Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik · 23 August 2007
So, as I hinted, my impressions of Throne of Jade were about the same as those of His Majesty's Dragon (my review of that book can be found here). Key differences between the books are the setting and the conflict. His Majesty’s Dragon is set in England and the conflict is the upcoming battle of Trafalgar in the Napoleonic Wars. Throne of Jade sees Laurence and Temeraire travel to China, and the conflict is more political than military.
The series seems well received in the fantasy community, and the first two books are fun reads, but they don’t have the engrossing feel of some of the superb books I’ve read in the genre.
Novik writes wonderful characters of which Temeraire is still my favorite, though in this book I missed the focus that was paid to him from the first book. Likewise Novik excels at describing scenes so that the reader can feel immersed in the world of the characters. She calls to mind the cramped quarters of a ship and the lush palaces of China with equal mastery. While skimming the book in preparation for writing this article, each small section reads beautifully. Novik has excellent control of the language and switches gears between styles as appropriate to the scene and the people in it.
The weakness in this book, and the thing that keeps it from being outstanding, is the handling of action scenes and the lack of a real sense of tension in the plot.
There was a particular scene, in which the characters were engaged in a battle that read a bit like “and then this happened, and then this, and then it was done.” Likewise, I had the same feeling I did in His Majesty’s Dragon where certain things were foreshadowed with the idea that they’d be exciting plot points, and they weren’t.
Throne of Jade includes adventure, intrigue, action, and philosophy, and has all the elements of an exciting plot. For some reason, they just didn’t come together in a way that had me on the edge of my seat as this type of story should. It was a sedate thriller, a measured mystery. Perhaps Novik is attempting to capture the feel of the English writers of the era and their deliberate manners. If so, she’s done it successfully; however, I think the topic of the book could have benefited from more modern pacing. Nevertheless, Throne of Jade is an enjoyable book and a quick read. I’ll be continuing the series to find out how Temeraire fares in his next adventure.
In related news, Subterreanean Press is releasing an illustrated version of His Majesty’s Dragon late this year or early next year. I was tipped off to that a preview of the first illustration has been released by Remy over at The Fantasy Review. The first illustration is not what I would have expected, but as Remy says, we’ll have to wait to see more.
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Heather (errantdreams) · 25 August 2007, 08:49
Sounds interesting; hopefully the author’s feel for pacing will improve over time. I still remember when I read a four-book series by Elizabeth Haydon noting that the pacing in the earlier books was, at times, atrocious, but in the final book it was incredible. (Watching a writer improve, when it happens, is one of the truly fun parts of following a writer’s work.)
Kim · 27 August 2007, 22:00
I’m hoping the same too. It really is a fun world with a fun dragon so I’m willing to put some time investment into watching how Novik grows the series.
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