Crucible of Gold, by Naomi Novik. Unabridged audio.
This is one of my favorite ongoing series. Naomi Novik
presents a plausible narrative of life during the Napoleonic Wars. Except that
the world contains dragons. These are not mythical beasts, not magical beasts,
simply very large (and reasonably intelligent) animals. It is a great premise,
and more importantly, Novik has spun some great novels out of it.
At the start of this one, Laurence finds his rank restored, although
he does not believe himself worthy. But Napoleon's arms have reached Brazil,
and the country (and her dragons) appear poised to ally with the French, via
the powerful African Tswana empire. The British government sees Laurance and
Temeraire as their best hope of negotiating peace in South America. But the
trip from Australia to Brazil is fraught with peril, with death and despair
rampant.
Napoleon makes an appearance in the novel, arriving in Rio
with a retinue of dragons and gifts. Having left Josephine, he is available as
a potential spouse for the queen of the Incas. This is the last thing that
Laurence needs if he is to accomplish his mission. The sense of dread, of the
long odds against success in this mission, add a great sense of drama to the
book.
There is a bit of repetition here, as Novik may be running
out of interesting places to send Laurance and Temeraire. But the character
aspects are strong as always, and all the characters (both human and dragon)
have had interesting arcs over the sweep of the series. The discussion of
marriage in this book gave the characters something new to discuss, and there
are surprising revelations throughout.
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