TEMERAIRE: Throne of Jade [Import] [Paperback]

Naomi Novik (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins/Voyager (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007219148
• ISBN-13: 978-0007219148
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I'm a New Yorker who writes about Napoleonic-era England, China, Istanbul, and, oh yes, dragons. My official website is at www.temeraire.org, and my livejournal there is the best way to reach me -- I am sporadic about updating and responding to comments because everything else slides when I am on a roll with writing, but I read everything posted there and always love to hear any and all comments from readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than its predecessor!, May 30, 2006

By 

Nichola F "Fay" (Egypt) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Novik succeeds admirably in creating a novel which follows on neatly where 'Temeraire' (US title 'His Majesty's Dragon') left off - and yet which could be read very satisfyingly as a stand-alone by anyone who had not read the previous tale. I was very impressed by the elegance and clarity with which she provided the whole 'Previously, on Temeraire' information in the first few pages without ever resorting to obvious expositiony tactics. The opening scene drops us into the thick of things and immediately wins the reader over to worrying about the future for Lawrence and Temeraire, and when they *are* reunited - well, I for one was quite choked, and rooting for them, and wanting to *punch* the wretched idiots who were treating them both so badly. And the story had barely begun, at that point.

Other reviewers will tell you that Novik evokes an alternative history with verve and clarity through her attention to period detail, and they're right. They may also praise the fascinating way that she envisions her dragons (and similar beasts) interacting with humans, whether in Europe, at Sea, in Africa or in China. And they're right too - she gives us thoroughly intriguing and carefully considered glimpses into this unprettified fantasy world, and raises real questions about how humans would interact with other sentient beings - and how they do interact with other people.

But the thing that I enjoy most about both 'Temeraire' and 'Throne of Jade' is how very rounded and real and touching are the relationships that Novik delineates. Most obviously being that between Lawrence and Temeraire - but all the interpersonal dynamics are interesting and well observed, and it is this, perhaps even more than the marvellously detailed evocation of naval life or the aerial corps, that really breathes life and soul into the books. Certainly there is an interesting plot full of swashbuckling at sea and political machinations; certainly there are fire-breathing dragons and peril and bravery and all that jazz, and there's even a dash of sex. But the heart of the novel, and its predecessor, is the relationship between Lawrence and Temeraire, and how this relationship shapes and changes them both.

Look, just stop dithering, and buy the bloody thing already! It's a Very Good Book Indeed.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first., January 2, 2008

By 

Peter Shermeta (Rochester, MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am through two books of the series and I am conflicted. I mentioned after His Majesty's Dragon that I love Naomi Novik's dragons. While that still holds true, I now wonder how much, if at all, I truly love the rest of the story.

Throne of Jade is over 400 pages long and I felt like very little happened for the first (roughly) 300 pages. Once it was time for the few important events to take place, they happened so abruptly I wondered if they were as important to the story as they seemed that they should be.

Ms. Novik brought dragons into our world in the first book and here she broadened our horizons with a look at dragons from the far ends of the Earth. I will continue to read the series, at least for now. But I am beginning to wonder if it is the idea that I love and not its execution. It may become difficult to get through what is now already a five-book series if I cannot get excited about what happens on dragonless pages.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A very disappointing sequel to an excellent first book, November 21, 2006

By 

Elkensteyin (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I truly enjoyed "His Majesty's Dragon", the first book of the series. I eagery started the second book, and ended up forcing myself to have to finish the book. I will agree with most observations that the development of Tereraire is very good in this book. Unfortunately, it seems that the author forgot about the main human character in the book, Laurence. The problem is, is that Laurence started out as a Captain of a Royal Navy Ship, and served for more than three years, yet for all of that, his character appeared to be as green as a raw recruit in everything in this book except the single fight scene. I felt that he was immature and had almost no common sense in this book, which is completely at odds with his character in the first book. True, this is more of a diplomatic area than wartime, and I could forgive a little uncertainty on his part, yet it just seemed like less thought was put into his character development than in Temeraire's.