His Majesty's Dragon

See my video review on youtube by clicking here

I don't think I'll ever get tired of rereading the Temeraire books. This is my 5th reread and I love it just as much as when I first read it.

The common pitch of the Temeraire books is Napoleonic War plus dragons, which is the setting for these books, but I feel that's not the best way to describe them. Sure they fight some battles, but the story is focused on relationships and we see a lot of the day to day of the characters. In some ways it almost feels like a cozy fantasy. At the same time, it deals with heavy themes, so that might not be the best way to describe it either. Maybe the word I'm looking for is character driven.

At the start of the book we meet a naval captain named Laurence as he captures a French ship and finds a dragon egg aboard.

Laurence has heard that bonding with a dragon from the moment it hatches is very important, and he reluctantly becomes the dragon's companion, which requires him to give up his ship and naval career to join the dragon airforce. The airforce is not well regarded, and Laurance is forced to confront his own negative opinion of the airforce while he grows increasingly fond of his dragon companion, Temeraire.

And what a delightful dragon Temeraire is! Temeraire is enthusiastic and inquisitive and has an almost puppy light energy. He wants to go flying, explore new places, and have his chance in battle, because he finds it all very exciting. He is also an intelligent breed of dragons and convinces Laurence to read to him about science, history, and mathematics. Laurence is not a strong reader, but his love for Temeraire outweighs his dislike of reading.

The bond and friendship between Laurence and Temeraire is really what keeps me coming back to these books. I find them delightful to read about!

Temeraire is also a dragon who is delighted by gold and jewels. One of the most beautiful scenes is where Laurence is commenting to Temeraire that he isn't wealthy enough to provide gold hoards and Temeraire says “I should rather have you than a heap of gold, even if it were very comfortable to sleep on.” And then later Temeraire asks Laurence if he'd rather give up dragon riding and go back to the navy, Laurence responds “I'd rather have you than any ship in the navy.” Gaah! Bookending that plot point with them choosing each other is just so beautiful

Lawrence has a strong sense of duty and patriotism, which is why he agreed to become a dragonrider in the first place - he knows how desperate England is in need of more dragons. But Temeraire does not share this sense of duty, and often questions why they must do things they don't like. This is a theme that continues throughout the series, as Temeraire pushes Laurence to really think about his positions.

To hear my spoiler thoughts, see my video review