Things that are good about this book is that it is better than the last in the series. Things that are bad is I just don't think Novik gets the period. There are a great deal about the attention to detail of Napoleonic England, which of course if Georgian England that Novik doesn't understand.

She seems to have an Austenian wish, or to make her series more Austen then the fantasy world based on the wars. Austen, despite having brothers who served in the Navy and became admirals there, kept the war far from her books.

You wouldn't even know it was going on, even in Persuasion. So we go to the world of Temeraire and the entire war is turned upside down. Just not believable.

I could understand if all the battles that happened in the war, happened in her alternate universe with just the addition of dragons, but if dragons have been used for years, the course of the history of the planet would have changed prior to this war. There should not even have been a mad king George and Napoleon. And why do we need to see each? Wow.

Our hero is certainly someone who sees both of these, even with a sentence of death over his head. So what we are saying is that the story suffers from an absurdity in the plot. It also suffers from the use of language, where Novik tries hard to force her thoughts on how WWJD, or rather what would Jane write instead of do.

There are other great fallacies in the series, such as China being satisfied with its lot in life. China has never been satisfied with its lot in life. How nobles of the period respond to each other. There are a great many research pieces on the period, rather than thinking again WWJD.

Stay with this book to complete your reading of the series, but if you have not started the series, there are much better pictures of the Napoleonic Wars, even if they don't have a sentient sometimes 2 year old, and sometimes teenage dragon. ( )

A little disappointing for me. This is the fifth book in a new series I was excited to discover earlier in the year, and described to friends as the Napoleonic wars with dragons.

I was intrigued by the end of the last book, and thought that those developments might rekindle my interest. But I still can’t get into the story or the characters to the same extent as I could in earlier books - it's still a pleasant read, and seeing Temeraire learn about what it's like being a leader of 'men' (or dragons) is enjoyable, but it's not quite living up to the high hopes I had ... ( )

I'm still reading this and having a really hard time getting through, gonna set it down and pick it up again later to see if I have better luck. Right now I'm finding the pacing glacial and the modd quite depressing, hopefully it will live up to the previous books in the series. ( )

Summary: As this book opens, Temeraire is an unhappy resident of the breeding grounds, and his captain Will Laurence is in prison, awaiting death for treason, each of them held hostage as surety for the other's good behavior. Unfortunately for Britain, it is a bad time to have taken their most powerful dragon out of active service: Napoleon has successfully invaded England, and British forces are scattered, and forced to beat a hasty retreat. However, neither Laurence nor Temeraire are the sort to sit inactive while there's a war to be fought, and this time the stakes are higher than ever before... for they're fighting not only for their country and their homes, but also for their lives and their freedom.

Review: Action-wise, a lot less happens in this installment of the Temeraire series than in the previous few books. There's a lot more talking, a lot more military maneuvering, and a lot more tiny skirmishes (plus one blow-out of a book-ending battle) in this one, and less of the constant (if episodic) adventure that characterized Black Powder War, for instance. Given my general dislike for military strategy and big battle scenes, you might think that this would cause me to dock the book some serious points. Novik, however, has cleverly figured out a way to keep even me interested in military strategy and troop movements: make one of those troops entirely out of captain-less dragons... and put Temeraire in charge of it.

Temeraire's so charming and intelligent that I think we tend to forget he's only a few years old, and watching him grow up and mature piece by piece is one of the pleasures of this series. In this case, watching him have to simultaneously accept the consequences of his and Laurence's choices at the end of Empire of Ivory and accept the responsibility that comes with a leadership position was fascinating, and further cemented Temeraire's place as one of the best dragons out there.

This book also kept up Novik's amazing trick of writing in period style while keeping it easy to read, and even though it wasn't all-action-all-the-time, it was still very absorbing, and pulled me through the book at a good clip. Overall, while Victory of Eagles does mark a change in tone and plotting style from previous books, it's not an unwelcome change, and once again, the book ends promising interesting adventures to come. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: I can't imagine anyone getting to the end of Empire of Ivory and not immediately wanting to read the next one, so of course this book is recommended. The series as a whole is also obviously recommended to fantasy fans, and suggested to historical fiction fans who are willing to dabble a little outside of their comfort zone. ( )

A great entry in the Temeraire series -- the best, I think, since [His Majesty's Dragon]. The choices made by Will and Temeraire in the last book have devastating consequences for both them and England, and although the book ends with a victory, those consequences are not thereby wiped out. Will continues to be a thoroughly decent and likeable hero, while Temeraire is thankfully losing some of his childish naivete. Portraits of historical figures, particularly the Duke of Wellington, some interesting interaction among the dragons, and kickass battle scenes complete the pleasures of this book. ( )