Wednesday, 23 December 2020 08:38 pm
Book Review: Throne of Jade
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deckardcanineYou didn't think I was going to review that Spanish book, did you? I understood enough of it, but I can hardly judge it, and I doubt anyone in my audience will ever pick it up. Anyway, I followed with Naomi Novik's sequel to His Majesty's Dragon. It's another flintlock fantasy but not much like The Black Prism; where the latter has magic and no mythical creatures, the former has mythical creatures (sea serpents in addition to dragons, at least) and no magic.
Chinese leaders have found out that the rare dragon egg they intended for Napoleon fell into Captain Laurence's hands, and they do not respect the claimed right to seize cargo from French ships. British leaders hope to appease the superpower, but neither Laurence nor Temeraire (now also called Lung Tien Xiang) could stand to separate forever. The compromise: send both to China to sort it out, along with their aviation crew, sailors under an old friend from Laurence's naval days, interpreter/diplomat Arthur Hammond, and the entourage of Prince Yongxing, who hopes to persuade Xiang to accept a more "proper" captain.
More than half the book takes place on the ship. This may be disappointing if you have your heart set on aerial warfare, but given how difficult I find those battles to picture, it was something of a relief to me. There are still several lethal action sequences of various types, however episodic, to break up the potential tedium of political drama. And hey, way to provide more of a challenge for these pro warriors. Temeraire can hardly find a time to use his most powerful attack.
I'm afraid there's even less female human presence than last time. Preteen tomboy Emily Roland, daughter of Laurence's apparent girlfriend, is the only one on the ship, making a point not to let the superstitious British sailors suspect her gender. And no women within China have anything important to do with the matters at hand. At least there are plenty of reptilian ladies in play, for good or ill.
Early on, I wondered if the depiction of Chinese people would strike me as politically incorrect. Certainly they have a spotty record on human rights (not that Brits did much better at the time), and Laurence is not predisposed to like or understand their culture. But most of them are not as nasty as Yongxing, and they treat their dragons way nicer. That is a bit troubling to Laurence; might Temeraire actually prefer to stay?
Hammond adds interest as a younger man with ambitions of opening up international trade, Temeraire not being his first priority. He and Laurence are frequently at odds with one another, but Laurence in his better moments recognizes that Hammond is leagues beyond him in diplomacy.
Laurence also finds himself less and less able to defend the ways of his home nation. Temeraire, while firmly on Britain's side of the war, continues his pattern of decreasing satisfaction with the British government. I will not be surprised if he goes full rebel in volume 3, with only his loyalty to Laurence holding him slightly in check.
For all his intelligence, Temeraire still comes across as quite juvenile. He gets confused by the concept of theater, for example. If anyone exhibits more internal growth in the course of the story than Laurence, he does. Not everything he does is innocent or justified, but I haven't stopped liking every moment of his presence on the pages.
Someday I'll see whether Black Powder War is just as enjoyable. In the meantime, I'm starting another second volume, namely The Doll's House of the Sandman series.
Chinese leaders have found out that the rare dragon egg they intended for Napoleon fell into Captain Laurence's hands, and they do not respect the claimed right to seize cargo from French ships. British leaders hope to appease the superpower, but neither Laurence nor Temeraire (now also called Lung Tien Xiang) could stand to separate forever. The compromise: send both to China to sort it out, along with their aviation crew, sailors under an old friend from Laurence's naval days, interpreter/diplomat Arthur Hammond, and the entourage of Prince Yongxing, who hopes to persuade Xiang to accept a more "proper" captain.
More than half the book takes place on the ship. This may be disappointing if you have your heart set on aerial warfare, but given how difficult I find those battles to picture, it was something of a relief to me. There are still several lethal action sequences of various types, however episodic, to break up the potential tedium of political drama. And hey, way to provide more of a challenge for these pro warriors. Temeraire can hardly find a time to use his most powerful attack.
I'm afraid there's even less female human presence than last time. Preteen tomboy Emily Roland, daughter of Laurence's apparent girlfriend, is the only one on the ship, making a point not to let the superstitious British sailors suspect her gender. And no women within China have anything important to do with the matters at hand. At least there are plenty of reptilian ladies in play, for good or ill.
Early on, I wondered if the depiction of Chinese people would strike me as politically incorrect. Certainly they have a spotty record on human rights (not that Brits did much better at the time), and Laurence is not predisposed to like or understand their culture. But most of them are not as nasty as Yongxing, and they treat their dragons way nicer. That is a bit troubling to Laurence; might Temeraire actually prefer to stay?
Hammond adds interest as a younger man with ambitions of opening up international trade, Temeraire not being his first priority. He and Laurence are frequently at odds with one another, but Laurence in his better moments recognizes that Hammond is leagues beyond him in diplomacy.
Laurence also finds himself less and less able to defend the ways of his home nation. Temeraire, while firmly on Britain's side of the war, continues his pattern of decreasing satisfaction with the British government. I will not be surprised if he goes full rebel in volume 3, with only his loyalty to Laurence holding him slightly in check.
For all his intelligence, Temeraire still comes across as quite juvenile. He gets confused by the concept of theater, for example. If anyone exhibits more internal growth in the course of the story than Laurence, he does. Not everything he does is innocent or justified, but I haven't stopped liking every moment of his presence on the pages.
Someday I'll see whether Black Powder War is just as enjoyable. In the meantime, I'm starting another second volume, namely The Doll's House of the Sandman series.