Black Powder War
by Naomi Novik
Published by Del Ray Books (a division of Ballantine)
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Reviewed by Sarra Borne
Black Powder War is the final novel in the dragon Temeraire trilogy by Naomi Novik. A captivating blend of fantasy and alternative military history, this book begins where Throne of Jade, the second in the trilogy, ends.
Temeraire is a Chinese Celestial dragon; one of the rarest and most prized of all dragon breeds. He and his companion Captain Laurence and their crew have fought aerial battles against Napoleon's armies in England and foiled a plot to overthrow the Emperor in China. Now their adventures are pointing them towards home, where Temeraire has plans to better the lives of his fellow dragons by educating them and their humans.
Feeling alone and alienated in a foreign land, it was with much relief that Captain Laurence received orders to report to Istanbul posthaste to collect three dragon eggs for delivery to England. Temeraire and crew are excited to be moving again, even though it means a long and arduous overland journey.
Braving sandstorms, raids by hostile natives, avalanches and feral dragon attacks, the beleaguered group makes it nearly to their destination before discovering that Temeraire's nemesis, the albino Celestial Lien, is exiling herself to France in the interests of revenge. To make matters worse, on arrival at Istanbul, not only is the group denied the promised eggs, they are virtually imprisoned.
After great effort, Temeraire and crew recover the eggs and manage to escape Istanbul, only to find themselves embroiled in the conflict between Prussia and France. Although suffering much hardship and grievous loss, their fortunes are on an upswing when help arrives from an unexpected direction. Temeraire and crew are finally heading home.
Temeraire's reacton to the hatching of tiny fire-breathing Iskierka is priceless. This reviewer hopes that Novik has future plans to revisit the dragons of the Aerial Corps.
Armchair Interviews says: Novik has a great sense of timing, she knows just when to insert some humor so as not to make the story too heavy.