Black Powder War

Starred review from April 1, 2006
Captain Laurence had commanded a ship in the Royal Navy (see " His Majesty's Dragon" , 2006) but was relegated to the aviator corps after bonding with the hatchling from the dragon egg his ship found aboard a French prize his ship had seized. He and Temeraire, the hatchling, are a team now. In " Throne of Jade" (2006), the admiralty want sent Temeraire to China with Laurence. Temeraire is a Celestial, hence among the very finest of dragons. Indeed, Temeraire, or Lung Tien Xiang, is an imperial prince. At the end of " Throne of Jade" , the British party, including Temeraire, is free to return to England. In " Black Powder War" , urgent orders lead them overland to Turkey, where they encounter a vengeful Lung they had worsted in Peking. Laurence and Temeraire reach German lands in time for the battle of Jena, where they face Napoleon's corps, a ferocious French dragon, and the disgruntled Lung. Novik's magical eighteenth century, peopled with sympathetic characters, induces avid reading. Long may she write! (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)