Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My comments from when I first started reading this book...

Somehow a good deal more entertaining than the past few books in the series. The introduction of the fire breathing Iskierka added a good deal of humor and lightness to the wars with Napoleon, and the epidemic of some unknown illness grounding almost all of England's dragons. I'm looking forward to seeing how this story ends, and desperately hoping it does not develop into the same plot line as the past three books in the series. Because it got pretty old, pretty fast.

I also really hope that Temeraire's hopes of better treatment of the dragons is realized if not now, then soon. They're some of my favorite characters, as well as the more unpredictable and dynamic characters.

Oh, and my concluding summary and opinion of this book, the fourth in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series...

Waghhhh this book was crazy. From England, to Africa, back to England, and then to France. I'm pleased that I had faith in this book; I was not let down. Much more unpredictable and fun to read than the second and third books in the series, and I am pulling strongly for Laurence and Temeraire. 

Interesting way to bring politics into the book though, I almost feel like Novik truly believed African tribes to almost all be savages. Although, for all I know maybe most history books portray them as such. Their tribes were being destroyed and enslaved by the white men, of course. Maybe I should have paid more attention in my history classes...

In any event, I feel like this was one of the strongest books in the series so far, I like that my favorite characters are all present and accounted for, and that a relatively happy ending came about without it being boring, lame and predictable. This book moved more smoothly and naturally than the other books (still not happy with the forced drama during the ship ride to China in a previous book). Two more to go in the series, and I really hope Novik can keep up the momentum of Empire of Ivory in them,



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