Book description
History takes flight in the second book of Naomi Novik's deliciously
addictive series which captures the Napoleonic period perfectly and
skillfully layers the timeline with imagination by adding a Dragon Air
Force to the battle for England.
Captain William Laurence of the British Air Corps and his dragon,
Temeraire, begin their slow voyage to China, fearful that upon landing
they will be forced to part by Imperial decree.
Temeraire is a Celestial dragon, the most highly-prized of all draconic
breeds; famed for their intelligence, agility and most of all for the
Divine Wind - their terrible roar capable of shattering the heavy
timbers of war ships, shattering woodland and destroying other dragons
mid-flight. Temeraire's egg was captured and claimed by the British at
sea, but he was meant to be the companion of the Emperor Napoleon and
not captained by a mere officer in the British Air Corps.
The Chinese have demanded his return and the British cannot refuse them
- they cannot afford to provoke the asian super-power into allying
themselves with the French - even if it costs them the most powerful
weapon in their arsenal and inflicts the most unimaginable pain upon
Laurence and his dragon. 'These are beautifully written novels, not
only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters
with real heart'
Peter Jackson
'Novik won me over with her first novel. the combination of history,
sympathetic characters, and an engaging style makes this series great,
intelligent fun.'
The Times
'Plenty of intrigue, swordplay, exotic locations, plausible invention.
In short a treat'
The Telegraph
'Novik has stirred the passions with a genre-busting historical fantasy
of the first order'
Sunday Sport Naomi Novik was born in New York in 1973, a
first-generation American, and raised on Polish fairy tales, Baba Yaga,
and Tolkien. She studied English Literature at Brown University and did
graduate work in Computer Science at Columbia University before leaving
to participate in the design and development of the computer game
Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief
winter sojourn working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a
truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her
closet), she realized she preferred the writing to the programming, and,
on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels. Temeraire
is her first.
Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers. Her
website and livejournal are at www. temeraire. org
