Throne of Jade (Temeraire Series #2)

Review of Throne of Jade

One of the things I enjoy most about reading is getting the sense that time is just pausing and that everything around you - the noise and chaos just falls away. Then, when you are deepest into the story and your imagination is filled with the incredible things being described and you can hear the voices of the characters and the sounds of the cities or oceans or landscapes they are in... the author drops a simple little comical thing that tips everything over the edge and you end up laughing hysterically because <i>that is life</i>.

Throne of Jade is the journey of Temeraire the dragon and Captain Laurence to China. Temeraire is a special breed of dragon, a dragon given only to Emperors and their descendents, yet this lowly Captain, originally of His Majesty's Naval Force, is the one Temeraire has chosen. The book begins with a trial and an attempt to separate these two personalities that feed off of each other.

Most of the story takes place on the sea with the fierce battles I've now come to expect of Novik and the fascinating historical descriptions. Everything is treated so carefully that sometimes I find myself wondering at how easy it would be to imagine Napoleon astride his own dragon, leading the French to war against England.

But in the midst of battle and death, of polities and intrigue there is heart, emotion and laughter. From a comical moment in which a man spits a fish out of his mouth during the heat of battle to Temeraire falling in love when it was.. most inopportune, I found myself smiling and feeling the release of the tension that had been building up and I was able to fall even more deeply into the story.

This was a beautifully written, well-paced story and I'm very much looking forward to book 3.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Good but Slow

I liked this book it is a very good dragon book with a very good plot. The only part about this book that I don't like is that it is very slow especially when Temeraire and Laurence are at sea. Once they get to China the plot is really good. When I finished this book I definately wanted to read the rest of the series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

great fantasy

The Chinese leadership is irate that not only does upstart Englishman Will Laurence bond until death with a rare Chinese Celestial Dragon Temeraire he turned the intellectual dragon into a war beast of burden. Not wanting an incident with China as they already are at war with France, the British Admiralty Board acquiesces to the demands of Yongxing, brother to the Chinese Emperor and orders Will to separate from his soulmate. An irate Will refuses risking arrest and death. The English bureaucracy sees an escape for them without alienating the Chinese Emperor they send Will and Temeraire to China for a final disposition. --- On the treacherous sea voyage, monsters lurk, but to Will the most dangerous one is the sly Yongxing, who educates Temeraire on the life he missed as a venerated Celestial Dragon in the Forbidden City while teaching the dragon to speak and write Chinese. Will is perturbed by Yongxing¿s action, but can do little except trust his soulmate to stay with him. Yongxing also arranges for accidents to happen to Will for the Emperor¿s horrified brother believes the westerner mistreats this special dragon by using Temeraire in combat, but also sees the dragon as an opportunity to further his personal ambitions. --- THRONE OF JADE is a great fantasy that complements the tremendous first novel, HIS MAJESTY¿S DRAGON, as the story line cleverly explores human-dragon relationships and de jure and de facto inequality and injustice. Will and Temeraire debate the dragon lifestyle in England after seeing the abusive ugly slave trade on the West African coast and compare England to China where dragons reside freely in towns. Even Will begins to reassess whether his mate would be better off in China where Celestial Dragons are revered and other dragons treated with respect as equals. This cerebral emotional theme enhances a powerful action-packed tale in exotic locations. --- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Thoroughly enjoyable and fast paced.

The first book had me hooked and wasn't sure if the second could keep me interested but the storyline is so completely different but just as exciting as the first. So glad she has written several more books so the adventures can continue...

easy read

An easy read, but not as good as the 1st in the series.

Throne Of Jade By karen

Great second book, i have been reading this book over and over i cannot seem to put it down, i am looking forward to the rest of the series.

awsome

very well written just couldnt put it down

A Fan

Book 1 made me a Temeraire fan. Book 2 sealed the deal. While at first glance the premise of the Napoleanic wars being faught with the use of dragons sounds far fetched, you begin to believe it when you read Ms. Novik's books. I was quickly drawn into book 1 by the personalities of the dragons and the humans who use them. If you are a fan of either fantasy or military genre, you'll be a fan of Temeraire very quickly.

Well-written but not as good as the first

I began this series when B&N offered His Majetsy's Dragon as a free eBook. This is an interesting concept that revisits the Napoleonic Wars and makes dragons one of the crucial weapons in deciding the outcome. What makes the concept more enjoyable and interesting is that the dragons are individuals with unique personalities just like their human counterparts. They brood, get excited, get scared, celebrate and mourn. They each approach life and their challenges differently and succeed or fail due to the fabric of their character. They are so human-like in their personalities that, at times, you have to remind yourself that you are dealing with a dragon.

