Customer Reviews

Black Powder War

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Easily the best of the bunch, "Black Powder War" is the third in the historical fantasy Temeraire series. We start as Laurence and crew are leaving China, Laurence having just become the adopted son of the Chinese emperor so that he is worthy of a dragon of Temeraire's class. All our friends are on a slow ship heading back to Britain when a fire breaks out on board, nearly gutting the ship and causing a possible three month delay while its repaired, The dragon crew considers going overland, but are forced to when an urgent message comes from England-three dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman empire by England and they need Temeraire to pick them up and deliver them.

Of course the journey overland is hard, and involves a meeting with a large group of feral dragons-who turn out to be not so feral after all. While they tell Temeraire a soap opera story about dragons he continues on his quest to get better treatment, including city residences and pay, for the British dragons. Laurence is worried about such thoughts, because he knows that nothing like that will ever come to pass and he doesn't want Temeraire to desert for China and a better life.

Once in the Ottoman Empire there are problems, and the shadow of the mad and evil white Celestial dragon hangs over Laurence's head as she follows them west. Soon problems from Napoleon and the eggs overthrow any of Laurence's concerns about Temeraire, and everyone's lives are thrown into peril.

Temeraire really gets a personality in this book, and even Laurence's worrying and duty bound personality begins to improve. The feral dragons are a riot, and the action in this book is breathtaking. This one actually had me up all night reading, and it won't disappoint anyone who even sort of liked "His Majesty's Dragon" or "Throne of Jade". This book ranks an easy four stars, and the letter at the end of it, from an unknown person talking of the dragons as stupid beasts casts a great shadow of drama for future books, as does the prequel for the next.

This book is quite similar to the previous two in the series, which I count as a point in its favor. I might have liked more dragon-master relationship building, but I was not displeased overall on that count.
This book was however severely wanting in any kind of satisfactory ending. Maybe it is because I rarely read fantasy, and tend to stay away from "endless" epic adventure stories...but I would have imagined that three books would have contained enough pages to have fully told a complete story. With this book's ending, I really get the feeling that I am being strung along. I know this is probably wise marketing, and that some fantasy readers love a series that promises never to end. I however, and I am sure some others of you out there, want an engaging tale told over one, or at most a few, books.
As it is Novik seems to have taken at most two books worth of material, stretched it out to three, and STILL not managed to tie anything of consequence up in the process.
So, while the book was still on the whole enjoyable, this is a warning to others like me who were hoping for a nice trilogy and not a never-ending story.

I was hesitant in buying this last one because the reviews I was reading seemed to dwell on the military campaigns of Napoleon (yes, he makes a cameo appearance). I supposed the title of the book didn't help. But really the Napoleonic War doesn't start until Page 200 of a 365 Page Book. And I was surprised to see how skillfully and plausibly the author wove the dragons into the war. It was a WORTHY and Most Exciting finale to the Temeraire Trilogy.

Do not miss any of it. You will see how expertly the dragons are used in battle. How Lien, the outcast albino dragon, who lost her captain, the perfidious prince Yongxing (read THRONE OF JADE), defected to the side of the French, in order to effect a most ingenious revenge on Temeraire and Laurence.

Most noteworthy is the development of the dragon psyche. We are introduced to the feral dragons of the Turkish mountains . . dragons in their natural state who have never known the harness but consequently aren't that well-fed either. (Comic relief after a particularly intense journey through the desert). And Temeraire beg us to consider the emancipation of all dragons though his fascinating discussions with Laurence concerning the issues of choice and freedom. THere's also the dragon eggs themselves-- whose value-- figures a greal deal in all the books. How do the dragons feel about separation from their eggs?

5 Stars! (Some heartbreak in the fate of some members of Temeraire's crew.) I do so hate these moments when I have to whip out a hanky for characters in a Fantasy! But I guess that tells you how well-written this book truly is!

I look forward to more, Ms. Novik! Consider me a life-long fan!

