Customer Reviews

Tongues of Serpents: A Novel of Temeraire

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

Unfortunately, this series seems to be in a bit of a decline, at least for me as a reader.

I read fantasy voraciously, and I'm normally a huge fan of fiction (historical and otherwise) set in this era, from Jane Austen to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels, etc.

The first novel in this series, His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1), I really enjoyed and respected -- it managed to mix fantasy elements with the historical setting in a way seemed believable and real. The most difficult thing to do in historical fiction, and especially in cross-genre historical fiction/fantasy, is to make the novel "come to life" *in the historical setting* ( a trick that only a rare few other authors have managed), to make the book read like an authentic period account.

The problem, as this series has continued, is that the character's actions have lost their ground -- I no longer feel like I'm reading a story with characters who were alive in the 18th and 19th centuries. I feel like I'm reading a story that has a bunch of modern characters in fancy dress. The moral decisions the characters make are based on modern values and modern frameworks, not period ones; the political concerns that appear to drive these later novels ( "what if dragons had meant there wasn't any imperialism or colonialism?")are concerns that almost continually force the reminder that the books are written by a modern author.

This latest volume continues that trend. The human characters just don't seem to act in a way that comes across as a realistic representation of british officers from that era -- they come across instead (the lead human character especially) as a modern individual in a period uniform. By this point in the series -- transported to Australia and finding themselves at odds with even those there as well -- he's coming very close to rejecting the worldview and value-system of his entire society, in a way that just isn't realistically believable, at least to this reader.

If that lack of period voice doesn't bother you, though, you might find this book entertaining enough. Be prepared for a plot that's a fair bit "girlier" (for lack of a better term) than the earlier novels -- the dragons seem to spend a much greater amount of time worrying about what they and their handlers are wearing, for example, than actually getting into battles of any kind, and most of the drama and tension in the novel involves a lost dragon egg. But if the above concerns aren't a problem for you, and you liked the last few books, you might find it worth reading this one as well, just to continue the story.

EDIT: After thinking about this for a while -- I really did *want* to like this book -- I think a large part of my dissatisfaction might be due to this series having made a subtle genre shift, from "historical fiction" to "alternate history" (if that distinction makes sense). The first few books were set in, and bound by, and "real" within the context of, a specific historical era (Regency/Napoleonic). By this point in the series, however, things have veered so far away from that setting -- not just in terms of historical events, but also in terms of the primary character's own mental landscapes -- that, for me at least, that sense of "reality" and believability has been lost. This may be my own personal flaw as a reader, and it may seem a silly criticism to level against a book with, you know, Dragons in, but whatever the cause, this series just isn't as enjoyable for me as it was initially. If you're more a fan of alternate history than I am, you might like this.

I'll spare you the summary of the book in this review and just get down to brass tacks. I'm a fan of the series (some books a little more than others) and love its premise, but was highly disappointed in this installment. This was especially upsetting coming off of the excitement and trial of Victory of Eagles. Tongue of Serpents had virtually no action, with an extremely dry, drawn-out, and boring (approximately 200 pages) chase across the Australian outback. For the first time in the series, I started skimming whole pages just to get to something interesting. Even the characters lacked substance and interest (including the new dragons).

There seemed to be sparks of plot development that could have been followed to make the story more engaging (e.g., the possible Letter of Marque and privateering for Laurence and Temeraire; engaging with Jia Zhen for opening greater trade in the port of Larrakia with China; developing some kind of relationship with the sea serpents; or even allowing Laurence to work some of his aggression out on Rankin). Unfortunately, this book seemed to be a calculated attempt to extend the series and set conditions for further installments. While a shrewd marketing plan, after waiting more than a year and a half for this book, I felt cheated as a fan. I'm also getting a little tired of how meek Laurence has become after being such a force to be reckoned with in earlier books.

If you're a fan of the series, you'll probably want to suffer through the book just so you feel complete for the next installment. But I urge you to wait for it to come out in paperback or at least get it from your local library to save the wholly unjustified $25 hardcover price.

I expect the next book to be better and truly hope that Laurence and Temeraire start displaying and engaging in acts of a little more action and excitement. I just wish I didn't have to wait another year and half for something that should have been present in this book.

I am a HUGE fan of this series, but am SO disappointed in this novel. It was actually boring. I was ready for the characters to interact with foreign dragons and native people. There was little of both. The story seemed to just plod along and at the end, I wondered where the rest of the book was. The characters in this book are great, but I found most of the story boring. There didn't seem to be a lot of meat to the book. I still hold out hopes for the next book, but now the long wait starts again.....

Before purchasing, I should have noted that the book is only 288 pages. This isn't a book, it's a novella at best. That said, for what it is, it's fine. There just isn't a book in there anywhere. The ending just drops into the middle of a paragraph and blam, it's done. Very disappointing read--it meandered around and got nowhere, and just when I thought it was getting somewhere, it ended without warning. Not at all what I have come to expect from the Temeraire series. It took only about 4 hours to read, very unsatisfying for the money.

I love this series but this book fails miserably on it's own. Some people say it is setting up for future books in the series but I think it is a long winded begining to the next book. One person commented that it could be summed up in one paragraph, likewise I think it could be the first chaper of the real book. It sets up story lines and characters and monsters and dragons, but nothing comes from meeting them and it just sort of ends it what seems to be the build up to something good.

