Temeraire (aka His Majesty's Dragon) was sold to me as Patrick O'Brian with dragons. It... isn't.
Don't get me wrong - it's a good book. It's a very interesting premise, pretty well executed, and I enjoyed it a lot. The genius of Patrick O'Brian, though, is the sheer density of historical detail - he was writing in the 20th century, but Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin feel as authentically Regency as, say, Elizabeth Bennet. Temeraire, in contrast, is looking at the Age of Sail through a thick 21st-century lens.
Trying to avoid spoilers here, but I thought the outcome to the climatic battle was a bit deus ex machina. In hindsight, it kind of was foreshadowed, but the thing about Chekhov's gun is that you know it's a gun. There was nothing to indicate that this, umm, thing could be used for the purpose it was used for. Clear as mud? Excellent!
I'm not selling this very well, am I? Really, though, all this is just nit-picking: overall, it's very good. It's well written - it flows well, and is neither too simplistic nor too dense; the characters, particularly the dragons, are sympathetic; and there are some lovely little details in the way the dragons are woven into the real historical events.
So, if you like alternate history and historical fiction, read it. If you only like alternate history, still read it. If you only like historical fiction, or more medieval/mythical fantasy, probably don't bother.
Don't get me wrong - it's a good book. It's a very interesting premise, pretty well executed, and I enjoyed it a lot. The genius of Patrick O'Brian, though, is the sheer density of historical detail - he was writing in the 20th century, but Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin feel as authentically Regency as, say, Elizabeth Bennet. Temeraire, in contrast, is looking at the Age of Sail through a thick 21st-century lens.
Trying to avoid spoilers here, but I thought the outcome to the climatic battle was a bit deus ex machina. In hindsight, it kind of was foreshadowed, but the thing about Chekhov's gun is that you know it's a gun. There was nothing to indicate that this, umm, thing could be used for the purpose it was used for. Clear as mud? Excellent!
I'm not selling this very well, am I? Really, though, all this is just nit-picking: overall, it's very good. It's well written - it flows well, and is neither too simplistic nor too dense; the characters, particularly the dragons, are sympathetic; and there are some lovely little details in the way the dragons are woven into the real historical events.
So, if you like alternate history and historical fiction, read it. If you only like alternate history, still read it. If you only like historical fiction, or more medieval/mythical fantasy, probably don't bother.
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