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A review by beaundarrows
Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I decided to pick this series back up after quite a few years break. I'd entirely forgotten how dense the dialogue is. Not something one might usually say about the dialogue, but jesus.
Infuriatingly proper. Like, painfully. Certainly not something my early-morning brain can easily deal with. I have to read some lines more than once to parse it.
It's not only the dialogue, of course. Almost the entire book is written in this overly careful way. I know it's done this way to be evocative of the time period, and it's very effective in that. It just makes for heavy, slow reading sometimes. I found I couldn't read this one during my morning commute very often. This was more for the trip home.
At about 93%, however, there was a section that seemed to read entirely differently. As they began quietly taking over the transport ships, the writing shifted somehow. It's still excellently descriptive, not overly flowery. It reads a hell of a lot more easily than almost all the rest of the book. The language was a lot less dense. I don't know if this was deliberate on Novik's part. Did she realise it was different? Who knows. Either way, it was a nice little respite from that very specific style of English.
I don't know if Hammond is meant to be a likable character. I can't decide if I do or not. He's a pompous windbag most of the time, always thinking he knows better. But he's literally just doing his job. So, I did find it at the same time very strange, but also heartwarming that the Incan dragon Churki really decided she wanted him. She's willing to go back to England with him. Weird.
He seems like he hates the idea, and wants to dissuade her. But the other dragons don't see why she shouldn't go with them.
I didn't get it either. Getting a dragon is a privilege, an honour. Why was he saying no? Not to mention he's pretty much been disgraced as an ambassador and negotiator. Things did <i>not</i> go quite the way he'd hoped and expected.
Really, not a huge amount of exciting things happen in this book. They're travelling, for the most part, getting waylaid, finding a way back to where they were headed, getting waylaid again. It got a little monotonous in parts - a bit like a ship caught in the doldrums (which in the early chapters was exactly what was going on).
The second half is where the more interesting things happen. Meeting new and vastly different types of dragons was really cool. I love the idea of feathered dragons. Very much like I enjoy the idea of feathered dinosaurs. Diversity is interesting.
One of the things I enjoy most is Laurence's use of loving-names for Temeraire. He often calls him "my dear," and that's just darling. He genuinely loves his dragon. This isn't just something thrust upon him by duty to country. And Temeraire's love for Laurence is obvious. But upon reflection, you begin to wonder how much of that is simply due to the imprinting that happens when they hatch.
It's clear now that not all dragons do that. Churki being a plain example. Hers is a more community-driven attachment. That's been her family for generations. Now she's made a choice; and Hammond is it, for whatever reason. I do like the idea that a dragon isn't just driven by that imprint-instinct. They are a living, breathing creature who can make decisions for their own future.
So, I'm giving this a 3 out of 5 stars.
I definitely liked it; I enjoyed myself, for the most part. The language boggs you down sometimes, but you push on through.
Infuriatingly proper. Like, painfully. Certainly not something my early-morning brain can easily deal with. I have to read some lines more than once to parse it.
It's not only the dialogue, of course. Almost the entire book is written in this overly careful way. I know it's done this way to be evocative of the time period, and it's very effective in that. It just makes for heavy, slow reading sometimes. I found I couldn't read this one during my morning commute very often. This was more for the trip home.
At about 93%, however, there was a section that seemed to read entirely differently. As they began quietly taking over the transport ships, the writing shifted somehow. It's still excellently descriptive, not overly flowery. It reads a hell of a lot more easily than almost all the rest of the book. The language was a lot less dense. I don't know if this was deliberate on Novik's part. Did she realise it was different? Who knows. Either way, it was a nice little respite from that very specific style of English.
I don't know if Hammond is meant to be a likable character. I can't decide if I do or not. He's a pompous windbag most of the time, always thinking he knows better. But he's literally just doing his job. So, I did find it at the same time very strange, but also heartwarming that the Incan dragon Churki really decided she wanted him. She's willing to go back to England with him. Weird.
He seems like he hates the idea, and wants to dissuade her. But the other dragons don't see why she shouldn't go with them.
I didn't get it either. Getting a dragon is a privilege, an honour. Why was he saying no? Not to mention he's pretty much been disgraced as an ambassador and negotiator. Things did <i>not</i> go quite the way he'd hoped and expected.
Really, not a huge amount of exciting things happen in this book. They're travelling, for the most part, getting waylaid, finding a way back to where they were headed, getting waylaid again. It got a little monotonous in parts - a bit like a ship caught in the doldrums (which in the early chapters was exactly what was going on).
The second half is where the more interesting things happen. Meeting new and vastly different types of dragons was really cool. I love the idea of feathered dragons. Very much like I enjoy the idea of feathered dinosaurs. Diversity is interesting.
One of the things I enjoy most is Laurence's use of loving-names for Temeraire. He often calls him "my dear," and that's just darling. He genuinely loves his dragon. This isn't just something thrust upon him by duty to country. And Temeraire's love for Laurence is obvious. But upon reflection, you begin to wonder how much of that is simply due to the imprinting that happens when they hatch.
It's clear now that not all dragons do that. Churki being a plain example. Hers is a more community-driven attachment. That's been her family for generations. Now she's made a choice; and Hammond is it, for whatever reason. I do like the idea that a dragon isn't just driven by that imprint-instinct. They are a living, breathing creature who can make decisions for their own future.
So, I'm giving this a 3 out of 5 stars.
I definitely liked it; I enjoyed myself, for the most part. The language boggs you down sometimes, but you push on through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery