Book Review

His Majesty's Dragon (2006)

EW's GRADE
A

Details Release Date: Mar 28, 2006; Writer: His Majesty's Dragon; Genres: Fiction, Historical; Publisher: Del Rey

EDITOR\'S CHOICE Forget Dungeons, this Dragon has it all | His Majesty\'s Dragon
EDITOR'S CHOICE Forget Dungeons, this Dragon has it all

This book is for anyone who's read one of Patrick O'Brian's 19th-century-set naval adventures and mused: You know what would make this better? Dragons. Will Laurence, captain of the HMS Reliant during the Napoleonic Wars, defeats a French ship on the open sea and takes possession of its treasure: a dragon egg. This seemingly small event sends Laurence's life into turmoil: a resignation of his command, induction into Britain's Aerial Corps, and an unbreakable bond with Temeraire, the mysterious, intelligent beast that has chosen Laurence as his captain. What could've easily been a D&D-inspired mess is, in Naomi Novik's hands, a completely authentic tale, brimming with all the detail and richness one looks for in military yarns as well as the impossible wonder of gilded fantasy.

Originally posted Mar 24, 2006 Published in issue #870 Mar 31, 2006 Order article reprints

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