Book Reviews
Jul. 13th, 2008 04:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
It is a rainy, miserable day, and I want to sleep until tomorrow. The fact I burned my left thumb cooking lunch does not help -- I took some painkillers, but I still can barely move it.
So, I really, really like the Temeraire series. I have a weakness for buddy pieces and animal-companion fantasy (hence my love of pet monster anime), and Temeraire has aspects of both. In a weird way, it also takes the animal-companion fantasy in a different direction than A Companion to Wolves by Elizabeth Bear and Sara Monette. While ACtW explores what it's like to be living close to something that is inhuman (an intelligent wolf), Temeraire addresses the social issues of having dragons -- intelligent, but not human -- in a society that is within the Enlightenment. The early 1800s were an interesting time after all -- the American and French Revolutions were bringing into question the notion of a hereditary nobility, the abolition movement was starting, the earliest seeds of civil rights. The Seneca Falls convention was still forty years in the future, but the seeds of feminism were still planted.
So, add in dragons, which, in Europe, were typically tamed by having them imprint on a dragon captain. If the dragon didn't take to it, or refused to serve in the military, he or she would be shipped off to a breeding colony, where s/he would be fed and housed and expected to produce eggs for the military. This was also what happened to the captured dragons -- as long as the dragon captain was held, the dragon could be kept on good behavior. Dragons mostly had loyalty to their captains -- they fought out of love of their captains and crews, not for any real concept of patriotism or for pay (they got room and board).
Enter Temeraire and William Laurence. Temeraire was a Chinese Celestial Dragon, sent across the sea as an egg for Napoleon Bonapart so that he would not interfere with the Imperial succession (the Emperor had to be both a member of the Imperial family and have a Celestial companion -- Temeraire's twin brother was the companion to the Crown Prince). Laurence was a British ship's captain who happened to capture the French ship Temeraire's egg was traveling on. Laurence was prepared to give up one of his crew to the British Air Corps -- a bit surprised when the only one Temeraire would take to was himself. So, we had two unlikely protagonists -- a gentleman captain thrown into a situation that made him uneasy and a highly intelligent dragon who often questioned why things were done the way they always were. The first book doesn't bring this up much, besides to note that Temeraire was very bright and inquisitive -- his favorite form of entertainment was to have Laurence read to him.
The second book is where the series really starts to shine. Here, Temeraire and Laurence agree to go to China because the Chinise government is Very Upset that Temeraire is stuck impressed in some barbarian army instead of at a king or emperor's right hand. On the way, Temeraire starts seeing more of the world outside of the covets where dragons and Air Corps live, and he starts asking why dragons are treated as little better than slaves, and don't have freedom of movement and pay and all the other things humans enjoy. At first Laurence is stuck with noting that humans are scared of dragons, and they really don't have any other choice. There's a lovely scene when they get to China and realize that the Chinese treat dragons the same as any other people -- there's still social stratification by family (with the Celestial and Imperial lines being high ranked, and most other dragons taking other jobs) -- but dragons wander the streets and work for pay, and decide if they wish to enlist in the army or not, and even choose their companions after they are educated. And, Laurence realizes that everything that he told Temeraire about humans and dragons was wrong, and that Temeraire would be much happier as a prince in China than a conscript-slave in Britain. Temeraire, on the other hand, sees China and asks 'Why can't we have this in Britain? I'm going to go back and help change things, because it's not fair to my friends to be stuck as they are while I'm treated like royalty.'
And that's why I enjoy the series -- since it's more to it besides 'Dragon Airforce in the Napoleonic Wars'. There's also that lovely question of social justice, and how people live with dragons, and the ideas that having dragons around changes the social landscape. The Chinese are able to enforce their own isolation for much longer, since they have their dragons. In Book Four, an African kingdom successfully repels the white slave traders from the country, thanks to their dragons, who are bound to the tribe by rituals meant to call down the spirits of deceased kings into unhatched dragons. (Whether it works or not, the humans and dragons believe it. And the dragons are quite willing to defend their kin.) It's also mentioned that the Inca kingdom is raising dragons and still giving the Spanish a hard time in South America. Which is nice -- it is alt-history, and nice to know that Naomi Novik is willing to change things to fit.
So, I just finished the most recent book... you might want to skip this if you want to be unspoiled for previous books.
