Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4)
by Naomi Novik
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.23 You Save: $3.76 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.85 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4)
Book Review: Great continuation of the series
Summary: 5 Stars
I have really enjoyed this series, and I liked this book a great deal. It ends with one heck of a cliffhanger. It has been taking a lot of hits in reviews because of that, and I have to admit my reaction when I got to the end was "How long am I going to have to wait to find out what happens?" But - don't let the cliffhanger keep you from snapping up this book.
One of the things I have liked best about the series is Temeraire's personality. He's altruistic and childish, brilliant and naive, in equal measures and very straightforward, never hesitating to speak his mind when he thinks some wrong needs to be righted. He thinks people should pay attention to his arguments because they are Right, not because he's a dragon the size of a battleship who could do them considerable harm if they cross him. A major sub-plot running through all the books is the maturing of his understanding of how the world works, and how to make changes in a world that's not perfect. It's both a loss of innocence and a coming of age thing and Novik does a nice job of handling it.
Will Laurence, on the other hand, is a mature Naval Officer when we meet him. He's not jaded, but he's seen the way the world really works, which is different than the way it should work, and just accepts that difference as a fact of life. He is a good person, but very much a man of his time, and there are some things he just does not question. Temeraire's idealism has been breaking down some of his assumptions about the way the world should be, and the power people have to changes things, from the very start of their friendship. That comes to a head at the end of the book, which is what leads to the cliffhanger.
Because of the major psychological jump Laurence makes at the end of the book, the cliffhanger is the perfectly correct emotional break point for the plot.
Am I steamed I have to wait to find out what happens- Yes.
Do I think the cliffhanger ruins the book - Not at all.
Book Review: Novik Continues to add Meat to the Bones of this Alternate History Series with Dragons
Summary: 5 Stars
Empire of Ivory, the fourth book in the Temeraire series, picks up shortly after Black Powder War and the fall of the Prussians to Napoleon with Temeraire, Captain Will Laurence and crew, and the feral dragons they picked up along the way returning to an England in dire straits: an unknown disease has stricken the entirity of England's Ariel Dragon Corps. The defense of England is left to Temeraire and his untrained feral groupies as they try to prevent France from learning of the sad condition of the Isles' defenses.
When it is determined that the disease originated in Africa and is similar to what ailed Temeraire as the round the Cape in Throne of Jade, Temeraire and Laurence are sent with a handful of ailing dragons to Africa to look for the cure that nursed Temeraire back to health.
What ensues is an adventure to the Dark Continent that really adds new dimensions to this alternate Earth where Dragons walk among men and not always as its equal or subordinate. Temeraire grows even more as a character and Captain Will Laurence faces his toughest test as an officer when he must face the horrific intentions of his superiors and the future of England and the World's Dragons.
This is another excellent installment in a fantastic and original series from Naomi Novik!
(One bone to pick with the publisher: once you have started a series in paperback, DO NO start releasing hardcovers after four books! With book five slated as a hardcover release, and my library now sporting four paperbacks in this series, I am NOT going to mix formats.)
>>>>>>><<<<<<<
A Guide to my Rating System:
1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.
Book Review: The Best Outing Yet
Summary: 4 Stars
Opening right on the heels of 'Blackpowder War', Will Laurence, Temeraire, and crew, make it back to England-and discover why the British failed to provide Dragon-support for the Prussians at Jena. The British dragons have fallen ill, with what to me looks like a nasty form of influenza. There's no cure, and the beasts are dying like, um, flies. Acting on a hunch, Laurence, Temeraire, and the sick Dragons of Temeraire's formation set out for the Cape of Good Hope to find a cure, before Napoleon discovers just how vulnerable England is.
The book marks a break from the earlier ones, which were more pure adventure. True, Novik brought up issues of slavery and the rights of Dragons, but here both issues are more fleshed out and the stakes are higher. It's clear that the rights of blacks and dragons are enmeshed; freeing one now means freeing the other, or at least, ceasing to think of them as brute beasts.
