“And for my part, Captain Riley, I would be glad to never again be witness to such a positive disdain not only for all the generally understood requirements of courtesy, but for the very safety of her passengers, from the crew of one of His Majesty’s vessels - I will not say deliberate insult –“ …with a will they rose to the occasion, and after only a few more moderate exchanges, Riley’s “And I hope, sir, that I need never again see the ship’s crew or her boats subjected to, I am sorry to call it so, outright interference, under not only the permission but the encouragement –” progressed very neatly to Laurence’s reply, I love their vocabulary, the delightfully wordy way they say everything - okay, one example, one of my favorite passages in Empire of Ivory (outside of the wonderful reunion scenes between Laurence and Temeraire), because this is Laurence and Riley’s idea of a bitterly hostile, knockout fight (after Riley did not provide the usual courtesy to bring a black woman aboard the ship, because he is unfortunately a racist and slave-trade apologist, so Laurence got Temeraire to lift the boat directly): It’s a large reason why I’m such a big fan of the Austen books. Also, 19th-century language is one of my favorite styles, I admit. His reactions to female aviators, the tension between him and Riley over the slave trade.

Naomi Novik has done her research thoroughly - not just the period-specific cultures of each country and continent they visit in each book, but the more ordinary cultural details that form Laurence’s world.

Such utterly devoted love and co-dependence, with a healthy degree of strong protectiveness - it will do me in any day of the week.Īlso, I am a complete sap for historical fiction written this well. Principally this is due to Laurence and Temeraire’s relationship (as well as the relationship between nearly every other captain and his/her dragon). Like only a half-dozen other series’ worlds that I’ve encountered since my childhood, I literally want to crawl inside and seal up the exit after me. If it were possible to pour their contents into something that could envelop me bodily, like a bathtub of tapioca pudding, I would strip off all my clothing and wallow in it during every free hour I had. I am in no way prepared to write formal reviews of Temeraire books, particularly the second and third.

Naomi novik temeraire books in order