One of the things that distinguishes this novel from the others in the series--sad though it is that Temeraire and Laurence are separated--is that you finally get to see things from Temeraire's perspective. Technically Novik uses the third person throughout, but there's a definite communication shift from Temeraire's scenes to Laurence's scenes in the beginning. There's nothing as amusing as dragon logic.
And Temeraire is finally empowered to effect change! Granted, they're in the middle of a war, so mostly they're all busy fighting for their lives, but I like that he takes on some new responsibility in this book; he's maturing! At least, maturing in comparison to some dragons:
"And," [Iskierka] added, "when we have finished and beat Napoleon, I have decided that you may give me an egg."
"Oh!" Temeraire said, swelling with indignation, "how very kind! I am to be honored, I suppose."
"Well, I am much richer than you are," she said, "and also I can breathe fire, so you ought to be."
"I would not give you an egg," Temeraire said, "if you were the very last dragon in the world, but me; I should rather have none at all."I don't know who sounds more immature there, Temeraire or Iskierka. There's also a whole host of new dragon characters you get to appreciate, including one very ornery female who is soooo smart...and doesn't she know it! (I actually thought it was pretty clever of her to come up with the Pythagorean theorem in a day.)
In any case, this book definitely met my standards for a fun, engaging read. I was glad to see progress towards widespread dragon appreciation achieved in some small ways, and I suspect the future freedoms of dragons will become even more secure in Book 6, so I'm looking forward to finishing the series soon!
~8/10~
No comments:
Post a Comment