Blood of Tyrants
by Naomi Novik (Del Rey, 978-0-345-52289-4)
Temeraire matures
Review by Lawrence I. Charters, December 27, 2013
Naomi Novik reimagines Napoleon’s conquest of Europe (and beyond) in a reality that includes dragons. Intelligent, sometimes even gifted dragons, with unique gifts beyond being simply large and capable of flight. In Blood of Tyrants, the eighth book in this series, Temeraire the dragon and his companion, Captain William Laurence, the action ranges from Japan to China to Russia, dealing with some profound health care issues for Laurence, moral dilemmas for Temeraire, and the huge, global dread brought on by Napoleon’s conquest of everything he sets out to subdue.
What are these books about? They are about the wars of Napoleon, the social and economic cataclysms of those wars, the institution of slavery, civil rights and liberties, education and freedom, innocence and responsibility, duty and honor, intelligence and maturity, power and restraint. And dragons.
Highly recommended.