Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Novik collaborates with her fans in this welcome return to the alternate 19th-century world of her Temeraire series, in which English naval captain William Laurence befriends the newly hatched Chinese dragon he names Temeraire and the two of them enjoy adventures around the globe. Perhaps the best story in the collection is "Golden Age," which tells an alternate version of the first meeting between Temeraire (here called Celeste) and Laurence and the formation of their unusual bond. Returning readers will also recognize Capt. Jane Roland and Excidium as they prepare to swoop down on a fleet of French ships in "Dawn of Battle." Other entries feature different characters ("Dragons and Decorum" is a lengthy and unnecessary retelling of Pride and Prejudice) or moments of historical significance (longtime readers will recognize the events of "Succession" as the moment when the Chinese decide to send Temeraire's egg to the French, inadvertently placing it in the path of Laurence's ship). The collection closes with a flurry of microfiction, each fragment attached to a different piece of fan art. This collector's item is meant for devoted fans; readers new to the series shouldn't start here. Agent: Cynthia Manson, Cynthia Manson Literary. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
With League of Dragons, Novik ended her nine-volume historical "Temeraire" dragon-themed fantasies, set in an alternate 19th century against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Now Temeraire, -Laurence, and many other characters from the series appear in this original collection of short fiction. The usually affable Volly is routed when he runs for Parliament in "Volly's Cow." Capt. Jane Roland stands her ground in "Dawn of Battle." And in "Dragons and Decorum," readers will see a very familiar (here Capt.) Elizabeth -Bennet meeting a certain Mr. Darcy. Adorning many of the pages are illustrations from supportive fans. VERDICT This illustrated collection, which can serve as a stand-alone or as a companion volume for readers of military fantasy and dragon fiction, will bring joy to the series' many admirers.-KC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Novik crowned her nine-book Temeraire sequence, an alternate-world Napoleonic Wars featuring intelligent dragons, with League of Dragons (2016) and now weighs in with an associated all-original story collection, each entry occasioned by an accompanying fan illustration.The entries comprise six stories plus 26 "drabbles"a term, invented in Monty Python's Big Red Book (1971) and possibly a tongue-in-cheek reference to novelist Margaret Drabble, indicating vignettes of 100 words or less. So accomplished, absorbing, and wide-ranging is Novik's creation that the stories elicit enormous pleasure even when the contents are slight. Intriguingly, some don't fit into the canon at all even when the world they evoke is perfectly familiar. In the splendid "Golden Age," for example, we meet a Capt. Laurence who never encountered the Chinese imperial dragon Temeraire and is still a sea captain; here, he comes upon a similarly huge black dragon who calls himself Cleste and has taken up piracy as a career. "Planting Season" offers a glimpse of independent American dragon John Wampanoag making a living conveying cargo. "Dawn of Battle" features Capt. Jane Roland (later admiral and Laurence's lover) taking charge of her dragon and crew as her mother never dared to do. A literary what-if, "Dragons and Decorum," presents dragon-captain (!) Elizabeth Bennet, her dragon, Wollstonecraft, and her suitor, a certain Mr. Darcy, in action during the French invasion of England detailed in Victory of Eagles (2008). And the drabbles form an intriguing bunch: readers will have enormous fun working out where, or even if, they fit into the series, with outtakes from various times, locales, and events, whimsical sketches (Temeraire reads Beowulf, much to his confusion), and still others that hint at alternate worlds within alternate worlds (a dragon egg attended by robot servants hatches on an alien planet). All too brief, alas, but a must-read for all fans of this outstanding series. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