So, at the end of Empire of Ivory, Laurence and Temeraire agree to commit treason to deliver a cure to a draconic plague to France -- Temeraire feeling that the lives of thousands of innocent dragons isn't worth victory of the war, and Laurence agreeing. Laurence then wishes to return to Britain, despite knowing he will be imprisoned or hanged for it, and Temeraire confined -- his own honor prevents him from staying in Europe, either as a French officer or a civilian. The book picks up several months later. Which I appreciate for two reasons. First, it give us a chance to see how dragons organize themselves on their own -- the breeding ground dragons are pretty much left to their own devices as long as they eat and mate and don't cause trouble. One of the dragons we meet, Percitia, is a mathematically inclined and quite clever dragon who refused to serve in the military because she didn't see the sense of getting shot up. Second, it gets to the interesting bit -- where Napoleon and Lung Tien Lien invade Britain -- quickly. Laurence, imprisoned on a ship, is presumed dead for a short while, long enough for Temeraire to be quite put out, and decide that he needs to fight Napoleon, and talks the rest of the dragons (ferals, captured dragons, some old retirees, and ones that just refused to fight) into forming their own flight to go fight.
Temeraire himself really shines here. He's forced to develop a sense of politics and leadership to negotiate with both other dragons and the human government and military. In Victory of Eagles he makes a lot more advances than I ever expected -- mostly because he points out that Napoleon was able to come so far because of giving dragons a reason to fight besides loyalty to their captains. Not to neglect Laurence, who is forced to go through a lot dealing with his own actions from Empire of Ivory -- questioning what honor and patriotism really mean. And even some of the secondary characters, such as Admiral Roland, get to play a role -- I'd love to see more interactions between her and General Wellsely/the Duke of Wellington, simply because the two of them quickly figured out the other was pretty damn good at their job, and developed a professional relationship, despite the fact Roland was a woman. (Thanks to Gentius, a veteran Longwings, we also got the story about how female Longwings captains got full rank. He told the story about how his first captain had left without the drunkard who had actual command, fought a tremendous battle, and then was commended by everyone, and finally got her proper rank.)
As for the end, I was quite pleased by it. It ended in a way that doesn't diminish what Laurence did in Empire of Ivory, but keeps our pair flying. Plus, this way, we might get to see new parts of the world -- I think Victory of Eagles is the first book since the first where we don't hardly leave Britain.
So, I really, really like the Temeraire series. I have a weakness for buddy pieces and animal-companion fantasy (hence my love of pet monster anime), and Temeraire has aspects of both. In a weird way, it also takes the animal-companion fantasy in a different direction than A Companion to Wolves by Elizabeth Bear and Sara Monette. While ACtW explores what it's like to be living close to something that is inhuman (an intelligent wolf), Temeraire addresses the social issues of having dragons -- intelligent, but not human -- in a society that is within the Enlightenment. The early 1800s were an interesting time after all -- the American and French Revolutions were bringing into question the notion of a hereditary nobility, the abolition movement was starting, the earliest seeds of civil rights. The Seneca Falls convention was still forty years in the future, but the seeds of feminism were still planted.
So, add in dragons, which, in Europe, were typically tamed by having them imprint on a dragon captain. If the dragon didn't take to it, or refused to serve in the military, he or she would be shipped off to a breeding colony, where s/he would be fed and housed and expected to produce eggs for the military. This was also what happened to the captured dragons -- as long as the dragon captain was held, the dragon could be kept on good behavior. Dragons mostly had loyalty to their captains -- they fought out of love of their captains and crews, not for any real concept of patriotism or for pay (they got room and board).
Enter Temeraire and William Laurence. Temeraire was a Chinese Celestial Dragon, sent across the sea as an egg for Napoleon Bonapart so that he would not interfere with the Imperial succession (the Emperor had to be both a member of the Imperial family and have a Celestial companion -- Temeraire's twin brother was the companion to the Crown Prince). Laurence was a British ship's captain who happened to capture the French ship Temeraire's egg was traveling on. Laurence was prepared to give up one of his crew to the British Air Corps -- a bit surprised when the only one Temeraire would take to was himself. So, we had two unlikely protagonists -- a gentleman captain thrown into a situation that made him uneasy and a highly intelligent dragon who often questioned why things were done the way they always were. The first book doesn't bring this up much, besides to note that Temeraire was very bright and inquisitive -- his favorite form of entertainment was to have Laurence read to him.