Honestly it seems to me the author couldn't meet her deadline so took what she had, add some more flying and eating, and said here publish this!

I still look forward to the next one but wish they had saved this for the intro to the next, guess they just want my money.

This book should be renamed: How to Cook Kangaroo and Boil Water in the Australian Outback.

Now, if that seems like your cup of tea, then by all means please read it. However, I will guess that most of you, such as myself, have to read this anyways because we enjoyed the previous novels, and were anxiously waiting for this one to come out.

I really think the reviews that gave this book 4 or 5 stars are basically looking at this book irrationally, because they love the series, and did not judge the book on its own.

There is nothing new in this book, it is mainly about cooking kangaroo and looking for water. I am not kidding. There is a definite lack of plot, and the plot that it does have proceeds very, very slowly. There is also almost no action.

I realize that this is a filler book to a more dynamic future book, but, this entire book could have been contained in one paragraph. Yes, just one paragraph. You would miss nothing at all to just read a synopsis. I am so extremely disappointed in this novel I would give it 0 stars if I could. I have loved the other books, but I think this one was of such extreme poor quality that it should not have even been written.

I realize that this will be disappointed for the fans who read this review, as well as the author if she happens to see it. I would like to mention, therefore, that I fully believe the next book in the series will be a ton better and I fully anticipate it being the type of novel this one should have been. In the meantime though, unless you are a fanatic for the series, just skip this book and wait for the next one to come out.

This is by far the most disappointing of the Temeraire series. It's the sixth book, and Novik is definitely running out of steam (or else on autopilot now that Peter Jackson has optioned the series...either way, NOT GOOD when you have three books left to write).

This latest installment finds Laurence and Temeraire banished to the far side of the world (i.e. the fledgling British colony in Australia). Lots of nothing happens, some eggs hatch, more nothing, then a brief skirmish with some sea serpents, the end. I really don't even see the point of this book. The story doesn't progress in any way, nor do the characters. Laurence in particular seems to be in a trance throughout the entire 288 pages (and what's with that? the last book was 100 pages longer...although a hundred more pages of this drivel probably would have melted my brain). The only thing I did find interesting was the introduction of the bunyip, a nasty creature native to the continent (if only it had eaten all the other characters, then we could start fresh in book 7).

In short, I found this to be incredibly dull and boring - and I am a huge fan of the series. Total fail.

I have been following the Temeraire series after purchasing the 3 book collection In the Service of the King on a whim. I enjoyed the previous installments (some more than others) but knew going into this one this isn't fine art just passable Pop-fiction and indeed it has been enjoyable up till now. This installment is BORING, the plot is essentially a framing device. It starts in the british penal colony of Australia in the port town of Sydney which was kind of bland in execution even the fist fight was just blah. The middle part and the vast majority of the book consists of wasteland-wandering in the outback where descriptions of cooking kangaroo and Temeraire's increasing effeminacy (seems just too worried about Laurence's clothes, in fact all of the dragons including the new ones just seemed overly concerned about their captains' status and clothes while simultaneously starving and dying of exhaustion) abound, and the latter third part which is the most interesting part of the book save for the non-ending probably intended as a cliff-hanger. It wasn't it just sucked. The endless and ultimately pointless wandering reminded me of almost the exact same scene in another dreadful book, Eragon. This book just seemed not only a "money-grab" or a way to write off an Australian weekend for the author but a lazy introduce-new-characters-for-the-next-slow-moving-installment. This book could've been condensed greatly with more action and adventure (the lame bunyip-dragon-snakes did not add anything) in it mayhap even some character development (it was that boring) as Temeraire and Laurence seem hardly changed from the last book!
I actually advance-ordered this, needless to say I'll wait awhile for a mass of reviews to pile up before I even contemplate buying the next one.

I read all previous books in this series within a day of purchasing it. But, it took me nearly a week to finish Tongues of Serpents. I love the Temeraire series but I hate this book. The meandering and slow pace of Laurence's journey was equally agonizing for the novel's characters as well as for the reader. Really, the middle majority of Naomi's newest novel could be completely truncated. No one would be the wiser.

The action sequences are lacking and the characters become stagnant. Where is Temeraire's raw strength and fury that turns the tide of an entire battle? And his independent and enjoyable nature? All of the best side characters and dragons are in England and make no appearance in this novel, which is set in Australia.

Please, if you haven't done so already, read all the stories previous to this. They are all absolutely excellent.

Tongues of Serpents does not do the series any justice. Please, skip this book entirely

I waited years for this book and having just finished it I am stunned at how bad it was. There are times authors and movie makers throw something together to make a buck, this is such a book. Shame on mrs Novak for thinking such a poor collection of words would be blindly accepted by her fans shame again on the publishers for letting such a beast of a book to be published. Three quarters of it traveling across the desert with sniping, complaining dragons, poorly behaving officers, irrational violence and then poof they arrive a chapter of bliss and poof they are back Cross the continent in three pages. Do not bother with this book if you like the series you will be disappointed. I cannot express how bad this book was, their reviewers had it right the series is failing and not worth the time nor your money, go reread the first book again you will enjoy it more.