I have read different reviews about this author's writing. Some say it’s not up to par - no character development or not enough, or just lacking. Then there are those that say the complete opposite. With character development, I'd say its right down the middle...But. Putting it simply, the character development is perfect for how this book is written as a whole. Why? Well, as I see it; this book is about the story. It’s just enjoyable. If you like dragons, and if you like historical fiction, you should like this book. However, if you are looking for "adult" fiction, you'll be disappointed. No romance and no sex, no why's and why not's, no good vs. evil, no specific narrator except for the author - it’s just a story.

I'm happy that I made the leap and purchased this book. Temeraire is captivating. A historical fantasy of the European conflict during Napoleon’s reign as the setting ... with Dragons! Dragons that can talk and reason, Dragons that are so big they are used as flying ships, Dragons that have different weapons built in defining their specific breed. Loved it! ( )

His Majesty's Dragon - (read & reviewed as individual book - review copied here) OK, I'm slow, that's all. This is another one that was recommended by various people and I was rejecting it; I found it in a book sale and decided to take a chance on it. They also had the third book in the series, but not the second, so I just got the first one. Took it home, read it - wow. I've now ordered the omnibus from SFBC because I want to own all of them! This is a magnificent book - a good story, a very well realized universe, great characters who change rapidly and reasonably over the course of one book...This is a first novel? Wow.
Throne of Jade - I'd read about half of it several weeks ago in a bookstore (shortly after I read His Majesty's Dragon), but I finally got the omnibus and finished the story. I'd read most of the trip; this time I read from their arrival in Macao to the end. Pretty good ending - it tied up a lot of loose ends. But oddly I felt that the climax wasn't much of one - Temeraire was involved, but Laurence really wasn't, and the end was really just an accident. But it solved (almost) everything, and the opposition just (apparently) melted away...I guess it's hard to have a really clear victory when you've been fighting smoke and shadows. I didn't realize that _was_ the climax and the solution until the book ended. Which doesn't make it a bad book, just...perhaps a trifle less satisfying than it might have been otherwise. Didn't slow me down, I started the next book right away.
Black Powder War - Still good and interesting, but I'm not a Napoleonic Wars buff. I hope the next book has more dragons and less war. This one feels like a fanboy event - that is, I'm sure it has all kinds of neat relationships to what happened in the real world. But as I haven't a clue what happened in the real world, it's not much fun. ( )

I can't say enough about how much I enjoy these stories. I found myself comparing the prose to Master and Commander and while not trying in any way to compare these two authors I really enjoyed the imagery.

As an alternate reality to the Napoleanic War involving Dragons I found the story 'believable' and the characters all very separate and immensely enjoyable. ( )

His Majesty's Dragon -
We picked this as a group read in the Green Dragon.I was very pleasantly surprised reading it. I admit I was expecting something a bit more boring. Happy to say I was wrong. This reads like a 19th century Navel novel with a great feel for the time except dragons exist in this time line.

We start the book off on a French ship after it has just been taken. The French are carrying a large Dragon egg close to hatching which explains the valiant effort put forth by the crew to free themselves. The capturing ship is not close enough to the nearest safe port to make it before the egg will hatch. This leaves it up to one of the crew to become the dragon's handler. We follow the Dragon Temeraire and his handler learning about one another and training into the British aviation unit, and a battle or too in defense of Britain.

Throne of Jade (spoiler for His Majesty's Dragon)
The second book in this series started out good and became VERY BORING for a little over a third of the book. We start with a Chinese delegation showing up wanting Temeraire to be returned to them post-haste. The British government wants Laurence to comply and convince, lie or cheat Temeraire into going back with them and leave Laurence and England forever.

The first part ends with Laurence being dispatched with Temeraire to China and here is where the long boring part comes in. We spend a lot of time on the boat while it goes to China (which is fairly realistic) with Laurence getting PO'd at almost everyone on the boat at one time or another. The hardest part for me is Laurence has a VERY hard time thinking outside the box (which is also fairly realistic, but irritating none-the-less). After we get to China things finally start getting interesting again.

I believe the ship time was to bring in some things for both foreshadowing and seeds for character growth, but it still felt very slow to me. If your willing to go on to book number 3 it isn't a bad book and it is useful for plot elements continued and used in the next book (which so far is MUCH better).

Black Powder War -
This book was much better than the last one. Things are actually happening, and there is much more going on. Temeriare is refining his arguments on freeing the dragons in Europe and allow them to make their own way in the world. In the future books it might have some parallels to the women's suffrage movement.

Overall I've liked this trilogy a lot and the first and third books where much better than the middle. Hopefully the next book in the series is better yet! ( )

Well-written and absorbing historical fantasy with dragons. ( )