Naomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars. Convicted of treason and stripped of rank and standing, Temeraire and Lawrence are transported to the prison colony at New South Wales. With them travel three dragon eggs destined to be handed over to second-rate officers willing to accept so remote an assignment - including one former ...
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Naomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars. Convicted of treason and stripped of rank and standing, Temeraire and Lawrence are transported to the prison colony at New South Wales. With them travel three dragon eggs destined to be handed over to second-rate officers willing to accept so remote an assignment - including one former acquaintance, Captain Rankin, whose cruelty once cost a dragon its life. They arrive at a young Australian colony in turmoil after the overthrow of the military governor, William Bligh - formerly Captain Bligh, late of HMS Bounty. Eager to escape the political quagmire, Laurence and Temeraire accept a mission to pioneer a route through the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia. But when one of the dragon eggs is stolen, the surveying expedition becomes a desperate race to recover it before the dragonet hatches - a race that leads to a shocking discovery and a dangerous new obstacle in the global war between Britain and France.
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Add this copy of Tongues of Serpents to cart. $34.89, like new condition, Sold by Jon A Sewell rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rugby, UNITED KINGDOM (+44), UNITED KINGDOM, published 2010 by HarperVoyager.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in fine dust jacket. 352 p. The Temeraire Series, 6. Audience: General/trade. First edition, first printing UK hardback, 2010 HarperCollinsPublishers. The book is in fine condition, the dustjacket is in fine condition.
"Tongues of Serpents", Naomi Novik's follow-up to her electrifying debut quintet, is an interesting book. For one thing, it feels like just one small part of what was meant to be a longer story. For another, it was certainly a departure from the grandiose scope of the previous five books. With no Napoleonic wars in which to fight, Will and Temeraire are sort of left to putter around the outback.
The characterization and Novik's rich, descriptive prose are all still intact, but I set the book down with a sort of "Hmm. I wonder where she's going with this." I will definitely pick up any further books from Novik, but be forewarned that this one is somewhat puzzling. I feel like there may be some greater story arc that she plans to develop. If that is the case, however, one does wonder why this book was released as a stand alone novel, rather than folded into one that perhaps reveals a little more.