3 is set in Russia - skipping all of the journey across the steppe, which I'd kind of hoped for as an interesting time for character interactions - and just felt like a redux of Part 3 of Black Powder War, in that it's about a grinding military campaign with few, if any, successes. I think this is a big part of why I left this book feeling so disappointed. It works in Black Powder War because that's a campaign that Napoleon won, and in the context of the series it serves to highlight the impact of Lien's tactical suggestions to him, but here - he's not supposed to be successful in Russia, especially when his opposition has an advantage they never did in history. This gets topped off by the fact that Napoleon continues to be on the moral side of the question of dragons (Murat is RIGHT, dammit, even if it's to France's strategic advantage) and reaching the end of this book just felt... disheartening. I was all excited for an exciting tactical victory which ended with the Chinese legions taking a bunch of maltreated Russian dragons home with them and that is so, so far from what happened.

Also - there were criticisms back when I started reading this series years ago that Novik paints a rather idealistic picture of alternate United States in these books, and while we've seen very little of North America in general (and whatever its political structures may be called), what we do see definitely supports that critique. Dragons are liberated, native tribes seem to be mostly in place, Tecumseh is President - I'm not saying I don't like the idea, but it does feel like a sort of whitewashing of history, which ignores the strongly held and ugly prejudices of many people of the era.

As nervous as I was to start this book, I'm even more nervous to start League of Dragons. I don't want the series to be over, and I especially don't want it to end on an unsatisfying note as this book did. But I'm crossing my fingers as hard as I can that all this setup will turn out to be worth it.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hovered at 3.5, sometimes only 3, sometimes 4 stars so I am having a hard time rating it! If you like no spoilers and have not tread the previous installment, read no more since this one starts where the last one left off.

It was the beginning I wasn't so thrilled with, but the book got better. I personally wasn't enthralled with the idea of having (the spoiler being the end of book 7) Laurence end up with amnesia in Japan during the sakoku, "closed country," era. I've read enough amnesia stories in the past. I really can't say much about the book or story since it gives away important things. Suffice it to say we get to meet new dragons--possibly new species since that's common, but why would I tell you before I read it if I am give no spoilers for those book, just one from the former? Napolean is still ruling, Britain and other countries are still at war with him and of course there is plenty of action as in all of the books.

[Banshee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we go again: another novel in this series, where there are clearly split two parts, each of much different quality.

The first half of the novel takes place in Japan and China. Even though I'm not a fan of amnesia trope in fiction, I really enjoyed following Laurence as he re-discovers himself after an accident as well as the rest of the characters who look for him. There was much to appreciate here: the political games, world-building, new dragons, the shifting relationships and quick action. Overall, it was 4 stars for me.

But then came the second part of the novel as the characters are transported to Russia and once again side with the wrong side of history. It was both dull and annoying - 2 stars.

As my expectations which arose at the beginning of the series continue to not be fully met, I'm slowly setting myself for a disappointment with the conclusion to the long-running series. All the political nuance present in the first novels continues to be ignored, most interesting aspects of the story take more and more of a backseat and there isn't nearly enough character development. I hope to be proven wrong.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, its a really good read, I had a problem with the way lawrance was written in this book, it seemed like a recap of the other books to keep us the reader up to date, but it kinda didnt happen, its hard to explain.

the end is good but another cliffhanger ending.

[Sabina · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little bit all over the place but still very enjoyable, I definitely am scared to see how it all ends in book 9…… we r getting down to the nitty gritty of The War and all I can hope for is a nice house for Temeraire and Laurence in Australia at the end of it…

[Melissa McShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't as excited about the last two books in the series, despite my enjoyment of the characters, because I signed up for Napoleonic War alternate history fiction and wasn't as interested in Laurence and Temeraire's wandering around Australia and the Americas. This was a welcome return (at least half of it was) to the War, and Napoleon's aggression on Russia.

