The Temeraire (His Majesty's Dragon, etc) Series.

[Skadi]

The Temeraire series, by Naomi Novik, is basically a retelling of the Napoleonic wars but with a twist: dragons actually exist and are breed and trained for aerial combat. Mind you that these creatures are not stupid because of this, though; While some can display the wit of a peppy valley girl, most of them are relatively intelligent. I was worried that the dragons would be a bit dull witted and not very fleshed out compared to the human characters, but this series hasn't suffered that fate at all.

Here's a brief summary of the first novel (His Majesty's Dragon) for those who haven't heard of it for more info:

Publishers Weekly

In this delightful first novel, the opening salvo of a trilogy, Novik seamlessly blends fantasy into the history of the Napoleonic wars. Here be dragons, beasts that can speak and reason, bred for strength and speed and used for aerial support in battle. Each nation has its own breeds, but none are so jealously guarded as the mysterious dragons of China. Veteran Capt. Will Laurence of the British Navy is therefore taken aback after his crew captures an egg from a French ship and it hatches a Chinese dragon, which Laurence names Temeraire. When Temeraire bonds with the captain, the two leave the navy to sign on with His Majesty's sadly understaffed Aerial Corps, which takes on the French in sprawling, detailed battles that Novik renders with admirable attention to 19th-century military tactics. Though the dragons they encounter are often more fully fleshed-out than the stereotypical human characters, the author's palpable love for her subject and a story rich with international, interpersonal and internal struggles more than compensate. (Apr.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

And here's an excerpt. It is a bit slow, though, compared to when Laurence begins his training in the Aerial Corps (majority of the book), in my opinion.

Peter Jackson has also recently acquired the rights to turn the series into films, but hasn't (or as far as I've found, anyway) as of yet started the project and is finishing up some other things first. I was pretty excited when I heard about that as much as some people dislike him, but I really can't think of any casting choices I'd like to see. Which is weird.

Empire of Ivory (book 4) is also finished and now available for purchase!

Websites:
Interview with Peter Jackson concerning His Majesty's Dragon
Temeraire.org
Temeraire wiki
Naomi's livejournal

Please remember to be considerate of each other in this thread. whee If you know of any websites that are useful and should be added to the website listing, feel free to link it and I'll take a look.

[Skadi]

Boo! I know a few of you folks that have read these books are out there.

When the time comes, I wonder how much the fanbase will skyrocket due to publicity from the films.

[Skadi]

Shameless bump.

[HypolitaTheNinjaPriestess]

Oh my gosh! I LOVE His Magesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, and The Black Powder War! Did you know that the next one, Empire of Ivory is coming out in August?

[Skadi]

HypolitaTheNinjaPriestess

Oh my gosh! I LOVE His Magesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, and The Black Powder War! Did you know that the next one, Empire of Ivory is coming out in August?

Nah, I actually didn't know that. I knew Naomi finished it, but I couldn't find what month it was slated to be released last time I checked. Sweet! xd

[Daumier]

Does it get better after the first book? I really wanted to love His Majesty's Dragon, but to be honest I found it boring. Nothing about the characters or story or writing drew me in at all. It was all sort of stale and wooden. The addition of dragons should've been cool, but they were like talking flying robots. The book has almost completely good reviews on Amazon though, even if you were to start at the lowest ratings, so I suppose I'm either missing something or just crazy.

[Vanya Karamazov]

Yes, I'm actually in the first third of the first one right now. I just have to say that I absolutely loved the first sentence of the novel:

Quote:

The deck of the French ship was slippery with blood...

I don't know, it just made an impression on me, especially since she goes on to talk about the ocean. The fact that it was slippery with blood and not with water, which is the thing you would have predicted was coming next from the beginning of the sentence, just creates a more powerful image in the opening scene, and introduces the idea of irony and twists early on in the novel.

But I'm only in the first third or so of the novel, so I can't really say much else. I have the day off tomorrow ( heart 4laugh ) so I'll probably finish it.

[HypolitaTheNinjaPriestess]

Has anyone read the preview of the fourth book that's at the end of the third one?

[Egyptopy]

You know, I just haven't been able to get into the first book. For some reason I always pick it up, read through the first chapter, and put it down again. I really want to read it, but I can tell that it's going to take some work for me to get past the beginning.

[Maeba Kyoufu]

I only recently found these books, but they are indeed fabulous. Dragons/mythical creatures have always been a great love of mine, as well as ancient history, and this fits the bill perfectly!

I have to say, I did quite my fair share of cooing over Temeraire though. I mean, a black, divine-wind-blowing dragon; how cool is that? I'd love to find one of those!

On another note...August you say? Awesome, thats just a month and a half! That's very good, I can't wait for it to come out. And a movie? We'll see how that goes, I guess, but I'll remain hopefull.

[The Leading Player]

I absolutely adore these books! I really hope that Peter Jackson gets around to making a movie, because if he does it, it'll be great. I really really really hope the newest one is coming out in August!

[njh117]

i love all those books i just finished the third one. i read the preveiw four the fourth and dang that is definetly one heck of a turn of a events.

[Skadi]

Egyptopy

You know, I just haven't been able to get into the first book. For some reason I always pick it up, read through the first chapter, and put it down again. I really want to read it, but I can tell that it's going to take some work for me to get past the beginning.

I'd skip the first few chapters if you're that curious. You can always go back later and trudge through it if the rest of the books suits your fancy. 3nodding

Maeba Kyoufu

I only recently found these books, but they are indeed fabulous. Dragons/mythical creatures have always been a great love of mine, as well as ancient history, and this fits the bill perfectly!

I have to say, I did quite my fair share of cooing over Temeraire though. I mean, a black, divine-wind-blowing dragon; how cool is that? I'd love to find one of those!

On another note...August you say? Awesome, thats just a month and a half! That's very good, I can't wait for it to come out. And a movie? We'll see how that goes, I guess, but I'll remain hopefull.

Aye. I found him to be quite cute. whee Especially when his own abilities surprise even himself and how curious he is.

I'm not completely sure what I think of the movie myself yet, other than being insanely curious. Despite some rep the LotR movies have, they're probably still some of the better book-to-movie films. But that might not necessarily happen here. I guess the best move is to not expect anything if Jackson falls through and doesn't change his mind about bringing the series to the big screen.

[Arana Kamina]

Yay! Finally a topic about the Temeraire series! I love those books! I only bought the trilogy a few months ago, and I've already read the first one 3 times cause I like it so much! whee I can't wait 'til forth one comes out! 4laugh

[Ditzyqueen_94]

hey everyone