Customer Reviews

Empire of Ivory

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I must admit, I haven't been this thrilled over a fantasy series since, oh, it must be the early 1990's. But ever since the first book in Naomi Novik's series about an alternate Earth where the Napoleonic Wars have taken to the skies, I've been hooked. Enough to where I dived right into the latest release as soon as it landed on my doorstep (after, of course, finishing what I had in hand first).

I simply had to know what happened next!

Picking right up where Black Powder War left off, this novel opens with a literal bang, as Temeraire with the pack of feral dragons are fighting off a French raiding party off the coast of Scotland. After a year abroad dealing with wandering in deserts, thrust into the middle of a battle with Napoleon, and discovering a foe that is more than a match for Temeraire, all that the dragon and his gallant companion, Captain Will Laurence are looking for is a well-earned rest.

But dire news is awaiting them on the ground. A mysterious illness has swept through the coverts of England and Scotland, striking down dragons and their crews alike. Only a few have managed to survive, and worst still, if the French were to discover that England is virtually undefended, all could be lost. Temeraire is fortunate enough to be unaffected by the disease, but even a Celestial dragon can't protect all of Britain...

Now with several old friends, Temeraire and Laurence are off to Africa to find an elusive cure in a desperate bid against time. Arriving in Capetown, in southern Africa, isn't without a few twists either -- Laurence discovers that his friendship with the new Captain of the Allegiance is shattered beyond repair when an African freedman and his family join them, with an intent to be missionaries. Other complications are in store as well, as Laurence finds himself questioning the role of colonialism and slavery, scattered among the hunt for the elusive cure.

But once they find that vital ingredient, trouble decends quickly as Laurence, Catherine Harcourt, Emily Roland and the others find out that Africa isn't nearly as primitive as they think. A fabulous kingdom lays in its heart, protected by dragons who have forged a unique bond with their people, and other surprises await.

New characters are introduced as well, and one that I enjoyed in particular is Mrs. Erasmus, the missionary's wife, who is to play quite a role in the upcoming story. Intriguing too are the two young boys that Laurence and Temeraire encounter as well with their very talented dog. It's a feature that I like about Novik's story so far, that she can take our preconcieved notions and twist them entirely into something new, without making it all too unbelievable.

She also isn't shy about showing bigotry and racism in all of their ugly twists. While happily, she doesn't dwell overly long on this, they do play an important part in the story, and when the novel builds to the climax where Laurence is questioning the morality of his superiors, the reader is going to find themselves wondering how all of this is going to be resolved. What this does, naturally, is to make the characters of Laurence and Temeraire all the more interesting, and keeps them from the trap that engulfs too many novelists -- that of making their heroes a touch too perfect.

By gum, I love it when authors get gutsy and daring with their work. The only real downside to this story is that I'm going to have to wait until 2008 when the next novel is due to be released. And I suspect that I'm not going to be the only reader left wondering what will happen next. For those who like their adventure novels to be packed full of thrills and a breakneck pace, this is one that you can really sink your teeth into. Be warned that several scenes in this novel are rather brutal in the content, and Novik isn't shy about character death either. I also urge the reader to go back and read the series in order if they haven't yet -- there isn't any sort of synopsis or guide, and a great deal of the interplay and knowledge relies on what happens in the first three books.

Four and half stars, boldly rounded up to five.

Heartily recommended.

I have really enjoyed this series, and I liked this book a great deal. It ends with one heck of a cliffhanger. It has been taking a lot of hits in reviews because of that, and I have to admit my reaction when I got to the end was "How long am I going to have to wait to find out what happens?" But - don't let the cliffhanger keep you from snapping up this book.

One of the things I have liked best about the series is Temeraire's personality. He's altruistic and childish, brilliant and naive, in equal measures and very straightforward, never hesitating to speak his mind when he thinks some wrong needs to be righted. He thinks people should pay attention to his arguments because they are Right, not because he's a dragon the size of a battleship who could do them considerable harm if they cross him. A major sub-plot running through all the books is the maturing of his understanding of how the world works, and how to make changes in a world that's not perfect. It's both a loss of innocence and a coming of age thing and Novik does a nice job of handling it.

Will Laurence, on the other hand, is a mature Naval Officer when we meet him. He's not jaded, but he's seen the way the world really works, which is different than the way it should work, and just accepts that difference as a fact of life. He is a good person, but very much a man of his time, and there are some things he just does not question. Temeraire's idealism has been breaking down some of his assumptions about the way the world should be, and the power people have to changes things, from the very start of their friendship. That comes to a head at the end of the book, which is what leads to the cliffhanger.

Because of the major psychological jump Laurence makes at the end of the book, the cliffhanger is the perfectly correct emotional break point for the plot.

Am I steamed I have to wait to find out what happens- Yes.
Do I think the cliffhanger ruins the book - Not at all.

This book is a fun read with lovable characters, like the previous Temeraire books, BUT (and it's a big one)--The author has written what I call a "string-along." Not much is going on in terms of moving along the story of the series. You're strung along, entertained, and then the author drops you off at the end without much of a conclusion.

In this book, unfortunately, the author leaves you with Laurence facing a major crisis, and IMO, that was a bad move. People are paying for this book, and they deserve more--not to be left hanging like that.

If I had known what this book would be like, I would have waited until next year to buy this book and the (inevitable) sequel. It feels like this series is drawing to a conclusion, anyway.

This was an excellent light read, and much more of the world was explored.

