Draped to the Ankles

His Majesty's Dragon

Let me start out by saying that I was never a huge fan of dragons. Sure, I read the Pern novels by Anne McCaffery when I was younger, but I didn't become obsessed by them or even sought out other books about dragons. That said, I inhaled His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. I really couldn't put it down.

The premise is a cross between the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwall, Patrick O'Brien's naval series, and Dragonriders of Pern. The story is set in an alternate universe where Napoleon is still the big bad bent on the conquest of England, but dragons are real. Not only are they real, but they are used as an aerial corps to support naval and ground troops.

Capt. Will Laurence is a dedicated naval captain, but when they capture a French ship with a very special egg on board, he knows his duty is to see that this dragon is brought safely home to England no matter the personal cost. And the cost at first seems very high, but we know that he will not feel this way for long, because everyone knows that dragons have a special relationship with their riders (at least, we do if we've read the Pern novels.)

The writing is very good, and I particularly enjoyed the bit at the end where Novik includes excerpts from the 18th century books on dragons that had been mentioned in the story. I also enjoyed the scene of dragons frolicking in the lake while their handlers look on in bemusement. My one problem with the book is that there are far too many species of dragons to keep track of. Don't ask me what a Regal Copper looks like, 'cause I couldn't tell you.

This is the first in a series, and I look forward to reading the rest, and anything she continues to write in the future.

His Majesty's Dragon at Amazon.

Naomi Novik's website.

Posted by Alexandra at February 9, 2007 07:29 AM