Good Books: Temeraire

A couple years ago, I got hubby fascinated with fantasy. He still reads other things, but after reading a few of the fantasy books I recommended, he has branched out and is now recommending fantasy books for me.

Currently, we are reading the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It's about dragons.

It's an interesting twist on most dragon series, though. It's set in our world, during the Napoleanic era. In fact, the dragons themselves are fighting in the wars both with and against Napolean.

So far, we're both really enjoying them. It's fantasy, a little bit of history, and the writing is a rather uniqe style. It's definitely engaging to read, but there are phrases and choices of wording that definitely sound like they come from the era in which the story is set. It gives the whole series a sense of reality that is requisite in a fantasy story.

Also, while there is a little bit of swearing (think British aristocratic soldiers) and obviously some fighting, there isn't much gore, which is easy to incorporate into fantasy. There also isn't much in the way of sexual innuendos. What is there is presented with the childlike innocence and curiosity of a young dragon and obscured by the narrative of the somewhat prudish gentleman who is both the dragon's handler and the main character of the story.

Well done, Naomi Novik!