Tongues of Serpents
Temeraire – Book 6
Publisher: Random
House Publishing Group as Del Ray (2010)
Author: Naomi
Novik
Genre: Fantasy,
Historical Fiction
Pages: 355
Price: $7.99
Convicted of treason despite their heroic defense against
Napoleon's invasion of England, Temeraire and Capt. Will Laurence
have been transported to a prison colony in distant Australia--and
into a hornet's nest of fresh complications. The colony is in turmoil
after the overthrow of military governor William Bligh--aka Captain
Bligh, late of HMS "Bounty." And when Bligh tries to enlist
them in his bid to regain office, the dragon and his captain are
caught in the middle of a political power struggle. Their only chance
to escape the fray is accepting a mission to blaze a route through
the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia. But
the theft of a precious dragon egg turns their expedition into a
desperate recovery operation--leading to a shocking discovery and a
dangerous new complication in the global war between Britain and
Napoleon.
After “Victory of Eagles” I felt
that this series had been reinvigorated, once again we were privy to
the battles that really matter. Yes, at the end of book five Will
Laurence and Temeraire have been banished to the British prison
colony in Australia, but it had seemed that the action was really
picking up and I was excited to continue reading about Laurence and
Temeraire's adventures abroad. Sadly, “Tongues of Serpents” is
the weakest book of the series thus far, it just doesn't deliver the
follow up that the series needed.
Let's begin with the setting. This
series is an intresting 'what if' tale about dragons being real, and
their impact on warfare during the Napoleonic Wars; so let's take the
story to a place known for, among other things, it's notable LACK of
dragons. Right out of the gate this is a questionable decision. The
governor of the Australia colony is William Bligh, a man so disliked
by the people that have served under him that he's been deposed every
time he's in a position of authority. I find it highly unlikely that
someone with that kind of history would be chosen as a governor, but
he has been, and surprising to no one, he's been overthrown. As a
servant of the British Empire, it is he lawful position, but a couple
of colonists succesfully led a rebellion against him; both sides see
the arrival of dragons on the continent as a means to either maintain
or transfer power. So the reader can expect a little political
intrigue at least, right? Nope, the newly arrived dragons and their
crew are sent on a mapping expedition with two dragon eggs that will
surely hatch along the way. Wave goodbye to the possible political
intrigue.
The mapping expedition goes how it must
for there to be a story to tell, poorly, and one of the eggs is
stolen. During the transcontinental flight to recover the stolen egg
the remaining egg hatches and it's a scrawny, sickly beast. Aerial
Corps doctrine calls for its execution, but after a confrontation
Demane claims the hatchling. It is probably intended that the reader
feel goodwill towards Demane for the impromptu promotion, but he's
become so insufferable in his feeling towards Roland that it's really
hard to like the character. The reader's feelings towards him will
not be improved by most of his actions throughout the rest of the
book as he's at times unbelievably jealous or whining.
The shocking discovery that's uncovered?
The Chinese have established a trade route on the northern shore of
the continent and wish to practice free trade there. That's it, no
huge force ready to swoop into the war, no burgeoning navy to
challenge Britain's dominance of the oceans, they want to trade goods
with the world while avoiding the tariffs that Britain has placed on
goods leaving the only port they have access to in China. In the
mother of all overreactions a British naval force is dispatched to
destroy the small trading post, trained sea serpents attack the ships
and the British are forced to flee. Laurence and his mapping
expedition return to Sydney and the newly appointed governor is soon
overthrown as well. What could have been an interesting fight is
avoided by Laurence and Temeraire keeps the surly commander of their
covert out of the fight as well. The book ends with some semblance
of peace, although Laurence and Rankin, the covert's commander, are
at odds and clearly heading towards some sort of altercation.
Conclusion:
Approximately three-fourths of this book concerns a journey during
which very little happens. The few interesting points and mysteries
are glossed over in favor of an endless red waste and the deaths of
several character who's names I couldn't remember after they died.
It seems like all of the notable things that happen in this book
either happen 'off screen' or they proceed without the intervention
of the main characters as Laurence continually keeps himself and
Temeraire out of the conflicts. This was the first of the Temeraire
series of books I was disappointed by when I'd finished it.
Rating:
5.5/10
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