His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
Series: Temeraire
Genres: Fantasy, Alternate History, Fiction
Maturity Level: 3
View on Goodreads
Rating: ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆
Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
I always get so excited when I have a chance to re-read His Majesty’s Dragon. It’s a fun fusion of historical fiction and fantasy. It’s just as hard to go wrong with the Napoleonic Era as it is to go wrong with dragons. While not the most serious novel ever written, it is so much fun to read, which is why I’ve read it so many times now. Looking forward to seeing Temeraire and Lawrence next time I pick it up.
Never Not Reading 
Have you ever read “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell”? It’s also alternate Napoleonic Wars era. It feels as though it were written as a collaboration between Jane Austen and Charles Dickens as it is very character driven (to say nothing of very long). There are a slew of footnotes that give snippets of past history, folklore, and fairy tales from a variety of (fictional) sources. It tends to be a love-it-or-hate-it book because it is so unusual in style (personally, I love it).
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I’ll have to look into it! I think I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t know anything past the title.
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This book falls into the category of I bought it really wanting to read it and then I got distracted by other books…so I’ve had it for probably a couple years now and still need to read it.
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It’s so worth it! One of my favorite dragon books, and that’s saying something. 🙂
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With any luck I can squeeze it in this year. I know my scheduled reading for review will lighten up at the end of the year so I can read more stuff just because I want to (in like November and December).
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I also felt like this was a pretty light and quick read, so it should be easier to find time for!
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Good to know! I will keep that in mind if I find myself with a few hours of free reading time. 🙂
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