Reviews with content warning for Death - Victory of Eagles

This is the first book where Temeraire and Laurence are separated, and as such, we get Temeraire's point of view by himself. It differs just a bit from the way Laurence's is written, and it really makes you realize that while he is a remarkable dragon, he's still very young and naive in the ways of the world. While Laurence has managed to avoid immediate execution, he's still been separated from Temerarire and is being held prisoner on the Goliath, the ship he started his naval career on. Temerarire has been sent to the breeding grounds in Wales, and only agrees to cooperate as long as Laurence is still alive. And by cooperate, I mean, "exist," because he certainly does not want to mate with any other dragons.

This is an emotional book, and the first one where, if I did not know there were four other books after, I would have assumed this was the final book in the series. So much happens, and at the same time, there's a lot of waiting around or a lot of repetition - although I guess war does get dull after a while, with the watching and the waiting and then the skirmishing and withdrawal.

I am still upset that they killed Woolvey (or however you spell his name) while trying to free Granby from Buckingham Palace. It would have been no small thing to have had him injured and taken him with them, and then at least Edith would not have been left a widow, with a new child with measles, in the 1800s.

Temeraire matures immensely over this book, and he finally comes to understand why Laurence has been drilling obedience into him all these years (and I believe it's been about three or four years since he was hatched? The timeline is a little iffy to me, since I know very little about the Napoleonic wars), and when he realizes everything that Laurence has sacrificed to keep him safe - it was very emotional.

Now, of course, they're being banished again, to another long sea voyage to New South Wales, and I really hope that this voyage is skipped over in the in-between time between books, like Laurence's trial, because I don't know if I could take another book like the second one, where the majority of the book was just them traveling to China via ship.

Content Warnings

rachwalker's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Content Warnings

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

readingelli's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

deckofdragons's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

szuum's review

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

rini's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

distilledreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s absolutely no surprise that I loved Victory of Eagles, the fifth installment of the Temeraire series – an alternate reality in which dragons are the aerial force during the Napoleonic Wars. The further along in this series I get, the more I’m already coming to consider it a comfort read. Personally, I find this a more subtle and slower-paced fantasy read than a lot of what I gravitate towards, even though it touches on heavy topics such as class disparity, death, slavery, racism, and more. While the plot touches on all these points, and takes place during wartime, the beauty of this series comes from Laurence and Temeraire’s endearing bond.

As well, I loved how this book ended by mirroring the origins of Laurence and Temeraire’s story. You can tell quite clearly that we’ve reached the middle of the series, with this book largely dealing with the fallout of Book Four and setting the stage for something a bit different in Book Six. I’m eager to find out what Novik has in store for what I think has become my favourite dragon-rider pair.

Content Warnings

More...