The noble dragon Temeraire and the people who support him are elements in this engaging novel, the first of a series, and I look forward to more books about Temeraire. ( )

I would give this a 4/5 stars. It is a fun read but nothing too deep ( )

The Napoleonic Wars - with dragons. This is a pretty awesome read, both as a work of fantasy and as historical fiction.

Summary: What would the Napoleonic Wars be like if there were dragons? Captain William Laurence of the Navy captures a French ship only to discover that they have a dragon’s egg aboard. The egg hatches and the dragon Temeraire bonds himself to Laurence, so Laurence forsakes the naval life to undergo training as a member of Britain’s aerial corps.

Review: The Time review for this book describes it as Jane Austen playing Dungeons & Dragons against Christopher Paolini, and I have to say that’s about as accurate a description as anyone can get. The tone of the book has an old-fashioned nineteenth century feel to it, which floored me because I am such a sucker for tone. As an English Lit major I’ve read books from this time period and while His Majesty’s Dragon doesn’t sound like them exactly, it rings truer than a lot of historical fiction I’ve read. It actually reminds me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, another fantasy novel set during the Napoleonic Wars that wrote in the style of the times, and I loved that book too.

His Majesty’s Dragon, in addition to being written well, is also well-researched. I believed not only the details about the naval life but also the details about the wars and the customs and even the food. Laurence acts like a man of his time should — he is scandalized by a woman wearing breeches, for example. Overall Novik has done an excellent job of recreating a particular era in history, and then she adds her own twist by adding dragons.

The dragons are really the winners here. Laurence himself is a likable if not particularly memorable character but the dragons like Temeraire and Levitas really made the book worth reading. The dragons have such fantastic personalities and that means a lot to me because I’m not normally a huge fan of the talking animals genre. I prefer humans to dragons, except in this case because while the humans are decent, the dragons are wonderful.

Some of the battles didn’t interest me, and I much preferred the first half of the book where Laurence and Temeraire begin their training to the latter, but in general His Majesty’s Dragon is quite enjoyable and charming.

Conclusion: A promising start to a series that manages to get me to like talking animals. ( )

His Majesty’s Dragon takes place during the era of the Napoleonic Wars, and Captain Will Laurence suddenly finds himself chosen to harness a very rare and valuable dragon that Britain desperately needs to add to its fighting ranks. Now, as Laurence and his dragon Temeraire become members of the aerial corps, they must prepare to do battle in the skies against Napoleon’s mighty forces.
The dragons in Novik’s novel are presented as highly intelligent, amiable creatures who enjoy close companionship with their captains. The growing relationship between Laurence and Temeraire is priceless. Far from being mere pets, however, these dragons are trained for battle. In an era without airplanes, the defense of the skies is guarded by the dragons and their surprisingly numerous crew members. Each dragon is almost like an airborne ship-of-the-line! I love how Novik combines the mythical and the historical is such a seamless fashion. She makes it all seem entirely plausible. I also appreciate that her main characters value integrity, duty, and loyalty, and yet remain compassionate throughout. The book’s ending will leave you wanting to know more and anxious for the next installment in this wonderful series. ( )