We have something of a #WyrdAndWonder bonus post today, as I hadn’t originally thought I’d be able to finish this book during the month of May. But it turns out that when you set your mind to something — and have four different county’s library cards in Libby — there is nothing you can’t accomplish!

I think I had originally hoped to write about this book for the Five Fantasy Favorites prompt involving memorable captains (Sea Dog Peg Leg?), but I could only think of like three, including Laurence (the MC of this book), and so we’re gonna use our free space for this one and theme this post as simply “Current Read“.

In any case, this kinda works out perfectly since His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire Book 1), is in all honesty, a bit light in its . . . nautical-ness. Really it is only the first two chapters of the book which physically take place at sea, with the rest taking place in a type of dragon training ground (which I guess is named after a lake), or at a military outpost along the British coast.

Now, as I mentioned above, Laurence is a British Navy Captain (aboard the ship The Reliant which he must abandon when he bonds with Temeraire), and so there is a certain naval lens through which he sees the world. Whether its his strict adherence to rank, manners, and discipline (he at one point re-packs a lover’s luggage because it isn’t neat enough), or his ability to quickly understand concepts and procedures of military aviation because of their likeness with maritime strategy, Laurence’s whole worldview is set by his occupation as a ship captain.

In terms of character writing, this is kinda perfect as it sets Laurence up as an outsider among the other dragon riders — so plenty of challenges to overcome during the novel — but also gives him the exact unique skillset he needs to succeed since Naomi Novik’s version of dragons are essentially just living, breathing, TALKING!!, flying frigates with perhaps as much as a dozen people crawling around the their hides mid-flight like little remora fish swimming next to a great white (ayy there’s another reference to the sea).

Seriously, these beasts are HUGE!

Like my brain actually could not accept that something so big could fly. Despite having read many books about dragons at this point, I feel like my default for how big a dragon is seems to default to Toothless from the 2010 animated movie How to Train Your Dragon. This was doubly so, as newly-hatched Temeraire even kinda acts like Toothless (yes, I am very excited for the new movie).

Side note: When it comes to who may have copied who, the release order goes: How to Train Your Dragon (children’s book) in 2003, His Majesty’s Dragon (book) in 2006, and How to Train Your Dragon (movie) in 2010 . . . Which is to say, there’s no telling.

But as we progress through the book — and Temeraire grows — it becomes impossible to ignore just how massive Novik’s dragons are. Whole teams of riflemen ride aboard them clipped in place with leather straps and metal carabiners. At one point, Laurence’s crew is running drills to kill time during a long flight and Laurence decides against having them pitch the sleeping tents meaning Temeraire is at least campground size . . . it boggles the mind.

Despite being almost literally unable to imagine it, this aspect of the book hardly diminished my enjoyment of the story for Novik introduces the true draw of the story early on which is — a veritable fantasy genre classic — the bond between dragon and rider. I really appreciated Novik’s take here as there is no magic involved, nor any story-mechanic which will kill the other if one dies (as in the more recent Empyrean series). No, Temeraire just recognizes Laurence as a person of worth and substance, and chooses him. Then as the story progresses, they take care of each other, and their relationship grows organically until they’re hardly separable. It was quite honestly the most touching thing I’ve read in a long while.

What did diminish my enjoyment of the story (only minimally), was the sort of Regency Era language through which the story was told. The blurb on the back cover of my copy claims the book is “. . . like Jane Austen playing Dungeons & Dragons . . . “, which is a remarkably effective way to describe the book.

Now this language is historically accurate — the book takes place during Napoleon’s reign which ended near the end of the Regency period — yet somehow just not very enjoyable (for me) to read. I can’t even say that it’s because I only like more modern language in fiction as one of the expressed reasons I enjoyed Godkiller was that its prose harkened back to an earlier time. I guess I’m just not a big fan of this period’s language.

Give His Majesty’s Dragon A Read?

Yes! Despite my quibbles with the prose style, I still enjoyed His Majesty’s Dragon quite a bit. My favorite parts were the character moments between Temeraire and Laurence, but it was also fun to have my mind blown by the size of these massive dragons.

I’m looking forward to picking up the next book, Throne of Jade, soon!

That’s all I have for this time. What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of the Regency period? Its prose style? What are the coolest dragons you’ve read about? Would you ride one of these massive beasts?

As usual, please leave your thoughts in the comments section. I’m looking forward to discussing this one!

And happy #WyrdAndWonder!