Tongues of Serpents

May 17, 2010
The somber sixth installment (after 2008's Victory of Eagles) of the Napoleonic era adventures of Capt. Will Laurence and Chinese-British dragon Temeraire opens with the pair exiled to New South Wales for saving French dragons from a plague while England and France were at war. The government of the colony is hotly disputed, and both the deposed royal governor and the insurrectionists hope to ally with Laurence and his draconic companions. When a dragon egg is kidnapped, an expedition over the Blue Mountains turns into a frantic hunt for the culprits. Novik fans will be glad to see their old favorite characters growing and changing yet still very much themselves, but the lack of significant interaction with native Australian humans or dragons leaves a certain emptiness at the heart of the story, exacerbated by long stretches of travel through physical and emotional desolation.

June 1, 2010

Novik (Victory of Eagles, 2008, etc.) delivers the sixth book in her alternate-history fantasy series, this time bringing its dragon-centered story to early-1800s Australia.

The Temeraire series, which began with His Majesty's Dragon (2006), is set during the era of the Napoleonic Wars, and armies use sentient, flying, fire-breathing dragons for aerial warfare. In this latest installment, Captain Will Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, have been sent away to a new locale—a British penal colony in Australia, where Laurence meets with such real-life local historical figures as Governor William Bligh. The story revolves mainly around a quest to find a stolen dragon egg, which sends Laurence, Temeraire and their human and dragon comrades traveling across the Australian continent—finally leading to a violent battle involving flying dragons, sea serpents and British naval vessels. The plot advances at a rather leisurely pace, but Novik keeps things engaging by spending much of the book expounding on the care, feeding and behavior of dragons, and readers who appreciate such world-building detail will enjoy these sections greatly.

An effective chapter in the popular series, featuring well-developed dragon characters that are often more entertaining than their human counterparts.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 15, 2010

Stripped of his rank and privileges, Will Laurence and his similarly exiled dragon, Temeraire, sail to their new home, the prison colony of Botany Bay on the distant continent of Australia. Once there, Laurence and Temeraire suffer the hardships of exile and encounter the colony's former governor, the notorious Captain Bligh, as well as the current ruler and the many disgruntled officers who covet his position. The latest addition to Novik's popular series set in an alternate Napoleonic era takes its heroes to a brave and harsh new world in which men--and dragons--are pushed to their limits but never broken. VERDICT Strong writing, engaging characters, and unforgettable dragons make this a sure bet for fans of period literature such as Patrick O'Brien's Jack Aubrey novels, and, of course, lovers of fantasies featuring dragons. [Ebook ISBN 978-0-345-52175-0.]

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2010
The sixth installment of Noviks fantastic series introduces Temeraire and former captain Laurence to New South Wales. Laurence, technically a transported prisoner, is escorting three eggs to form a covert in the colony there. The eggs are destined for such second-rate officers willing to make the long trip to the remote colony, including Captain Rankin, whose cruelty killed his former dragon. On arrival, the ship is met by former governor William Bligh, deposed through mutiny by the New South Wales Corps. Bligh wants the dragons to reinstate him in his post; the mutineers are determined to retain the upper hand. Discipline is lax and quarrels are the order of the day, including those between Temeraire and Iskerria, a snobbish beast. To escape all this, Laurence and Temeraire take a mission to find a way through the Blue Mountains and explore the interior of the continent. But one of the dragon eggs is stolen, and the exploration turns into a desperate rescue mission. Temeraire fans have waited two years for this book but should find themselves richly rewarded. The characters are as riveting as ever, the setting is new but convincing, and the plot, with its first-class balancing of Laurences and Temeraires internal and external struggles, shows Noviks continued excellence as a novelist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)