Veteran bookseller Scott McCaig, of Waterstone’s Edinburgh West End, discusses the appeal of Naomi Novik’s Temeraire.
Dragons have been associated with fantasy works for as long as the genre has been around, but none have been portrayed quite like Temeraire. Naomi Novik has created a world where dragons are part of the everyday life of the world. And how.
In her first novel, Temeraire, the reader is introduced to Captain William Lawrence of the Reliant. The novel follows his journey from discovering a dragon’s egg to the consequences it has on his life, and relationships with his family and friends.
The key relationship throughout is the growing friendship between Lawrence and the ‘fighting’ dragon Temeraire.
The world that Novik has created is appealing in its allure, due to the fact that it sets the story’s plot during the Napoleonic Wars. An intriguing scenario, that provides Novik with the opportunity to look at, not only naval warfare, but at how dragons could be used during such a time period. And the strength of such a setting allows Novik’s novel to be accessible not just to readers and fans of fantasy, but to all genres. When you pick up Temeraire it is unlikely you’ll want to put it down.
The most appealing part of this novel, I think, is Temeraire’s growth and development throughout. The dragon is such a key part to the story and thankfully, as a character, Temeraire is bewitching. This is mostly down to the interesting factor that the dragons in Novik’s world have the ability to speak. And Temeraire has a lot of interesting things to say…
One particular aspect of the novel that appealed to me is how Novik depicts the dragons’ place in the world. When Captain Lawerence becomes the rider of Temeraire, his social standing in the world falls dramatically. As the story progresses, it quickly becomes apparent that any association with dragons is considered to be only for outcasts, or for people with no social standing.
Even though the book is about dragons, Temeraire is highly enjoyable for fans of any genre. The appealing ‘what if’ idea of dragons being used in a historical war allows the reader’s imagination to run wild. If you are tired of the fantasy genre, or are looking for something a little different, perhaps Naomi Novik’s first novel of dragons in the Napoleonic Wars is for you.
Temeraire is out now, priced £7.99. It is the first in a series that currently numbers six titles.
The latest, Tongues of Serpents, was released in paperback in June 2011, priced £7.99.
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