Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - His Majesty's Dragon

I really enjoyed the first two thirds of this, the parts that weren't about battling and war as explicitly. I don't know why I picked up a war book knowing I don't like battle scenes and can't stomach war generally. This series overall definitely won't be for me so I won't continue. Which is rather unfortunate because I love Temeraire and Laurence. They love each other so damn much it made me giggle multiple times. The dragons of this world have such complex emotional depth, and unlike humans they feel their emotions openly and make them known. Which is why it was so devastating to realize that one of the purposes of war dragons was to try to kill opposing war dragons (who ostensibly have just as much love for their captains and depth of personhood). Not that humans killing each other isn't horrifying emotionally, but the fact that these beasts are being used by armies against each other is a lot to take in. If you are sensitive to animal cruelty in books like I am, maybe skip this one. I can tell Naomi Novik is a very skilled writer and storyteller. The first chapter was a masterclass in setting up relationships and character motivations. There was a death in the later parts of this book that is one of the most heartbreaking I've read in a long time. I'm learning what I like in fantasy and this had a lot to like, it just also had a lot of war which I didn't care for. I think the rest of the series will focus more on the war and battles now that Temeraire is mostly done with his training, so it doesn't make sense for me to continue. Also if the rest of the books have as devastating moments as this one does I am not emotionally prepared to experience that eight more times.

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evanrobins's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

Superficially, I doubt that anyone would expect a book with this premise to be so compelling. His Majesty's Dragon is a hard sell because it's not really all that much like anything else.
Trying to explain to people the idea that in this book the various continental empires of the Regency period co-exist with dragons and, moreover, use them as capital ships, can be a little trying on their willingness to suspend their disbelief.
Like, the best way to get into this franchise is to already be really autistic about the Age of Sail, and that in itself is a prohibitive barrier for most well-adjusted people.
All the same Novik's rigorous attention to the setting—to historical and military customs, and to crafting a believable and intricately realized vision of an alternative history—elevate this book in comparison to its generic contemporaries.
Then again, I am a woman who watches multi-hour YouTube videos about Pterosaur phylogeny, so you might not want to take my word for it. All I'm saying is that if Novik were to release a reference book explaining in painful detail the skeletal articulation of her various dragon species, I would be the first to buy it.
I suppose it also helps that all of Novik's characters are well-realized and compelling. There are a ton of them in this book, and it's remarkable the degree to which Novik is able to articulate each of their respective personalities and beliefs in a few sparse lines of dialogue.
Temeraire is easily one of the most likeable characters in any book I've read, and his relationship with Laurence is of course what underpins this whole thing.
It is really is a testament to this book that you'll have forgotten how refreshing it feels to actually like a book's characters until you've read it, and then you'll never want to go back.
Your mileage might vary most with the plot, however.
His Majesty's Dragon is identical in structure to Top Gun—the characters spend 90% of the book in flight school and then have a single fight at the end.
Now I, for one, love Top Gun, and Novik manages to preserve the essence of what makes that story work (the understanding that the Navy is, all told, kind of gay) to a historical context 180 years prior and also with dragons. Dudes rock.
Also William Laurence is my little meow meow babygirl. If he were alive today I would make him play Armoured Core and try to forcefem him.
The Bottom Line is: The AO3 lady cooked hard.

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