TONGUES OF SERPENTS
by Naomi Novik
Novik (Victory of Eagles, 2008, etc.) delivers the sixth book in her alternate-history fantasy series, this time bringing its dragon-centered story to early-1800s Australia.
The Temeraire series, which began with His Majesty’s Dragon (2006), is set during the era of the Napoleonic Wars, and armies use sentient, flying, fire-breathing dragons for aerial warfare. In this latest installment, Captain Will Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, have been sent away to a new locale—a British penal colony in Australia, where Laurence meets with such real-life local historical figures as Governor William Bligh. The story revolves mainly around a quest to find a stolen dragon egg, which sends Laurence, Temeraire and their human and dragon comrades traveling across the Australian continent—finally leading to a violent battle involving flying dragons, sea serpents and British naval vessels. The plot advances at a rather leisurely pace, but Novik keeps things engaging by spending much of the book expounding on the care, feeding and behavior of dragons, and readers who appreciate such world-building detail will enjoy these sections greatly.
An effective chapter in the popular series, featuring well-developed dragon characters that are often more entertaining than their human counterparts.