The second book is where the series really starts to shine. Here, Temeraire and Laurence agree to go to China because the Chinise government is Very Upset that Temeraire is stuck impressed in some barbarian army instead of at a king or emperor's right hand. On the way, Temeraire starts seeing more of the world outside of the covets where dragons and Air Corps live, and he starts asking why dragons are treated as little better than slaves, and don't have freedom of movement and pay and all the other things humans enjoy. At first Laurence is stuck with noting that humans are scared of dragons, and they really don't have any other choice. There's a lovely scene when they get to China and realize that the Chinese treat dragons the same as any other people -- there's still social stratification by family (with the Celestial and Imperial lines being high ranked, and most other dragons taking other jobs) -- but dragons wander the streets and work for pay, and decide if they wish to enlist in the army or not, and even choose their companions after they are educated. And, Laurence realizes that everything that he told Temeraire about humans and dragons was wrong, and that Temeraire would be much happier as a prince in China than a conscript-slave in Britain. Temeraire, on the other hand, sees China and asks 'Why can't we have this in Britain? I'm going to go back and help change things, because it's not fair to my friends to be stuck as they are while I'm treated like royalty.'
And that's why I enjoy the series -- since it's more to it besides 'Dragon Airforce in the Napoleonic Wars'. There's also that lovely question of social justice, and how people live with dragons, and the ideas that having dragons around changes the social landscape. The Chinese are able to enforce their own isolation for much longer, since they have their dragons. In Book Four, an African kingdom successfully repels the white slave traders from the country, thanks to their dragons, who are bound to the tribe by rituals meant to call down the spirits of deceased kings into unhatched dragons. (Whether it works or not, the humans and dragons believe it. And the dragons are quite willing to defend their kin.) It's also mentioned that the Inca kingdom is raising dragons and still giving the Spanish a hard time in South America. Which is nice -- it is alt-history, and nice to know that Naomi Novik is willing to change things to fit.
So, I just finished the most recent book... you might want to skip this if you want to be unspoiled for previous books.
So, at the end of Empire of Ivory, Laurence and Temeraire agree to commit treason to deliver a cure to a draconic plague to France -- Temeraire feeling that the lives of thousands of innocent dragons isn't worth victory of the war, and Laurence agreeing. Laurence then wishes to return to Britain, despite knowing he will be imprisoned or hanged for it, and Temeraire confined -- his own honor prevents him from staying in Europe, either as a French officer or a civilian. The book picks up several months later. Which I appreciate for two reasons. First, it give us a chance to see how dragons organize themselves on their own -- the breeding ground dragons are pretty much left to their own devices as long as they eat and mate and don't cause trouble. One of the dragons we meet, Percitia, is a mathematically inclined and quite clever dragon who refused to serve in the military because she didn't see the sense of getting shot up. Second, it gets to the interesting bit -- where Napoleon and Lung Tien Lien invade Britain -- quickly. Laurence, imprisoned on a ship, is presumed dead for a short while, long enough for Temeraire to be quite put out, and decide that he needs to fight Napoleon, and talks the rest of the dragons (ferals, captured dragons, some old retirees, and ones that just refused to fight) into forming their own flight to go fight.
Temeraire himself really shines here. He's forced to develop a sense of politics and leadership to negotiate with both other dragons and the human government and military. In Victory of Eagles he makes a lot more advances than I ever expected -- mostly because he points out that Napoleon was able to come so far because of giving dragons a reason to fight besides loyalty to their captains. Not to neglect Laurence, who is forced to go through a lot dealing with his own actions from Empire of Ivory -- questioning what honor and patriotism really mean. And even some of the secondary characters, such as Admiral Roland, get to play a role -- I'd love to see more interactions between her and General Wellsely/the Duke of Wellington, simply because the two of them quickly figured out the other was pretty damn good at their job, and developed a professional relationship, despite the fact Roland was a woman. (Thanks to Gentius, a veteran Longwings, we also got the story about how female Longwings captains got full rank. He told the story about how his first captain had left without the drunkard who had actual command, fought a tremendous battle, and then was commended by everyone, and finally got her proper rank.)
As for the end, I was quite pleased by it. It ended in a way that doesn't diminish what Laurence did in Empire of Ivory, but keeps our pair flying. Plus, this way, we might get to see new parts of the world -- I think Victory of Eagles is the first book since the first where we don't hardly leave Britain.