Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik's triumphant debut, His Majesty's Dragon, introduced a dynamic new pair of heroes to the annals of fantasy fiction: the noble fighting dragon Temeraire and his master and commander, Capt. Will Laurence, who serves Britain's peerless Aerial Corps in the thick of the raging Napoleonic Wars. Now, in the latest novel of this dazzling series, they soar to new heights of breathtaking action and brilliant imagination.It is a grim time for the dragon Temeraire. On the heels of his mission to Africa, seeking the cure for a deadly contagion, he has been removed from military service--and his captain, Will Laurence, has been condemned to death for treason. For Britain, conditions are grimmer still: Napoleon's resurgent forces have breached the Channel and successfully invaded English soil. Napoleon's prime objective: the occupation of London.Separated by their own government and threatened at every turn by Napoleon's forces, Laurence and Temeraire must struggle to find each other amid the turmoil of war and to aid the resistance against the invasion before Napoleon's foothold on England's shores can become a stranglehold. If only they can be reunited, master and dragon might rally Britain's scattered forces and take the fight to the enemy as never before--for king and country, and for their own liberty. But can the French aggressors be well and truly routed, or will a treacherous alliance deliver Britain into the hands of her would-be conquerors?From the Hardcover edition.

The best book in the series since His Majesty's Dragon. It finally focused back on characters and action, instead of the world building that went on in the middle three books.

This book focuses on the aftermath of Temeraire and Laurence's decision to give the cure to the French and therefore commit treason. It does get a bit depressing watching Laurence deal with the effects of this, but Temeraire's child-like naïveté helps provide a lighter side to the situation.

I really like that the other dragons are starting to get personalities of their own. Naomi seems to have finally figured out how to make each and every dragon a unique character and not just a foil for Temeraire or their captain.

Through the book you also see Temeraire start to “grow-up”. He's not just the self-centered petulant child you have seen in the earlier books, but he is starting to learn what it is to be a leader. He doesn't have to be the smartest and the strongest and the bravest all the time. (Although he certainly exhibits those traits at different points in the book.) He allows the other dragons do what they do best. He also starts to learn the hard lesson of consequences that a leader has to shoulder.