His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) Mass Market Paperback – March 28, 2006

I should start by telling you dear reader that I'm not a Fantasy or dragon buff in the least bit. His Majesty's Dragon found itself in my TBR via a recommendation of the Goodreads group Clean Romances. HMD is not a romance but it is a beautiful and rewarding love story. And so tender that I found myself a little choked by the end of the first chapter and then constantly throughout the book.In a way Captain Laurence reminds me very much of Jane Austen's descriptions of Navy men in Persuasion. In my mind Laurence stands as a man of true worth and honor, and the more I got to know him the more I appreciated his character. He is a full fledged hero, not perfect by any means but worth the flipping of every page. In fact it is his imperfections that endeared him to me, please notice his feelings when they cast lots and after speaking with Edith. This book earns extra love from me because the characters were very true to their time, despite the talking dragons, these are not modern people set in past times. From the way they talk to the way the conduct themselves they reflect the society they belonged to.Temeraire is a delightful creature full of insight and dangerously Jacobite wisdom. The supporting characters, aviators and dragons alike, are all skillfully but not deeply sketched and I longed to get to know them better, however I wouldn't trade one paragraph away from Laurence and Temeraire's story for more on the supporting cast. No need for such measures, HMD is the first of what is right now a six book series and I have no doubt we'll get to know them better in the subsequent books.Warfare and battle descriptions are not my cup of tea but the action is compelling and my interest didn't wane as it usually does, though I did speed through bits here and there. What happens in the battlefield further provides insight into the personalities of those involved and moves the story forward. And although there are deaths and violence the book doesn't unbecomingly focus on them. The geographic descriptions and most historical references were pretty much lost on me since I'm not scholarly inclined. All I can say is that in an nebulous kind of way, the historical stuff sounded about right.THE AUDIOBOOK:The recording is pretty great in my opinion. Good volume, cadence and rhythm. No hissing, no page turning noise. I have only one quarrel and that is the reader's portrayal of Temeraire, though this problem may be attributed to my own illogical expectations. I was expecting Temeraire to sound like Sean Connery in Dragonheart (the only talking dragon of my acquaintance) and he doesn't sound anything like that. At first it bothered me very much but by chapter three I was fairly reconciled and by the end I was completely over it. On a good note I noticed that Simon Vance, the reader, remains the same for the first five audio books. Continuity is always nice for me, I hate when they switch readers in a series.About the movie:I don't know much about it but it seems like Peter Jackson (Lord of The Rings) is bringing HMD to the big screen. I can't pretend to be excited since Jackson's work has disappointed me in the past and I'm never much inclined to like adaptations because of all the wonderful book stuff that gets lost in translation. When the time comes I might watch it, it'll depend largely on my mood at the time.

I stumbled across a mention of this book; when it was compared to O'Brian I had to get a look at it -- and to my shock, it was online for free. That confused me, and initially I actually thought it was fanfiction. As I read I began thinking, "damn, this is high-quality fanfic" but it wasn't too long before I realized HMJ was a Real Book. It's fun -- imaginative -- well-written -- and I'd say that as long as you're willing to give Napoleonic Era dragons a chance, both plot and characters are plausible and intriguing.MILD SPOILERS: Novik captures so well the gradual evolution of Laurence's feelings toward Temeraire, and Temeraire himself is delightful, a cross between a child and a philosopher. The plotline of the French aviator was excellent -- moving, exciting and believable. The upheaval in Laurence's life and his struggle to make a place for himself and his dragon in "the Corps" rang very true. And I love the toughness and good sense of the female aviators; Jane Roland is my heroine (Catherine too) -- Longwings rock. I wondered how Novik would work the Corps into various battles; I think she did a great job with it -- and the invasion scene was ingenious.Publishing the first novel of the series with free access was a great idea, I think -- after reading HMD online, I promptly bought all four follow-ups (you can't beat those prices), and after a couple of weeks I even bought the "tree-book" copy of HMD so I'd have the whole set. And though the cover illustrations don't really match the physique of the dragons as described by Ms. Novik, they are gorgeous in themselves, and nice to have on hand. (Actually Victory of Eagles is in a different style than the others, and struck me as more accurate -- apart from the mechanized aspect.)My one criticism would be that there is an occasional awkward sentence -- and the only reason I noticed them was because the book as a whole is written so well. As far as the "cribbing" from O'Brian mentioned in another [positive] review, I enjoyed it; for me, those touches were more an homage than anything else, an homage which the author expected fellow Aubrey/Maturinites to note and enjoy. Can't wait for the next installment.