The first half, though, is a digression into Japan which I also enjoyed because I like reading about Japanese culture in the 19th century, and Novik succeeds in making her alternate history reflect some of the isolationism of that time. Unfortunately, she also gives Laurence amnesia (he loses eight years of his memory), which struck me as sort of unnecessary to the plot. It effectively resets his relationship with Temeraire, since they've only been together for five years, so we're treated to the poignancy of Laurence having to build a new relationship with his best friend and discover everything, good and bad, that happened to him during that time. (Okay. I admit to being amused at his momentary belief that he's Emily Roland's father.) But that's really all it does, increase the tension in sort of a gimmicky way. It's a relief when his memory begins to come back.

My other problem is the one I've had since book six, which is that the plot has become a series of short adventures strung together like beads, none of which are long enough to support a full novel and each of which is only tenuously connected to the other. This book has two sections, the first being the escape from Japan and the second being Laurence's mission to bring hundreds of dragons from China to bolster the Russian army. Yes, they're connected, but very loosely, and I find I'm dissatisfied with stories that are less plot than mere connected events.

So why four stars? Because, as usual, Novik's characters are superb and her story, irrespective of my complaints about how it's structured, is exciting. We see old friends and make new ones--I didn't think I'd like General Chu much, but he ended up being one of my favorites. And Iskierka, who drove me crazy when she first appeared and now just makes me laugh, makes the first part of the story really interesting. I look forward to finding out what comes out of her and Temeraire's egg--her matter-of-fact revelation that she's carrying it was wonderful. As usual, the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire carries the story in places where it might otherwise sag. And Novik ends the novel in a way that left me eager for the next volume, something I couldn't say about either of the two previous ones. Complaints aside, I liked it very much.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated, hated, HATED the soap-opera-esque plot contrivance that dominated the first half of this book, and when it was unceremoniously cast off (with as little logic as it was introduced, I might add) I rejoiced and was able to enjoy the remainder of the book.

I was glad to see some old favorite characters who had been left out of the Australian and South American adventures return, the foray into Temeraire's love life was fun and I enjoyed seeing the Chinese dragons take center stage, as well.

One thing that Novik does rather well in previous Temeraire novels but fails to execute deftly in Blood of Tyrants is comparing between the relatively progressive-thinking aviators with their 21st century sense of social justice with the social norms of that time. Novik has always managed the female aviator characters really well -- showing the stark difference between their importance, power and influence in the Aerial Corps versus the limited status of most British women in that age. However, in Blood of Tyrants, Novik tries the same trick with gay aviators (gayviators?) -- and Laurence's enlightened-for-his-era acceptance of the gay aviators just fell flat. Which is not to argue that Laurence would not accept the gayviators (who are his friends and colleagues) -- his character totally would -- it's just the way Novik wrote Laurence's moral justification was overwrought and exhausting. Like, just let the two dudes love each other without explaining to us that being gay in 1812 is VERY VERY VERY WRONG unless you are a sailor in which case it is VERY VERY IGNORED. We know all that. We like Laurence because he's super straight laced and can make peace with lady aviators and gay aviators and social justice dragons.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain William Laurence has fallen into the sea during a tremendous storm, leaving him stranded in Japan with no memory of the past 7 years or his life with Temeraire. The political situation in Japan is about to explode with William sits in the center.

Vague memories arise but when Temeraire and William are reunited he still can’t remember their friendship and years together.

The story continues as they trek to China and then to Russia. Glimpses of memories resurface but Termeraire is remorseful about his inability to protect Laurence.

This is a completely compelling story that rivets you to the pages. Novik’s work may come out slower than I like but it’s definitely worth the wait. I am amazed every time by Naomi Novik’s ability to write a historical fantasy that makes me feel like I’m actively participating in the story. The perfect combination of funny, character interaction, suspense and drama...if your a fantasy lover you have to read Blood of Tyrants. OMG, did check out this cover!!!