All the series regulars are here. Captain Roland, Chenery, John Granby (and the bratty Turkish dragon Iskierka), Harcourt and her dragon, Lily.
Historical figures show up, like Nelson, Napoleon, and Wilberforce, who takes up the dragons' cause. Socially, everyone still thinks of Aviators the way they do of, say, actors; they do good work, but they're still disreputable riff raff.
There are also clashes between British society at large, and the Aviators' insular world. A poignant miscommunication involving Laurence, his father, and Emily Roland. An amusing incident at the wedding of an Aviatrix and a British naval officer, in which the dragon threatens the groom if he's mean to her captain (you think you've got in-law troubles?)
At the end, the British Admiralty commits a crime that pushes Laurence into a desperate act of treason. As the book ends, he's headed back to England-and arrest, possibly the gallows. I'm looking forward to the next installment. I hope Ms. Novik can keep this up.
Book Review: Not quite as good as the first three, but still worth reading.
Summary: 4 Stars
Naomi Novik, Empire of Ivory (Del Rey, 2007)
Novik's fourth Temeraire book slips a bit in comparison to the first three, but that doesn't mean it's not still better than 90% of the books you're going to read in any of the genres it bends. She knows that she's doing, and she does it well.
Laurence and Temeraire get back from China, with the ferals in tow, to find England's dragons in the grip of a horrible plague. A number of dragons have already died, and many more are on the brink. The only healthy dragons in all of England, in fact, are Temeraire, his new crew of miscreants, and a handful of couriers. Laurence and Temeraire could go look for a cure, but who's going to defend England, especially with the new reports that Napoleon seems to have a lot more dragons down there than he has any way to feed, all of whom are ready for invasion?
The answer to that question begins the main storyline here, and while it's the same kind of alternate-history fantasy that's marked the first three books, a number of reviewers have marked that this one seems a little off, but most can't put their finger on why. I'm not entirely sure myself, but something rubbed me the wrong way about the whole thing; I don't know whether it seemed to read a bit closer to stereotypes than was comfortable, or whether the questions Novik brings up in here were treated more facilely than they should have, or whether some of the things that happened about halfway through the book were just a tad too convenient. Any of these, alone or in combination, may be it, or it may be something that didn't catch my eye, and of course it may be different for everyone who reads this. One way or the other though, the original conceit is still awesome, and Novik's writing brings quality to the table no matter what she's doing. If you've gotten involved with the series so far, then you should definitely read this one. If you haven't, you should. *** ½
Book Review: fabulous refreshing Napoleonic era fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
The war against Napoleon has turned bad for the English forces since a deadly disease has ravaged the dragon corps. Desperate to find a cure before they lose the aerial war, the English leadership learns the elixir may exist in Africa. As abolitionists protest the African slave trade and demand rights for dragons, British captain Will Laurence and his dragon Temeraire lead a band of warriors with the dragons across the Mediterranean to Africa.
However, the Dark wild continent is unwelcoming to the English as the natives know of the slave trade. Local dragons and their human cohorts go into combat mode to drive the English off the continent. Will and Temeraire know they will lose some friends in the skirmishes even as they struggle with their cause as they agree with the Africans that the slave trade is an abomination and dragons deserve rights as sentient beings.
The fourth Napoleonic era fantasy (see THRONE OF JADE, HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON, and BLACK POWDER WAR) is a fabulous refreshing entry as Naomi Novik takes her soaring champions to Africa where the English morality is questioned to the point that the heroic duet wonder if they fight for the wrong side. The battle scenes that include dragons at war seem genuine even with the mythos element. Filled with plenty of action, strong characterizations, and a fascinating locale, the key to this superior early nineteenth century epic remains the quest of human (and dragon) rights as the English run the slave trade and are the invaders claiming they bring a superior lifestyle to these uninformed pagans.
Harriet Klausner