Books about dragons are my guilty read. I love diving into the world of dragons and love seeing how an author incorporate dragons into their story. His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik does just that and creates a wonderful fantasy world filled with dragons. Read the summary of the novel below!
Summary
Navy captain William Laurence seizes an enemy’s ship and board it. On board, they find a dragon egg on board. The egg is about to hatch and needs a handler but that means career suicide. Laurence ends up harnessing the newly hatched dragon and now is bonded to the dragon.
The year is 1804 and the book is covering Great Britain’s war with France with a twist; dragons are used by both countries in the war. Laurence and his newly hatched dragon Temeraire will have to learn how fight and prevent Napoleon and France to win the battle and the war.
His Majesty’s Dragon: Commentary
Novik’s concept of dragons being used in the army is interesting and makes you wonder just how that would look like. We see just how Dragons are trained and how they are housed. Temeraire is also an interesting character because while he is a dragon, you tend to forget that with the great dialogue in the novel.
His Majesty’s Dragon is a great series and creates a wonderful world that grows as you read more books in the series. The twists and turns keep things fresh and the focus on the Napoleon era makes it a page turner. We often get a lot of World War I or World War II novels but not many focus on Napoleon and his fight against the world.
Conclusion
If you love novels about wars and fantasy, then this is for you. If you like Napolean-esque novels, then this is a good twist. I enjoyed this book and was hooked on the series. Not your typical dragon novel but that is what makes it unique!