Ahira's Hangar

A new major fantasy release - with each book in the trilogy being released right away in mass market paperback, and each book being released only a month apart???

Sounds like good news to me!

Such is the story behind the release of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series.

The three books are called:
His Majesty's Dragon
Throne of Jade
Black Powder War

I started reading His Majesty's Dragon this afternoon, not really knowing what to expect, and found it charming, fun, and hard to put down.

It begins with a naval battle during the Napoleanic Wars. The HMS Reliant, a frigate under the command of Capt. Will Laurence, takes a prize in a French frigate. On the frigate the Brits find an even greater prize than the ship itself - an unhatched dragon egg. That is a prize beyond price, as the British air forces are very far behind the French in the number of dragons. Then, to their horror, they realize they are a good two weeks from land, and the egg is about to hatch...one of the naval officers is going to have to offer himself up as a life partner to the baby dragon...and if accepted he will have to leave the Navy and Polite Society for the (oh horrors!!) Aerial Corps!!!

Great fun thus far!!!! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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I am having a lot of fun reading these books. They are amusing and yes - cute.

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Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Somehow over the course of a very busy weekend, I managed to sneak in reads of the second and third books in the series. They are not as light hearted as the first, but become interesting advanture stories, as Temeraire and his Captain and crew first travel by ship to China, then travel overland back to Britain over Asia and the war torn Europe.

I had thought it would be a trilogy, but there is a preview of a chapter of a fourth book at the end of the third - and that preview has a HUGE!!!!!! shocker in it. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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I got hooked into HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON when Duchess wrote about about it for our book blog, and I'm just as enthusiastic about it as she is. So far I've read the first few pages of the third book, and got pulled away by reviewing necessities.

THRONE OF JADE was very exciting, and Temeraire's personality just as delightful as in the first book. This may sound, from the way we are talking, as if it is a book mainly for women, but it isn't. The author has a surprisingly good understanding of military action. I'd say it has the ability to engage people of many interests.

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Oh, I would never call these "chick" books, despite many cute and/or amusing bits. I think that men would enjoy them every bit as much as Joy and I both did. They are filled with battle and adventure!



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Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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For Novik's blog.

I was happy to see that something I was suspecting from the spoiler chapter from book four (which appears at the end of book three) might well be coming true, judging from her recent research trip. Well, adding up that spoiler chapter with something that happens in Throne of Jade. Sounds like book four will be another wonderful adventure story.

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Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i>Edited by: Duchess of Malfi at: 8/1/06 10:29 am
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I saw on Novik's live journal that the fourth book will probably be published in the coming fall (2007) and has a working title of A Brazen Armament.

There is a story fragment that is sort of a deleted scene between book three and the upcoming book four posted at Novik"s livejournal:

The official title for book four will Empire of Ivory.

Coming September 25, 2007:



I am looking as forward to this one as I am to the new Donaldson in October.

First review I've run into for the new book (currently the second one down on the page):



So he likes it better then three, but sounds like not as much as the first two?

Just got an email from Amazon. The book will not be shipped until early October - there is some sort of delay by a week or so.

(Oh well - at least it will give me more time for my Donaldson reread ).