50 in '13: #14
Oct. 10th, 2013 06:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sakon76Title: Blood of Tyrants
Author: Naomi Novik
Length: 431 pages
This book, even more than any of its predecessors, feels like the author has a checklist of "interesting event(s) in early-19th century global history that I want to write about." I think this impression is fuelled by the fact that the book is divided into three very clear sections. Part 1, Japan and the bafuku. Part 2, China and the beginning of the opium trade. Part 3, Napoleon in Russia. And while the narrative links between these three sections are fairly smooth, the fact that Laurence and Temeraire hit three countries in one book feels strange.
I have a beef with the Japanese arc, not about its depiction of Japan (I would defer to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sandpanther's superior knowledge on that point), but about the amnesia storyline. It feels trite. Cliche, even. In fact, the most interesting point to me in the entire Japanese third of the book was meeting the American trader and getting a glimpse at what the USA might be like in this universe. (A country that Novik has notably avoided sending Our Heroes to thus far. And she's, what, eight books into the series now?) How, exactly, would the country be set up in a universe with sentient dragons? It's been implied that it heavily changed how the new residents and the natives interacted, let alone introducing another species into the equation. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and dragons are created equal"...? Wherein "men" doesn't just mean educated white male landowners? I would love a book exploring that.
The China section was more interesting than Japan, but most interesting to me was Russia. Particularly toward the end, where the Russians moved too slowly in Doing The Right Thing, and as a result the French forces were able to preempt their move and in doing so turn everything ass over teakettle. I will be interested to see what this leads into, next book.
I do feel that a good sum-up of the entire series is contained in an observation one character makes to Laurence: "Where you go, you leave half the world overturned behind you. You are more dangerous than Bonaparte in your own way, you and that beast of yours." Very, very true.
Verdict: Not the strongest book in the series, but well worth the read. Just read the other seven first, or you will end up very, very confused.
Author: Naomi Novik
Length: 431 pages
This book, even more than any of its predecessors, feels like the author has a checklist of "interesting event(s) in early-19th century global history that I want to write about." I think this impression is fuelled by the fact that the book is divided into three very clear sections. Part 1, Japan and the bafuku. Part 2, China and the beginning of the opium trade. Part 3, Napoleon in Russia. And while the narrative links between these three sections are fairly smooth, the fact that Laurence and Temeraire hit three countries in one book feels strange.
I have a beef with the Japanese arc, not about its depiction of Japan (I would defer to
sandpanther's superior knowledge on that point), but about the amnesia storyline. It feels trite. Cliche, even. In fact, the most interesting point to me in the entire Japanese third of the book was meeting the American trader and getting a glimpse at what the USA might be like in this universe. (A country that Novik has notably avoided sending Our Heroes to thus far. And she's, what, eight books into the series now?) How, exactly, would the country be set up in a universe with sentient dragons? It's been implied that it heavily changed how the new residents and the natives interacted, let alone introducing another species into the equation. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and dragons are created equal"...? Wherein "men" doesn't just mean educated white male landowners? I would love a book exploring that.The China section was more interesting than Japan, but most interesting to me was Russia. Particularly toward the end, where the Russians moved too slowly in Doing The Right Thing, and as a result the French forces were able to preempt their move and in doing so turn everything ass over teakettle. I will be interested to see what this leads into, next book.
I do feel that a good sum-up of the entire series is contained in an observation one character makes to Laurence: "Where you go, you leave half the world overturned behind you. You are more dangerous than Bonaparte in your own way, you and that beast of yours." Very, very true.
Verdict: Not the strongest book in the series, but well worth the read. Just read the other seven first, or you will end up very, very confused.
