His Majesty's Dragon
by Naomi Novik
384 pp. Del Rey. $7.50
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
With all the acclaim Naomi Novik has been receiving lately, I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about, and read her debut novel, "His Majesty's Dragon". Intelligent, talking dragons seemed to be a hip thing at one point, and then all the cool kids started to do it, and it has since lost some of its magic. In fact, it has started to become a fantasy cliche. So what is an author to do? How about they make intelligent, talking dragons that serve as a sort of aerial navy in the Napoleonic era. While this sounds like a strange and potentially ridiculous combination, it charmingly works in the hands of Novik.
Captain Will Laurence finds his life utterly changed when his vessel, the HMS Reliant, captures a French ship. Part of the spoils obtained from the captured French ship is a mysterious dragon's egg, a very valuable and precious commodity. Before the egg can be turned over to the proper English dragon egg authorities, it hatches and out pops Temeraire, a precocious and charming dragon who immediately bonds with Laurence. Once a dragon has chosen a rider, the two of them are linked to each other for life. This is a necessary plot device, so that the British won't just toss Laurence off Temeraire for someone more qualified. Since dragons are a rarity and part of the small, elite Aerial Corps, Laurence must leave his navy life beyond and join the Aerial Corps with Temeraire. They both must learn to assimilate not only to each other but also to the rest of the Aerial corps, learning battle maneuvers and formations. And they must do it quickly as Napoleon is looking to spoil this burgeoning buddy movie. Can Laurence and Temeraire get up to speed in time to defend England?
Novik's prose admirably reflects the tone and feel of the Napoleonic era. Laurence and Temeraire talk to each other like lovers in a Jane Austen novel, in that utterly proper English way. Thankfully any consummation of their relationship happens off-screen. The action is brisk with the story moving along quite nicely, not getting bogged down in any one aspect of their transition to the Aerial Corps. Even with the "Pride and Prejudice" vibe of the dialogue, I succumbed to the charm and magic of Temeraire. And it is Temeraire's appeal which pulls this novel up out the vat of average fantasy, and explains much of the book's vast audience appeal.
If you enjoy detailed naval battles with 19th century broadships, you will find much joy in the similarities between those battles and the air to air combat between dragons in the book. Who would have thought that dragon combat would so closely resemble naval combat? Yes, it is another plot device so that Laurence wouldn't be too much of a fish out of water (excuse the pun), but Novik's use of these plot devices is a minor quibble. Could we really expect Temeraire to bond with the poor sailor charged with swabbing the deck?
Last Word:
"His Majesty's Dragon" is a magical debut mostly for the kickass dragon, Temeraire. The character just oozes charms and this appeal is able to pull the story along. In all, Novik provides a solid, fun quick read that is similar to a summer popcorn flick, an entertaining ride while it lasts, but lacking of any great depth. This is, however, one hell of a ride I found to be worth the effort.
Final Grade: 79 out of 100
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