His Majesty's Dragon

infobox Book |
name = His Majesty's Dragon
translator =


author = Naomi Novik
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series = Temeraire
genre = Alternate history, Fantasy novel
publisher = Del Rey
release_date = March 28, 2006
media_type = Print
pages = 356 [cite web|url= http://search.barnesandnoble.com/His-Majestys-Dragon/Naomi-Novik/e/9780345481283/?itm=2|accessdate= 2008-05-01|title= "His Majesty's Dragon" on Barnesandnoble.com|publisher= Barnes & Noble]
isbn = ISBN 0-345-48128-3
followed_by = Throne of Jade

"His Majesty's Dragon", published in the UK as "Temeraire", is the first novel in the "Temeraire" alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik first published in 2005.

His Majesty's Dragon won the 2007 Compton Crook Award for best novel in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre during 2006 by a first time author in the genre.

The book was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2007, but lost out to "Rainbows End" by Vernor Vinge.

Plot introduction

The story is set during an alternate history version of the Napoleonic Wars, in which dragons not only exist but are used as a staple of aerial warfare in Asia and Europe. The dragons of the story are portrayed as sentient and intelligent, capable of logical thought and human speech. The series centers primarily on events involving Temeraire (the titular dragon) and his handler, Will Laurence. The first book of the series centers on how Laurence, formerly a Captain in the British Royal Navy, becomes Temeraire's handler, and their early training in preparation for battles against Napoleon's aerial fleet.

Plot summary

The dragon Temeraire is one of the series' central characters, as is his "aviator", Will Laurence, a former officer of the Royal Navy who had taken part in the capture of Temeraire's egg from a French ship while it was in transit to France. Temeraire is later discovered to be of a rare Chinese breed, and his capture by the British is considered a great coup.

Through the course of the book, Captain Laurence adjusts to his new role as an aviator, rather than a naval officer. Through him we learn how dragons are bred, raised, trained, and harnessed in combat. We are also introduced to the society of the aviators, a branch of the military trained to fight while mounted on dragons.

The training of Temeraire and Laurence is rushed so that their unit can assist the navy in preventing a French invasion while the veteran dragon units are sent to assist in the Battle of Trafalgar. Accordingly, the British win that engagement, although Horatio Nelson survives, one of the deviations from our history the series takes. Rather than a tactical blunder, Trafalgar turns out to be a Napoleonic ploy to leave Britain vulnerable to the world's first aerial assault.

Characters

see: "List of Temeraire characters"

References