What made the initial book more than just a pure beach-read was its exploration of the differences between duty and liberty. In this book, the concept of duty takes an enormous backseat. This book removes the two main characters from England and the Napoleonic Wars and places them in China. While there is an occasional discussion of duty, there reaplly is a focus on liberty, with an assumption that duty is not nearly as important. In other words, it seems to answer the question, rather than allowing the reader to think through whether there even is an answer to which is more important. Does serving ones duty protect liberty? Is duty at the cost of liberty worth it? These are great, difficult questions that we all should wrestle with and they get lost in this book.

Also, the author tends to set up interesting conflicts and then ignore that they happened, rather than resolve them. The fight between the drgaon captain and the ship's captain simply vanishes. Fairly unrealistic when it involves insults to one of theri families. The question of whether the dragon should feel badly about killing the sea monster likewise simply vanishes without adequate exploration.

The writing is excellent, which helps the reader get through the periods of the book that otherwise drag. Long strecthes at sea with nothing to break up the monotony are actually beautifully crafted and a pleasure to read.

In short, while this is a well-writtn book, I am not running out to read the next one as I was once I finished the first.

Throne of Jade

This is the second of the series and is just as gripping as the first, Picks up where she left off in "His Majesty's Dragon" and the plot thickens, I have to admit I was skeptical with the first book, The time period in history is accurate and the story flows flawlessly.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Engrossing,

Love the book, love the series. Naomi Novik writes in style that is quick and easy to read, yet conveys the flavor of Napoleonic times. The story is action packed, yet the characters are well developed and realistic. The action takes place on an alternate earth where large dragons are used in warfare along with muskets and cannon, so the book isn't for everyone, but if you like dragons and have some interest in the napoleonic era, I think you will like the book. In this second book, Temeraire travels to China and picks up many revolutionary ideas to bring back to England while he and Laurence barely manage to stay alive.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Maybe Even Better Than the First

I loved Novik's first entry in this series, His Majesty's Dragon. Her books are kinda a smash up of Horatio Hornblower (age of sail, Napoleonic wars) and Anne McCaffrey (dragons!) but with its own individual twists that make it like no other. What stood out to me in the first book was that she made dragons have just as much (or more) personality or intellect as any of the human characters. In "Throne of Jade" she expands on that by letting us see a sophisticated society of dragons integrated into 19th century China. The personal and cultural clashes are done well with a tightly written action-adventure that didn't let me up for a moment until I found myself at the end of the book and pinning for more--I'm glad there's more to be had. It certainly made me want to read the next book in the series.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Second book in a great series

I highly reccomend all of the books in the Temeraire series- they are so addicting! I bought the first one on general positive reviews (Napoleonic Wars! With dragons!) and the moment I finished it I ordered the next four and read all of those in breathless succession. I have not regretted this for an instant, even in the slower parts, and I am now restlessly anticipating the sixth book. All lovers of history, fantasy, war stories, or just plain interesting reading need to read these books.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Throne of Jade

The book was a great continuation of the Temeraire Series. The settings were very informative creating a vivid picture of China during the time period of the book. And the story line kept ones interest so well that I finished the book in 3 days. I am looking forward to the 3rd book in the series.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent Second Book

Throne of Jade, the second book of the Temeraire series, is equally exciting, if not more so, than His Majesty's Dragon (which I also have 5 stars). The adventure told in Throne of Jade is also full of action and unexpected events told in nearly perfect sequence using Naomi Novik's incredible writing style. I highly recommend it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Peter Jackson to make into movie...

I love the books - keep 'em coming... I also heard that Peter Jackson is to make movies out of your novels! Rock on! Who better do bring them to life, than LOTR & King Kong director! Good luck with that!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I want more.

I have just finished the first in the series, and I bought the second and third. I hear there will be a fourth. Naomi, keep writing and I'll keep buying!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

How do you fall MORE in love with a dragon???

I have long enjoyed books of dragons, depicting their loyalty and intelligence. This series has taken that to a new level. You laugh with this pair and cry, too (sometimes in the same paragraph). Naomi, please continue the saga, Temeraire is a very young dragon and one more book simply will not appease my appetite for his story... You are a talented story-teller... thank you for sharing a part of your imagination.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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