Plot: Laurence, a successful captain during the Napoleonic era, captures a run-of-the-mill French vessel, just a regular day's work for an English captain in the blockade of France. He is both surprised and dismayed at the useless amount of fighting displayed by the French crew. When he captures the ship, however, he is even more surprised to find out why. The ship was carrying an extremely rare Chinese dragon egg. Laurence and his crew try to sail back to England before it hatches, but despite their efforts, the egg does hatch. Laurence tries to make it choose a young ensign as it's captain, but instead it chooses Laurence. Resigning his ship to his second, Laurence becomes an English aviator. Laurence and Temeraire (his dragon) begin to train and make friends among their wing mates. Temeraire quickly becomes the best formation flyer in the Corps, and he and Laurence also begin to bond with each other. But, an invasion by Napoleon is eminent, and Temeraire will be vital to its repulsion. If England falls, so too will the rest of the world. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Highlights: Great plot! I have been longing for a fantasy novel about the Napoleonic wars for a very long time (Napoleon being my favorite general) and Naomi Novik delivers. The battles, while being slightly gory, are very realistic, and fun to read. It is also a rather lengthy book, so those looking for a long read should look up this title. I would definitely recommend this book to any fantasy lovers or Napoleon lovers.
Negative elements: Not many of these. The only thing I didn't like was the portrayal of Napoleon as a villain (again, favorite general) but overall a great story. There is a small amount of language (mostly D---), and the violence is not for the weak of stomach. But overall, I would give this book a 4and ½ out of 5 stars.
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