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Highly recommended for anyone who has read the previous 4 books in the Temeraire series.
This is the fifth in the Temeraire series, and it continues to be a very engaging and entertaining story. I'm very happy I bought this book.
Naomi Novik's Temeraire series - a World War II alternate history in which the Aerial Corps is composed of dragons - started off with a bang, had a few ups and downs, and came roaring back with a vengence in the fifth book of the series, Victory of Eagles.The novel picks up where fourth book Empire of Ivory leaves off: our hero, Captain Will Lawrence, has been condemned as a traitor, and his extraordinary dragon Temeraire exiled to a remote breeding grounds. But as Napoleon lands on British shores, the two must find each other again and come to their country's defense, facing not only dangerous battles but deadly politics.The first reason to love this book is the action, which never lets up and will keep you turning pages long after bedtime. But Victory of Eagles is so much more - it provides more insight than ever before into Temeraire's mind (and the minds of other dragons), and you can see him struggling to understand why humans act the way they do and realizing just what Lawrence has sacrificed for their relationship. My only critique, as others here have noted, is that the British seem so incompetent and so backward thinking you sometimes wonder why the dragons (and even Lawrence) remain loyal.
Victory of Eagles continues the greatness of Empire of Ivory. And ends with an amazing battle. She revealed Lawrence too soon, which nullified the tension and suspense that she had been building. In Victory of Eagles we read the aftermath of Termeraire and Laurence's choice to bring the cure to the French. There is a value in misinformation. And for the first time, we have major sections of the book devoted to draconic pov. I felt that with these two books, Naomi Novik finally hit her stride again after Throne of Jade. I do, however, think Novik missed out on an opportunity at the beginning of the book.
With this book, Novik has really succeeded in bringing the dragons to life, in a way she hasn't done since China. Temeraire has always been a bit on the human side, but in this book not only do other dragons gain personality and depth but also a clearer measure of "dragon-ness." As with most of the other books, Victory of Eagles has fantastic characterization and character development. She could learn a thing or two from Lord of the Rings.by separating pov's a bit more she could have upped the tension. The reader doesn't need to know everything all the time; and I think a longer stretch in the dark regarding Lawrence would have made the book stronger.
Book is good and arrived well packed with the other books of the series.Now I don't know if I should be writing a book review here or not, so i'll go with former.but as usual am very happy with the purchase coz Amazon rocks.
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