In Novik’s counterfactual narrative, the presence of indigenous dragons shapes local cultures, international relations, and the politics of race, gender, and sex. What impresses me about the series is how it fulfills the wish of many of us who study the period: to imagine a different, better 19th-century world. The nine books of the Temeraire series offer excellent wish fulfillment for those interested in imagining martial derring-do, but that is not particularly my wish. Fans of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin novels will relish Novik’s accounts of slashing battles and brilliant military maneuvers taking place both on the seas and in the skies, as human aviators in bottle-green coats cling to brass-buckled leather harnesses atop their enormous dragons, twisting and diving and hurtling upward to evade French pursuit while bombing the ships far below.
The series has expressive, pitch-perfect writing, glorious steampunk details, and jaw-dropping adventures. Here’s what everyone will tell you about the award-winning Temeraire series that Naomi Novik has just completed: it’s the Napoleonic Wars (1803–15)-with dragons.
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