Blood of Tyrants

The penultimate book of Naomi Novik's exciting Napoleonic era dragon series, Blood of Tyrants (#319) is due out on August 13.  I was lucky enough to win an advance reader's copy in a GoodReads giveaway.  Usually a five star rating and review is slightly suspect on GoodReads; is it a self review, is the person receiving money for a positive review, or is he or she a relative of the author?  In this case, it's none of the above, because I absolutely adore this series.  It's Horatio Hornblower meets an intelligent, multi-lingual soul mate who just happens to be an extremely rare Chinese Imperial dragon, as written by Jane Austen.

As Blood of Tyrants opens, William Laurence, the former British Naval captain, now a member of His Majesty's Air Corps with his dragon, Temeraire, regains consciousness on a remote beach.  Thirst drives him to find a stream just off a traveled road, but when next he awakes, he is in a strange room with paper walls.  He knows his name, and he can recognize one of the languages those around him are speaking, but otherwise, his memory is gone.  He is stunned to find that he is in Japan when the last thing he can remember puts him on the other side of the globe battling Napoleon.  How did he get here, and why is he still alive?  When he is finally reunited with his crew, he does not know them, which is especially upsetting to Temeraire, who would not let the British leave Nagasaki without news of Captain Laurence.  An urgent mission to China awaits, but with so much of his past a blank, will Laurence be able to play his role?  Napoleon's tentacles reach even here, drawing Captain Laurence, Temeraire and their small detachment along with their Chinese allies to Russia on the eve of Napoleon's final push to become the master of all of Europe.  And the end is a cliffhanger, aarrghh!

 There are some authors and series which are such a treat for me to read that I buy the books as they come out, but I don't necessarily read them right away.  For me, half the pleasure is looking at the books on the shelf, enjoying the cover art (in most cases!) and anticipating the delightful day when I feel the occasion merits a special reward - savoring one of these special works.  Buying books 2 and 3 in Ms. Novik's Temeraire series provided the perfect excuse for my husband and I to spend several enjoyable hours in the amazing Powell's Bookshop in Portland, Oregon last fall.  My husband indulged in them right away, but they're still waiting for me. 

Although this novel would normally have joined the rest of the series on my bookshelf to wait its turn, I felt I needed to read and review Blood of Tyrants because of GoodReads.  I think it's better to read the series in sequence, if possible, but at the very least, read the first book,  His Majesty's Dragon first (See my post of 9/26/12.); it really lays the groundwork for so much else that takes place in these books you'll be lost without having read it.  Otherwise, knowing that this daring duo has been to Africa, China, and South America, and wanting to know the back stories of some of the characters which figure in Blood of Tyrants has done nothing but whet my appetite for more!  I'll be looking forward to the final book but at the same time, I'm sad this marvelous series is ending.