Book Rec

[rhienelleth]

I'm an eclectic reader, reading a little bit of everything, really. No genre is taboo, and I even dip into mainstream literature occassionally, or whatever it's being labled as these days. But at heart, fantasy is my genre. The touchstone I always return to, the home of many of my most favorite authors of all time, and what I prefer to write myself 99% of the time. But as the years have gone by, it's become more and more difficult for me to pick up a new author and/or series and read it, and love it as much as some of my old school favorites. I tend to pick up a new author, read a bit, and think "Oh. This is David Eddings/Terry Brooks/Weis and Hickman, only badly written." or "Sigh. This is Anne McCaffrey, but with horses instead of dragons. And mediocre writing." Every once in a while, I find a gem, and am thrilled beyond measure to have something new, and original (or with an original twist), and well written to love in my genre.

Anne Bishop was one. So was Terry Goodkind, once upon a time and several books ago. Jacqueline Carey. George R.R. Martin.

Naomi Novik is one of those gems. I knew I was going to love the book before I ever cracked the cover, because dolphin__girl, one of the writers/readers whose opinion I most respect, told me I would. When Sarah writes something, I know I'm going to love it, and when she recs something she loves, I have likewise yet to be disappointed.

Still, when I walked into the bookstore and picked up His Majesty's Dragon, I wavered for a moment. The cover blurb wasn't what I was expecting:

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

Of all the historical time periods that interest me, I've never really been intrigued by the Napoleonic Wars (blame my college history professor, who brought new meaning to the term 'monotone'.) I almost put the book back. It sounded entirely too historical for my taste, despite the inclusion of dragons. Dragons, after all, will always belong to Pern as far as I'm concerned. Beyond that, they tend to be the most often used cliche in fantasy. But I hesitated, because Sarah had raved about this book, so I knew it had to be good despite my misgivings. And there on the cover was a quote from, of all people, Anne McCaffrey herself. I figured it the Dragonlady could recommend this new twist on dragons, it was worth checking out. So I bought it.

Reading the first page told me three things right off:

1. I was right, this was definitely historical fantasy, with an emphasis on historical.

2. The writing style not only suited the chosen genre well, but also managed to pull me right in, which meant:

3. The writing was good. The narrator's voice was clear, believable, and very suited to the premise of the book.

By the end of the first chapter, I was completely hooked, and by halfway through the book, I knew this was my favorite fantasy involving dragons since McCaffrey and Pern. Now that I've finished the first book, I can hardly wait for book two to come out at the end of the month. One of the best, most original fantasy books I've come across in years. I highly rec this to anyone who reads the genre. Go and buy His Majesty's Dragon and fall in love with Temeraire yourself.

To wet your appetite and give you a taste of what I'm talking about, here's the online excerpt you can find on Noami's website, or at amazon.com. Follow the link to read it. You won't be sorry.

Comments

[dolphin--girl.livejournal.com]

See???? I'll refrain from saying "I told you so." ;o) I will say that the second book is just as good.

Yay!!!

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

I do love her fanfic; have you read her SGA stuff at astolat?

[trixalicious.livejournal.com]

I've had at least two mentions of this book today on my flist, so it's going straight to the top of my to-read-list. That's how I discovered George R.R. Martin anyhow... so thank goodness for my awesome f-list!

[rhienelleth.livejournal.com]

That's ok, I'll go ahead and say it for you - you told me so!

I'm sooooo jealous you've already read the second book!

[rhienelleth.livejournal.com]

She writes fanfic? I had no idea! *runs to check it out*

[rhienelleth.livejournal.com]

Yes! Buy it and read it, it is so worth it! :) Smart people, your f-list. ;)

[dolphin--girl.livejournal.com]

One of the (many) advantages of working at the store. :o) I need to pass it on, though. There's a very long line of people waiting for it.

[randomeliza.livejournal.com]

Aaah! I read that in March when it came out in the UK and loved it. Which only confirms that we have the exact same reading habits, I think. But yeah, it was great. I can't wait for the next one. It comes out in the States before the UK, so I'm getting my mum to send it to me. I love her SGA stuff - it's so cool that she's writing such awesome historical fantasy as well!