Zeker een aanrader voor de beginnende lezer. (Cq 13 jaar+) maar ook lekker weglezend voor boekverslinders.Verhaal is meeslepend, spannend, gevoelsspellend en buiten gewoon beeldschetsent.Je leeft echt mee met de hoofdpersonen en alles wat ze meemaken.

Mi sono accostata da poco al genere Fantasy, ma devo dire che la Novik mi affascina moltissimo con la sua scrittura evocativa ed intensa.Sicuramente Temeraire è un personaggio moolto particolare che unisce alla potenza fisica un'enorme tenerezza e ingenuità infantile; ma proprio attraverso quest'ingenuità riesce a mettere in discussione pilastri della società occidentale ormai incontestati e quasi dogmatici.La relazione tra Lawrence ed il suo drago Temeraire è sempre commovente anche se spesso l'affettazione del capitano di marina è esageratamente controllata lasciando poco spazio al flusso emotivo, che pure traspare anche nei silenzi.Da consigliare? si certo. Speriamo che i prossimi libri siano all'altezza del primo.

His Majesty’s Dragon takes place in a world like ours. It pretty much is our world. With the slight difference that there are actual dragons living on our planet. And people learned to tame an ride those animals. For many countries dragons are the Aerial Corps, thus they engage in war. There are many references to the history of our world, like the Napoleonic Wars. Yet those take a slightly different turn because of the dragons and their significance to warfare.In this world we meet Temeraire, a dragon like no other. He and his handler Laurence set out to train for the battle that is most certainly to come. It will determine the future of the British Empire. Will those two be ready for it when the time comes?I enjoyed this book so much. The characters are fantastic. There are different dragon types with different abilities and disadvantages. Temeraire is neither the biggest nor the fastest dragon we meet. Instead he shines when it comes to intelligence. But that’s not always an advantage in the military.Laurence, on the other hand, does have a military background and is well accustomed to these procedures and such a lifestyle. So he has his own problems to overcome when he becomes Temeraire’s handler. Sometimes that’s just hilarious to watch.It’s really great to see those two interact with one another and their environment. Both their worlds are turned upside down and they have to come to terms with new situations, unpleasant people and orders they might not like. In the end this book is about friendship, loyalty and finding your place in society.

Interesting perspective brought by this world, interesting characters, interesting story! I really liked this book!I admit that I sometimes skipped. Few words of the battles descriptions, and the "Beasts" (to avoid any spoiler) descriptions.

When Captain Will Laurence seizes a French warship during the Napoleonic Wars he has no idea how his life will change - for the French are carrying a rare dragon's egg out of which hatches Temeraire who will have only Laurence himself for his owner.I really fell in love with this book: from the moment Temeraire hatched, stood up on his hindlegs and spoke to Laurence with his mix of whimsicality and inquisitiveness I was completely hooked. Novik has created a wonderfully solid world, part Jane Austen and Patrick O'Brien (Laurence reminded me particularly of Captain Wentworth in Austen's  Persuasion ), and part Tolkein. I particularly liked the way she doesn't bother with loads of backstory or explanation, simply drops us into a world in which speaking dragons as war machines are quite normal, and leaves us to find our feet.Most of all I love the characterisation in the book: the dragons have personality as much as the humans and I was literally laughing out loud at some of Temeraire's remarks, as well as moved to tears (Levitas).This is the first of a six book series, and so has a leisurely approach to plot. We see Laurence struggle as he abandons his naval career to become a dragon aviator, his and Temeraire's military training and, most of all, the growth of their relationship. That said, there are some gripping action sequences, and the whole thing is lightened by Novik's wonderful prose and immense imagination. I never struggled to believe anything in the novel's world and was utterly absorbed throughout.I don't read much fantasy (although this is a difficult book to categorise) but I absolutely loved this - I had to buy the next two books in the series before even finishing this, it's that compelling. So, whatever the genre, this is a brilliant feat of storytelling - highly recommended. Persuasion