While the third volume in the ongoing series (not a trilogy as it initially appeared) sticks fairly closely to the mold of the first two, there is enough novelty and interesting development here to keep the reader eagerly reading. The end is only disappointing insofar as at the finish of this volume there appears to be no real end in sight. On the one hand, that is cause for minor celebration, since it means that the characters who have been introduced in the first three volumes will be around for some time -- I wouldn't be surprised if this draws out to nine or ten volumes. On the other hand, some kind of real closure would be nice -- even if it were to begin again with another trilogy. What distinguishes this fantasy series from many other popular fantasy pieces is that it is tied to historical events (that are reimagined and tweaked, to accommodate within an alternate reality like our own the existence of intelligent dragons). That means it can't have some kind of artificial ending (Harry Potter finishes at Hogwarts, and/or he or Voldemort die; the Ring gets destroyed; etc.), but only the relative kind of ending that is possible in real history (a battle ends and there is a time before a new one begins; a king is crowned; a revolution takes place, etc.). This one ends, it seems, with no more certainty than the series began with. Temeraire has greater ambitions for dragonkind, but it is gradually becoming clear that these ambitions will have to take second place to the war with Napoleon. While that makes sense, and the war even in this reality took a long time, I'm not sure how much patience I will continue to have with the series if the plot continues to be, roughly: crises leading to character development and then some drawn about battle after which they need to rest and there are crises leading to character development and then another drawn out battle ... in this one, especially, she found ways to introduce a great deal of variety into this general schema, but at least this reader can only get so far interested in battle formations and dragons and ships and infantry fighting back and forth. What is really interesting in the story are the various characters, and the insights into dragon intelligence and ways of thinking and especially Temeraire's growing understanding of the world and increasing dissatisfaction with the position of dragons in the West. I can't help but wish, like Temeraire in the story, for the war to end soon so that these other issues can become the focus.

While this theme is the most intriguing, and gives the whole series a political and social edge that serves at least allegorically to encourage thinking about the kinds of oppressions with which our own history has been replete, it still continues to stretch credibility the extent to which the abilities and intelligence of dragons are, it seems, only just becoming known. The parallel with slavery, that is alluded to here, and the delusions about slaves that for so long justified the practice in the minds of their oppressors makes some sense of the way dragons are treated here -- and if you combine that with the idea that in their affections dragons are something like dogs, who become attached to the first person they imprint upon, and therefore less likely to revolt than they might otherwise, it can be further explained, but the dragons are not stupid and it is really difficult to credit that human beings would not know more about such powerful beings.

Still, there is inevitably some need to suspend disbelief in a story about dragons, and Novik treads a fine line between immersing us in a fantasy realm and developing parallels with our own history. It remains much more fun to read than most science fiction/fantasy I have seen in some time, and it is a bit silly to complain that there is more to come.

"Black Powder War" is an alternate history novel, set in Europe and Asia at the time of the Napoleanic war. This novel continues where "Throne of Jade" leaves off with the (untrue) promise that this novel will focus on T--'s attempts to reform Brittish law concerning dragons. Instead, this novel follows L-- and T-- as they meander through a series of loosely related adventures across Asia and Europe. Along the way, they are confounded by new orders, frustrated by stupid managers, and delighted with new dragon friends.

This novel is fairly intersting and creative, and the new dragon friends absolutely delightful. My problem with this novel is that it doesn't deliver what was promised, doesn't really seem to go anywhere, and relies too heavy on the "stupid boss" theme. The reader is left at the end with another (untrue) promise that the next book will delve into T--'s attempts to reform Brittish law concerning dragons (it doesn't, either). The overall feel of the novel is "the continuing adventures of L-- and T-- as they meander through life", and it feels somewhat like an awkward middle child, mainly consisting of backdrop for future plot lines. The novel has all of the usual sequel problems -- the unique premises being conveyed in the first two novels, the third novel was left in a weaker position. Readers who prefer books with multiple sequels may disagree on this issue and should probably add one star to my rating.

"Black Powder War" is an entertaining read and pleasant escape, though perhaps not worth keeping on your shelf after. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed The Hero Strikes Back or Forged Without Fire: A Champion for Catlover or perhaps The Hawk Eternal (A Novel of the Hawk Queen).

I have enjoyed this series thus far. The mixing of fantasy and real world 19th century history works better than I first believed. There are plenty of rich details about the life of the dragons and their riders as well as the society. The only problem I have with these novels is that they seem to follow the "Mercedes Lackey" school of plotting: big action in the beginning then a long, slow middle, with all the various plotlines resolved too quickly in the last 40 pages. With each of the novels I have had to backtrack over the last 2 chapters or so just to figure out what was going on. I will still read any further release in the series though as they are absorbing reads.

I gave this book four stars, but almost gave it five. Four and a half stars would probably be what I'd say it deserves.

Like in the two previous books, there is adventure, character development, and occasional humor. But it didn't quite drive me like the first two did.

The first time I read this book, I would not have considered five stars at all, it would have had three or four. I re-read it, however, and I liked it better after I did (perhaps because when re-reading I can skip over the least interesting parts, but I did not do a whole lot of skipping.)

