Laurence himself), and it was good to find a witty down-to-earth female character. Berkley and Hollin) from the middle/upper class ones (e.g.

The lower class characters had distinctively different mannerisms (e.g. The author has thought through the physical characteristics of the dragons so they are different from ships, horses, giants, or aeroplanes though sharing some characteristics of each.Īnother strength of the novel is that the dialogue seems authentic and conveys the attitudes of the Regency period well. The size of the dragons means that each one carries perhaps a dozen men, supplies and bombs, so Laurence's navy training comes in useful. 'Temeraire' uses an unusual setting for a fantasy novel, and focuses on things like the command hierarchy, and the equipage and training of the dragons. The point-of-view character (Laurence) makes many friends in this book - and a couple of potential enemies who I imagine will become important later. Presumably as it is the first in the series it is necessary to set the scenes. This book might disappoint those looking solely for action/adventure, or for complex intrigue, as not much 'happens' in this book - there is one minor skirmish and one battle, but it is a pleasant fluent book to read. It wasn't a book to get the adrenaline going, but neither was it boring. It was like having a glass of sherry every night before bed. Here are my thoughts on the novel (totally subjective of course).

Temeraire his majesty's dragon