This ARC copy of Blood of Tyrants was given to me by Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey Spectra in exchange for an honest review. This book is set for publication August 13, 2013.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Temeraire! How I wish you were real! Of course that would mean that Napoleon nearly destroyed all of Europe and parts of Asia, which might be bad. But I just love Temeraire so much, and Laurence as well! Novik put an interesting twist into this one (this is not a spoiler, unless you haven't read the previous book or the back of this one) but Laurence is lost at sea and receives a blow to the head that causes amnesia. We start all over again, with his attitudes toward the dragons, but now everything he thought he had is gone (fortune, fiancee, reputation) and he's in a mess that is partially his and Temeraire's making, but with no memory of it. Someone finally addresses the fact in this book that, wherever Laurence and Temeraire go, revolution follows in their wake. I know the British government has not been on board with their wanting to make the dragons more independent and take better care of them, but they've stirred up trouble on every continent! (Which is why we love them!) This is the second to last book in the series, and I can't wait to read the last one! Because you know it's going to be amazing, and I'm really glad she's going to go out on a high note rather than flogging the series along to make money.

[Aldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a real delight tearing through this series and growing to love it more with every book. The few misgivings I had with the first couple of books have fully dispersed by now, and I just love that feeling of being able to trust that an author knows what she's doing and that whatever calamity she next decides to throw her characters into, I will happily follow them across the world (and back again, and around, and then diagonally upwards, maybe), alternately whooping with joy, gnawing my fingertips to shreds with anxiety, or just plain grinning like a fool. These characters have become beloved friends, and much as I want the next book, I also don't want their story to end, so I'll happily (if not exactly patiently) wait for League of Dragons.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series is one book away from the end and it is still a very well done alternate history story. Great and humorous characters, nice action throughout the story also. If you are looking for a new Fantasy series to try then grab this up. Very recommended

[Joanka · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 67% was one star. Then the very 67% was eleven stars and the rest came back to usual 4 stars. A more elaborate review will follow.

[Kahlia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually quite liked the amnesia plot (sacrilege, I know!) but I found the back end of the book tried to do too much - we easily could have spent an entire book in Japan or China or Russia. I can’t believe there is only one book left - I will miss Lawrence and Temeraire when it’s all over, which is the sign of a good series overall.

[Tilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting Temeraire book, and perhaps a new favourite in the series! We had amnesia and new allies and thrilling battles and joyful reunions, and I ate it up. I’m obsessed with Novik’s individual characterizations of the dragons, and the dialogue is endearingly hilarious. A very solid first read of 2024!

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blood of Tyrants is the 8th book in Naomi Novik's wonderful alternative history of Napoleonic Wars. Completely re-imagined with the addition of dragons as major weapons of war, Novik has journeyed around the world. While the central conflict between England and France forms the main focus of the series, there have been excursions to Brazil, the Aztecs, Australia, Africa and China. While war has always been a mainstay of the series, the poor treatment of the dragons by the British and other countries has also played a major part of the story.

In Blood of Tyrants, the Napoleonic Wars are coming to a head. But Laurence is missing off the dragon carrier ship. Beached on the coast of Japan, he has lost his memory and has to survive his encounter with the xenophobic Japanese long enough to rejoin the British. Its a perilous journey.

Once Laurence does rejoin Temeraire, they travel to China to seek allies against Napoleon. Again Novik is not afraid to put the onus on the British for the introduction of opium into China.

Finally, after some trials and tribulations in China, Laurence and Temeraire journey to Russia to fight Napoleon directly, with the aid of the Chinese dragons.

This is not a series that you can join in at this late stage, but Novik still makes it interesting for her fans, just not as compelling a read as the earlier books. Some of the scenes felt old, some of the episodes felt tired. Its still amazing however, how Novik can interweave the dragons into the history of Europe and provide a vivid retelling of this period.

More importantly, again we are reminded of the bond between Temeraire and Laurence. Novik also drops a clue here and there about how Temeraire and Laurence can finally escape the clutches of the British and seek their own freedom, but first they must defeat Napoleon in Russia.

The book, however ends in mid battle with Winter on its way.

Its still a good story, and the amnesia element still showed that on the important issues, irrespective of their previous bond and history, Laurence and Temeraire had similar hopes and values. At the end of the day, Laurence's battle to rejoin Temeraire and be with him is the heart of this story and this series.