Her Book Self

I heard a lot of buzz surrounding Naomi Novik's Temeraire series before I finally picked up book one, His Majesty's Dragon.  As the title suggests, it is a fantasy novel, but it's also an interesting twist on historical fiction.  The book tackles the scenario of what would happen if the Napoleonic Wars were fought with the addition of an aerial corps of dragon riders.  The story begins with Naval Captain Will Laurence conquering a French ship and discovering a rare and remarkable treasure aboard: an unhatched dragon egg.  Laurence soon finds his fate intertwined with the newly born dragon, Temeraire, and he is quickly drafted away from the seas to a much different role in the King's military.

I loved the creative premise of this book and Naomi Novik tells a great story.  I really liked the characters and the vividly descriptive writing brought each one to life in my mind.  I would have liked more of the novel to revolve around the historical aspects, as the war took a bit of a backseat to the developing relationship of Laurence and Temeraire.  However, as the characters are now firmly established I look forward to where Novik takes them in future books in the series.