Release Date: 21/05/15
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
SYNOPSIS:
Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travellers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that's not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he's still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we're grateful, but not that grateful.
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, ambitious wizard, known only as the Dragon, to keep the wood's powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman must be handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as being lost to the wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia - all the things Agnieszka isn't - and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But no one can predict how or why the Dragon chooses a girl. And when he comes, it is not Kasia he will take with him.
REVIEW:
Naomi is well known for her Temeraire series and whilst this one keeps with Dragons to a certain degree, it’s a completely different type of tale going more into the world of faerie tales but still keeping the authors magical storytelling style with top notch characters.
Each cast member brings something to the fore within this title and when you add solid action sequences, great prose and dialogue that helps embody the characters within the readers mind, all round makes this a new title that will be a pure joy to read. Magic.
Release Date: 13/08/13
Publisher: Del Rey
SYNOPSIS:
Naomi Novik’s beloved Temeraire series, a brilliant combination of fantasy and history that reimagines the Napoleonic wars as fought with the aid of intelligent dragons, is a twenty-first-century classic. From the first volume, His Majesty’s Dragon, readers have been entranced by the globe-spanning adventures of the resolute Capt. William Laurence and his brave but impulsive dragon, Temeraire. Now, in Blood of Tyrants, the penultimate volume of the series, Novik is at the very height of her powers as she brings her story to its widest, most colorful canvas yet.
Shipwrecked and cast ashore in Japan with no memory of Temeraire or his own experiences as an English aviator, Laurence finds himself tangled in deadly political intrigues that threaten not only his own life but England’s already precarious position in the Far East. Age-old enmities and suspicions have turned the entire region into a powder keg ready to erupt at the slightest spark—a spark that Laurence and Temeraire may unwittingly provide, leaving Britain faced with new enemies just when they most desperately need allies instead.
For to the west, another, wider conflagration looms. Napoleon has turned on his former ally, the emperor Alexander of Russia, and is even now leading the largest army the world has ever seen to add that country to his list of conquests. It is there, outside the gates of Moscow, that a reunited Laurence and Temeraire—along with some unexpected allies and old friends—will face their ultimate challenge . . . and learn whether or not there are stronger ties than memory.
REVIEW:
OK, I loved the original books in the series and sadly missed Crucible of Gold, so when I started reading this, it was fairly obvious that I’d missed an epic adventure. This tale however was something that I found sadly lacking. Don’t get me wrong it was great to adventure with Temeraire and Laurence again as well as spending time with their friends but this book felt a little flat, as if it was designed more to be a series of short stories that was suddenly decided to be bound together to make a novel. I felt cheated and a little disjointed as each time I felt I had a handle, the events within seemed to jump partly to a new location finally taking us to Moscow for the main part of the book.
That said, I do love the authors writing style, I love the prose, the pace and the way that the combat is not only handled but delivered to the readers imagination but when its delivered in such a way I had a hard time accepting this as an overall title. I really would suggest that they sell this more as a couple of shorts and a novella rather than one book.
Release Date: 24/06/10
BOOK BLURB:
Naomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars. Laurence and Temeraire have been banished from the country they've fought so hard to protect - and the friends they have made in the British Aerial Corps. Found guilty of treason, man and dragon have been deported to Australia to start a new life and many new adventures.
REVIEW:
As a long time fan of Novik’s Napoleonic dragon series, I really can’t wait for each title to land. In this case the heroic duo’s tale of exile in Australia due to the events in the previous offering.
Whilst the adventure was there and the familiar characters warm the readers emotions alongside memory, this is perhaps the weakest of the series to date as not much happens. I really hope that Laurence and Temeraire’s next outing improves as I’d hate ot see what started with a bang end with a damp squib.
BOOK BLURB:
Those exiles and rebels determined to bring peace to Lescar discover the true cost of war. Courage and friendships are tested to breaking point.
Twenty-eight doses of wonder. From the distant past to the present day, from Antarctica and Mars to worlds that never were, the tales in this book bring news from nowhere-and everywhere. Fantasy is a mode of storytelling, a method of entertainment, a mode of argument, and a way of seeing. Here, presented by two of the most distinguished anthologists of the day, are twenty-eight stories that see, tell, argue, and entertain.
REVIEW:
With the genre being what it is, every fan has a firm favourite author that they’ll buy as they know that they’ll get pure quality for their buck. What adds to this offering is the sheer talent within the pages giving the reader as wide a taste of the genre as the colours on a spectrum. It’s a great way for readers to try authors that they’ve heard of but not wanted to spend the money on as they’re unsure in order to get a taster of the talent out there. A great offering and definitely a format that I highly approve of, wishing that a great many more publishers would release into as the sheer scope at times, makes affording so many quality novels difficult.
