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A review by sleeping_while_awake
In His Majesty's Service by Naomi Novik
3.0
I have mixed feelings about these three books.
His Majesty's Dragon was a great story and I could barely put it down. The whole experience of Laurence and Temeraire first meeting and training together made me excited for what was to come.
Throne of Jade created the background for Temeraire, the type of dragon he is, and a major enemy that appears in the next book. However, the pace slowed down dramatically. Spending the whole book in China didn't seem like the best use of time - maybe historically speaking Novik needed that span of time before the next battles begun?
Black Powder War took me forever to get through. The style of Novik's sentences really started to wear on me. For some reason, I found it challenging to follow and I couldn't read it with ease. The overland journey was boring and I thought about not finishing it. Once Laurence gets back to Europe, things get interesting again! I liked the end.
I like the premise - dragons and Napoleonic wars. I don't mind reading historical fiction, even in regards to battles and wars, but for some reason everything in between is so drawn out that it's hard to keep engaged in the story.
Laurence is hard to like. He is really stiff and didn't make much progression over three books. He is dutiful and noble - super straightlaced! He needs a love interest! I had a hard time distinguishing among all the characters. Minor ones were always dying and quite frankly I couldn't even remember who they were during the scene.
I would have liked more of the impact of dragons on the world. Some folklore or popular culture? The battle scenes were my favorite, but they seem sparse compared to everything else.
His Majesty's Dragon was a great story and I could barely put it down. The whole experience of Laurence and Temeraire first meeting and training together made me excited for what was to come.
Throne of Jade created the background for Temeraire, the type of dragon he is, and a major enemy that appears in the next book. However, the pace slowed down dramatically. Spending the whole book in China didn't seem like the best use of time - maybe historically speaking Novik needed that span of time before the next battles begun?
Black Powder War took me forever to get through. The style of Novik's sentences really started to wear on me. For some reason, I found it challenging to follow and I couldn't read it with ease. The overland journey was boring and I thought about not finishing it. Once Laurence gets back to Europe, things get interesting again! I liked the end.
I like the premise - dragons and Napoleonic wars. I don't mind reading historical fiction, even in regards to battles and wars, but for some reason everything in between is so drawn out that it's hard to keep engaged in the story.
Laurence is hard to like. He is really stiff and didn't make much progression over three books. He is dutiful and noble - super straightlaced! He needs a love interest! I had a hard time distinguishing among all the characters. Minor ones were always dying and quite frankly I couldn't even remember who they were during the scene.
I would have liked more of the impact of dragons on the world. Some folklore or popular culture? The battle scenes were my favorite, but they seem sparse compared to everything else.