The journey across the desert was interesting, but didn't interest me enough. The long wait in Istanbul was almost as frustrating for me as for the characters. The worst was the section promised by the title, near the end of the journey, when Laurence and Temeraire join the Prussians in their war against the French--again, almost as frustrating and depressing for me as for the characters.(I suppose this could be a good writing technique to get you to connect with the caracters, lol ;) After that, however, it does improve, (*small spoiler*) with the hatching of Iskierka, who had me laughing out loud over and over at her antics.

If you read and liked the first two books in the series, give this one a try, it is very good, and promises of better things to come.

Not bad. I rate this one between the first book (which was excellent) and the second (which was dull).

It's good to see Novik bring her characters back to the Napoleonic Wars -- which I, at least, was desperate for her to do by the middle of the second book. Istanbul is a fascinating city, and I was glad she gave us a little peek, since it is so commonly overlooked by other SF/F writers as an inspiration (one notable exception being Guy Gavriel Kay). Novik also does an impressive job discussing various key events from early in the course of Napoleon's military career, such as the Battle of Jena, and I liked the new characters of Tharkay and the various new dragons quite well.

However, I'm still not crazy about her colon-laden prose style: she has a tendency to link too many clauses together this way: sometimes, indeed often, not particularly grammatically either: it can get old, if you're paying attention; very old.

Also, I'm not sure I want her to recreate the Napoleonic Wars so much as reimagine them in such a way as to entertain and interest me. Her scholarship is great; it's her plotting that I think needs some tinkering, because frankly, confronted with paragraph after paragraph of armies plodding around, I begin to skim. In this I am reminded of the later Jean Auel books, which similarly show off the author's considerable research, but do so by talking a great deal about plants. Plants, I must say, are not Auel's selling point, and neither is military history Novik's.

Finally, I really think she's chasing a thematic will o' the wisp with the continuing exploration of dragon liberty and its relationship to slavery. This theme emerges so often, it feels like she is trying to allude to something in today's world, but what that might be I can't imagine, and without a real-world link it just seems forced.

The most obvious parallel would seem to be the way our culture systematically butchers animals for food, but that particular idea Temeraire seems to endorse very cheerfully -- well, as long as he has his special chef Gong Su to make sure the butchered animals taste good enough for his palate. Even the stereotypically noble horse, hero of a thousand Westerns, makes for a tasty dinner if Novik's enlightened philosopher-dragon is feeling a bit peckish. So where Novik thinks she's going with this dragon/slaves thing, I have no idea.

When I first came across Naomi Novik's three-volume Temeraire series, I naturally assumed that she had written a trilogy. Maybe she'd find a way to spin out the series into later novels, but I assumed that there would be the classic trilogy story-arc.

I was utterly wrong.

"Black Powder War" is an entertaining yet informative story-builder of a novel that is so necessary in a great series. I say "story-builder" because even though "BPW" has its own storyline, it clearly fits into a larger whole and the majory storyline moves along its arc but does not reach any resolution on any important point. Check out Patrick O'Brian's wonderful Aubrey-Maturin series for several examples of this type of book - it's clear Novik is well-acquainted with O'Brian in more ways that just the Napoleonic era.

"BPW" opens with Temeraire and his beloved Captain Laurence still in China. Laurence has foiled a murder attempt and killed his Chinese enemy in the bargain. This earns the undying hatred for both Laurence and Temeraire of the Chinese albino dragon Lien, who is the ultimate villain in the series. She swears ghastly revenge against Temeraire - a vengeance that will leave Temeraire lonely and bereft by the sea, pining away for everything that he once loved . . . for Lien will have destroyed it all.

Laurence and Temeraire receive orders to fly at once to the Middle East to take possession of three dragon eggs purchased at great cost from a Sultan by England. So the first part of the "BPW" consists of a long travelogue through the wilderness of Asia. Laurence and Temeraire have many adventures, including an entertaining introduction to feral dragons.

Betrayed by the Sultan, Laurence and Temeraire cannot just grab the eggs and head home. From here, "BPW" leans toward despair, as Laurence and Temeraire find themselves outwitted and outfought, first by the Sultan and his cronies, and then by Napoleon's juggernaut.

A long book, "BPW" has plenty of action but is not an "action-packed thriller." Novik is a patient writer, and you must allow these books to unfold in their own time. Your patience will be rewarded in spades, however.

I bought the book originally because I read that Peter Jackson of The Lord of The Rings fame had bought the film rights to the series. The book and indeed the series are very easy reading and would appeal to anyone interested in this fantasy genre though if you are looking for anything particularly clever or challenging, look elsewhere. All in all I think it will make a better film than a book.