A review by wizardowl
Golden Age and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
4.0
A lovely collection!
Volly's Cow A very short and cute story giving us a look into Perscitia and Temeraire's political maneuvering.
Plating Season I was really excited for a story about John Wampanoag, but I was a little let down by this one. It was great to learn more about the political situation in North America and the role that dragons play in it, but I would've liked to see some more personal exploration of John's character. We got a little glimpse of that at the end, but I would've loved to see more.
Dawn of Battle A story about Jane's early days as a captain. I really enjoyed learning more of her backstory, and wish the story could have been longer--but if every story I wanted more of was longer, we'd have a novella collection instead of a short story collection, lol.
Golden Age It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that this was a canon divergent AU, but once I did I enjoyed it immensely. It's a fun, heartwarming story, perhaps my favourite in the book.
Succession This one is about Temeraire's mother, and the circumstances leading to her decision to send Temeraire's egg to Napoleon. A little bit lackluster to me, but still another nice peek at backstory from the novels.
Dragons and Decorum My other favourite in the collection! I never knew that I needed Pride and Prejudice and Dragons, but I did. What an absolutely delightful story.
Drabbles The book finishes up with about 25 hundred word drabbles. Some fell a little flat for me, but for the most part they were lovely little tantalizing images. I really, really wish that a few of them had been full short stories. Who knows, maybe some day! Temeraire's reaction to Beowulf, the Tharkay POV drabble, and Jane's first visit with Laurence were especially nice to see.
Volly's Cow A very short and cute story giving us a look into Perscitia and Temeraire's political maneuvering.
Plating Season I was really excited for a story about John Wampanoag, but I was a little let down by this one. It was great to learn more about the political situation in North America and the role that dragons play in it, but I would've liked to see some more personal exploration of John's character. We got a little glimpse of that at the end, but I would've loved to see more.
Dawn of Battle A story about Jane's early days as a captain. I really enjoyed learning more of her backstory, and wish the story could have been longer--but if every story I wanted more of was longer, we'd have a novella collection instead of a short story collection, lol.
Golden Age It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that this was a canon divergent AU, but once I did I enjoyed it immensely. It's a fun, heartwarming story, perhaps my favourite in the book.
Succession This one is about Temeraire's mother, and the circumstances leading to her decision to send Temeraire's egg to Napoleon. A little bit lackluster to me, but still another nice peek at backstory from the novels.
Dragons and Decorum My other favourite in the collection! I never knew that I needed Pride and Prejudice and Dragons, but I did. What an absolutely delightful story.
Drabbles The book finishes up with about 25 hundred word drabbles. Some fell a little flat for me, but for the most part they were lovely little tantalizing images. I really, really wish that a few of them had been full short stories. Who knows, maybe some day! Temeraire's reaction to Beowulf, the Tharkay POV drabble, and Jane's first visit with Laurence were especially nice to see.