kiiouex's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the last one, and I wanted to like this one just as much, but it was... boring.
The bulk of this novel is an eight-month journey by sea and boy, it feels that long. Things happen, without much consequence, for the staggering middle of the book, and it's just... the characters are waiting for land. I'm waiting for land. Laurence and Temeraire don't get along well, and their friendship would have saved it, if they'd been better friends in this one. It picks up once they do make it to China, but idk. I've bought the third one so I'll read that as well, and maybe it won't be set on a boat and thus be much better.
By the way - period-appropriate xenophobia, or racism? Walk the uncomfortable line!
The bulk of this novel is an eight-month journey by sea and boy, it feels that long. Things happen, without much consequence, for the staggering middle of the book, and it's just... the characters are waiting for land. I'm waiting for land. Laurence and Temeraire don't get along well, and their friendship would have saved it, if they'd been better friends in this one. It picks up once they do make it to China, but idk. I've bought the third one so I'll read that as well, and maybe it won't be set on a boat and thus be much better.
By the way - period-appropriate xenophobia, or racism? Walk the uncomfortable line!
choward's review
4.0
Pretty good overall that did the Chinese culture justice and produced an engaging read.
clumsypenguin's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this book as much as the first. I was captivated by Laurence and Temeraire's trip to China and the contrast between the livelihoods of the dragons there in comparison to Britain. The action was just as well written and entrancing as it was in the first, and it was a joy to see Laurence and Temeraire's friendship blossom even further.
squishies's review against another edition
3.0
Felt a bit drawn out and I got a bit restless, but in hindsight I guess it was because of some massive character development.
ofliterarynature's review against another edition
4.0
Still enjoyable but nowhere near what I’d call exciting or as good as book 1. There’s no point in making 2/3 of your novel a sea-faring adventure if you’re not, you know, going to include the adventure part. Honestly, the set-up was *perfect* for a mystery plot, but all we get is some vague political intrigue and antagonism with the crew, with the who-dunnit hows and whys shoehorned in at the end with no help from the characters. I am glad the Chinese put Laurence in his place about dragon care tho, lol, they were all getting awfully uppity and colonialist there :P looking forward to the next book!
jharmanevans's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars!
The move/expansion of the setting from Napoleonic Britain to China sometimes makes this book slower-paced, but in the larger scheme I'm glad it was placed here rather than later in the series, where it might have felt more forced. Laurence's scruples and period-typical hangups, while deftly examined, felt less satisfying to work through in this book than in the first — perhaps because the changing social dynamics the characters are moving in leave less space for his self-reflection to feel liberatory, though in the larger scheme of things this isn't a negative. With a more settled dragon/rider relationship this formed less of the subject of the book, and though it was still the emotional core, I did miss the development of it that was more of a focus before.
The move/expansion of the setting from Napoleonic Britain to China sometimes makes this book slower-paced, but in the larger scheme I'm glad it was placed here rather than later in the series, where it might have felt more forced. Laurence's scruples and period-typical hangups, while deftly examined, felt less satisfying to work through in this book than in the first — perhaps because the changing social dynamics the characters are moving in leave less space for his self-reflection to feel liberatory, though in the larger scheme of things this isn't a negative. With a more settled dragon/rider relationship this formed less of the subject of the book, and though it was still the emotional core, I did miss the development of it that was more of a focus before.
piper_sh's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite as exciting as book one.
It is a bit slow in the beginning/the boat journey but China was really interesting.
3,75 Stars
It is a bit slow in the beginning/the boat journey but China was really interesting.
3,75 Stars
annaclara23876's review against another edition
3.0
Band eins hatte ich dieses Jahr gelesen, mich vollends positiv überrascht und mich glücklich zurückgelassen. Ich dachte auch dieses Buch flasht mich so sehr wie Band 1. Leider jedoch fand ich es nicht ganz so gut.
Im ersten Band war es viel witziger und ich hatte so viel spaß mit Temeraire und Laurence, aber hier sind beide immer im klein Krieg mit anderen und es hört nie auf. Laurence ist fast durchgehend schlecht gelaunt und am Anfang sind beide auch noch getrennt, was den Spaß einfach dem gesamten Buch genommen hat. Später ist Temeraire dann auch abwesend und ist immer wo anders.
Gegen Ende ging es dann mehr um Laurence und weniger um beide zusammen und ich habe die Zeit mit beiden richtig vermisst.
Wenn das nicht schon genug wäre, war da noch der absolut blöde Prinz, der hat mir den letzten Nerv geraubt. SO eine nervige Figur. Dauernd versucht er Laurence und Temeraire auseinander zu bringen, das hat mich so wütend gemacht. Und die Regierung lässt das auch noch zu! Das war echt zu viel, des Guten.
Schreibtechnisch hat es Naomi Novic jedoch wieder total gerockt. Es kommt einem alles so realistisch vor, als ob man selbst auf der Reise ist und mit dem Schiff fährt.
Und später China, wirklich überwältigend! Die ganzen chinesischen Namen jedoch waren einwenig zu viel für mich. Am Ende wusste ich ungefähr wer wer ist, aber das wirklich anstrengend. Die anderen Charaktere kenne ich mittlerweile und kann sie auch alle unterscheiden, aber bei den Chinesen war ich wirklich überfordert.
Fazit:
Ich hoffe im nächsten Band gibt es wieder viel gemeinsame Zeit zwischen Temeraire und Laurence, denn das hat definitiv gefehlt.
Im ersten Band war es viel witziger und ich hatte so viel spaß mit Temeraire und Laurence, aber hier sind beide immer im klein Krieg mit anderen und es hört nie auf. Laurence ist fast durchgehend schlecht gelaunt und am Anfang sind beide auch noch getrennt, was den Spaß einfach dem gesamten Buch genommen hat. Später ist Temeraire dann auch abwesend und ist immer wo anders.
Gegen Ende ging es dann mehr um Laurence und weniger um beide zusammen und ich habe die Zeit mit beiden richtig vermisst.
Wenn das nicht schon genug wäre, war da noch der absolut blöde Prinz, der hat mir den letzten Nerv geraubt. SO eine nervige Figur. Dauernd versucht er Laurence und Temeraire auseinander zu bringen, das hat mich so wütend gemacht. Und die Regierung lässt das auch noch zu! Das war echt zu viel, des Guten.
Schreibtechnisch hat es Naomi Novic jedoch wieder total gerockt. Es kommt einem alles so realistisch vor, als ob man selbst auf der Reise ist und mit dem Schiff fährt.
Und später China, wirklich überwältigend! Die ganzen chinesischen Namen jedoch waren einwenig zu viel für mich. Am Ende wusste ich ungefähr wer wer ist, aber das wirklich anstrengend. Die anderen Charaktere kenne ich mittlerweile und kann sie auch alle unterscheiden, aber bei den Chinesen war ich wirklich überfordert.
Fazit:
Ich hoffe im nächsten Band gibt es wieder viel gemeinsame Zeit zwischen Temeraire und Laurence, denn das hat definitiv gefehlt.
astrawitch's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hskey's review against another edition
4.0
The series continues to be strong, I liked how different this one felt. Novik did an incredible job creating a new adventure, but building upon the foundations of the many brilliant ideas from the first novel. A little bit of everything that I like in here, perhaps the boat voyage to China was a bit too long, but I was never bored. I love how Novik has given the dragons some behaviors that would reflect a cat or dog, but also allowing them to speak gives great gravitas and endearment to their characters.