Honeyed Words: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik · 2 April 2007

It’s always good practice not to judge a book by its cover (especially a fantasy book) but since the cover of this book is what alerted me to it in the first place, I believe it deserves it due.

The cover, a brilliant cinnabar red showcases a striking black dragon wrapped around the cameo of a nineteenth century sailing ship. The dragon is glossy and menacing, with both lace-webbed wings unfurled and its tongue extended as if preparing to strike. What caught my attention about the beautiful artwork by Dominic Harman was the sense that the dragon was defending the ship.

It turns out I guessed exactly right. Naomi Novik has put her passion for history to use and imagined a world in which the leading powers in the Napoleonic wars had an Air Force, of dragons. The dragon on the cover, one Temeraire, is England’s newest recruit to their Ariel Corps, captained by the newly transferred Will Laurence, lately a Captain in His Majesty’s Navy.

The adventure begins with the capture of a French ship by Captain Laurence’s own, which sets the timeframe and informs the reader of the hostilities between the two countries. The French frigate, undermanned and in desperate straights, is forced to give up their bounty, a dragon egg just when war struck England is in desperate need of more dragons.

The crew is ecstatic and already counting their dragonettes before they’ve hatched, but Captain Laurence must deal with the dire reality of the situation. The ships are weeks from landfall, and no one is sure when the egg will hatch. Under normal circumstances, dragon eggs are watched by the Ariel Corps and the hatching is carefully attended. If the dragon does not bond with an aviator, then it become feral and it unfit for service in the Ariel Corps.

Captain Laurence gathers his officers and makes arrangements. The officers draw straws and the unlucky winner is assigned to keep watch over the egg and attempt to bond with the un-hatched dragon. While pitying the young officer, Laurence takes this opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief and acquaint the reader with his own fortune of birth and the outcast life that aviators generally live.

Unfortunately for Captain Laurence, come the time of the hatching it turns out the dragon has a mind of his own, and turns his nose up at the selected officer, surveying the crew, and eventually selecting Laurence by asking the question that would change his world, a simply query “Why are you frowning?” In this sentence the bond between Laurence and Temeraire is forged, one of mutual curiosity and learning.

Laurence must adjust to his new future, and give up his past in several painful but not altogether moving scenes. Unlike the scenes with Temeraire, where Laurence’s emotions are heartfelt and unstilted, Novik’s rendering of the humans relationships in Laurence’s life fell flat. Some of this may be based in the formality of the period but I couldn’t help feeling that Laurence was more relieved to be removed from the constraints of his stuffy family and a lukewarm attachment to a girl he’d seen a handful of times in as many years than he let on.

Likewise, Novik creates a sense of foreboding about the beginning of Laurence’s training, a tension between him and all the other aviators that he encounters before arriving at his first assignment. This tension is driven home at every opportunity, and when the cause is finally revealed I felt a bit like saying “Really? That’s it?”

After Laurence and Temeraire arrive at Loch Laggan to complete the Ariel Corps equivalent of boot camp, the story improves. Laurence and Temeraire’s relationship develops and Laurence’s character progresses into the role of likeable hero. As a seasoned naval Captain, Laurence is no stranger to handling the politics of rank, to hard work, or to toeing the line. He meets the challenges of his new station with the experiences of his old and with Temeraire’s companionship he looks to change the assumptions of “normal” behavior within the Corps.

The character of Temeraire was the most enjoyable part of the novel for me. After reading many books in which dragons communicate either telepathically or not at all, it was refreshing to read one in which they were portrayed as fully realized characters, engaged in the society of those around them. Temeraire is a complex player in the plot. He is courageous and eager to engage in battle yet nervous about his standing. He is eager to please yet unafraid to take a stance on issues of his own morality. He is exactly as I imagine a precocious adolescent dragon.

The end of the book petered off a bit after Laurence and Temeraire left Loch Laggan. The pacing seemed a bit off and I didn’t get the driving climactic force that I would have expected in what turned out to be a climactic ending, but this was a very enjoyable book with an ambitious premise that was very detailed in its execution and a very enjoyable duo as the main characters. I look forward to reading the remaining books in the series.

His Majesty's Dragon is the first in the Temeraire series

Alternate History, Dragons, Dominic Harman, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Naomi Novik, Speculative Fiction, Temeraire