The issue is that Naomi Novik bit off a pretty hard cliffhanger. While her attempted style is to have some of the traditional taste for cliffhangers a la Dickens et al, I believe she unintentionally escalated the tension. People are best advised to wait for the next book first before purchasing this book.

The ending wasn't a bad place to stop, on face. The novel, though, had really changed character. Novik changes this from a parallel history with dragons to a much more alternative history axis. A major battle was dragged 15 years into the past, changed ethnic groups, and changed the pyhhric nature of the battle into a kind of massive Pearl Harbor. Also, the British does something that is different from the normal pace of the Napoleonic Wars, and well, there is now some thought as to how this will end.

It's not as if it hasn't always been a truly alternative history. Spain is a weak power, apparently having only control of Mexico. We don't really hear anything about the southern colonials, even though we hear about Halifax and the Dakotas. The Qing Empire doesn't exist, and more of a extended Ming empire is still around. The Incas are still around. So around the edges, this isn't a kind of magical version of history, like Harry Turtledove's rendition of WWII.

So in effect Novik has gotten her novel going to breakneck speed (and a very good ride it is!), only to crash at the end...

I read and enjoyed the preceding novels in the Temeraire series, but as the third one drew to a close I was starting to lose enthusiasm. This new and exciting volume in the series brought me back, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next one.

In the third volume of the series, the Napoleonic war and endless military action was increasingly dominating the story over the things that I found more interesting: the speculative history, in a parallel world where dragons existed; the education of a young dragon and his growing awareness of the injustice of his own situation; the parallels between slavery and the condition of dragons; the through and engaging presentation of the culture and manners and assumptions of the period. The battles are exciting but, at least for me, I was finding them a bit too much: like the descriptions of actual Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter series (that J.K. Rowling thankfully relegated to the background in the last few books) -- the first few are exciting but after a while I begin to feel I just want to know the outcome and move on with the story ... I know I may be in the minority on both of these fronts.

In any case, the latest edition has a lot more of exactly what I like from the series. A mysterious illness draws Temeraire and crew back to Africa for a longer and more dangerous visit, and along the way Temeraire's growing awareness of social and political matters forces Laurence to become more circumspect, to take a stand on issues about which he would prefer neutrality, and it gets him into heaps of trouble. British expansionism, and nationalistic appeals for unjust practices and military tactics, are seen as not the obvious goods they were sometimes taken to be. Slavery, sexism, colonialism, are all brought up as themes to be questioned in the course of the story -- and done so lightly and masterfully, similar to the ways in which J.K. Rowling deals with similar themes, and not with a heavy handed or moralizing approach that might be taken by lesser writers. I like novels to raise issues, but I don't like to be preached to by novelists, and Naomi Novik raises a wide range of issues in this novel without preaching and without losing track of an engaging set of events. This is definitely five star fantasy. I can't wait for the next one -- and given the dramatic ending of this volume the next one promises to begin in the thick of things.

Perhaps the best of an extremely engaging four books, except for the fact that it ended on a cliffhanger. I find that hard to forgive. But they are great reads, full of stirring battles and exotic locales (Africa and China and France, besides England) and the relationship between Temeraire the adolescent dragon and Laurence, his captain is tender and strong. Novik rings some elegant changes on the role of women (and female dragons) too.

This doesn't move the series along that much other than the resolution of the sickness story line. I'll be interested to see where the next one goes, but I'll look at it more closely before ordering it - which I hadn't done with previous iterations.

Empire of Ivory is the latest volume of what is informally called "the Dragon Riders of Britannia" and, like the previous three, is a joy to read. The premise of the series is that dragons exist and coexist with humans. It is the height of the Napoleonic Wars and the great battles which are fought on land and sea are also fought in the air with each combatant nation deploying squadrons of dragons.

The changes that have been wrought are subtle, mainly having to do with dragons being a great equalizer between European countries and countries, such as China, which fell under European domination in our time line. For instance, the history of the slave trade takes an unexpected turn when an African kingdom shows up with its own dragons. There is reference to an Incan country, apparently unmolested by the Spaniards.

The great dragon Temeraire and his rider, Captain Will Laurence (a man with a far greater social consciousness than Hornblower or Aubrey), are faced with a crisis as a mysterious plague sweeps through the dragons upon which Britain depends for her defense. Their quest for a cure takes them to unexpected places, but in geography and in the human (and dragon) heart. Meanwhile, Napoleon and his undefeated legions await across the Channel.

There's loads of historical detail, with appearances by such people as Admiral Nelson (having survived Trafalgar) and the great reformer Wilberforce. The story, with the before mentioned cliffhanger, makes one aching for the next volume.

While I was floored with the original book, by the time I got to the fourth I was ready to be put down.

The first Book was a screaming romp in the lines of O'Brian and a vigorous page turner. I've always been a fan of the Napoleonic era, and the concept of adding Dragons into the spin! What fun! But by the time I got to this one... sigh. The fun was dead.

I feel this installment to be the best of the series so far. Most of the main themes are expanded upon, characters are further defined, the war progresses, and the entire alternate world begins to take shape as a whole.

This book, I feel, answers many questions you probably have after the previous book such as:
- How do other cultures around the world interact with dragons
- What has happened to the other British dragons and captains?
- How strong is the captain/dragon bond?
- How are relations between Navy and Ariel Corps when it really comes down to it?
- Plus others, but I don't want to point out spoilers

If you thought Throne of Jade and Black Powder War were more of setup books for the overall plot this installment will satisfy your questions and need for some action.