Book Discussion: His Majesty's Dragon Chapters 1 - 6

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Book Discussion: His Majesty's Dragon Chapters 1 - 6

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1clamairy
maig 23, 2007, 7:42 am

Please, do NOT post spoilers from the second half of the book in this thread!

Well, this book has turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise. I'm enjoying both the character development of the young dragon, Temeraire, and the struggles of the young Captain Laurence, as he attempts to adjust to his change of circumstance.

2readafew
maig 23, 2007, 8:31 am

To be honest I was a little hesitant about this one, I merely felt it was the most likely one I'd enjoy of the choices. However I was VERY surprised. I was hooked by page 10 and have been racing through it, I only have a few pages left and I really don't remember where chapter 6 ends so I won't say to much here. I am glad however that I bought the trilogy so I can continue with the next 2 right away.

I think I like it because it is written like a historical Navy/Army novel and the whole book feels like the 1800's plus dragons. Great alternate reality history. I might add more when I have the book to help me not post spoilers.

3lefty33
maig 23, 2007, 9:59 am

I "accidentally" read it all in one big gulp while traveling, and now I'm big-time looking forward to the second one.

I love the alternate history thing too. How much more interesting would the history books be if there were dragons? :)

And I'll second what clam says -- I loved getting to know Temeraire and Laurence. Their developing relationship is also great. And it's always fun to see what new twists on dragon lore a different author adds. Like needing to put on a harness before the dragons' first meal.

4margd
maig 23, 2007, 11:23 am

This is my first dragon fantasy, so I'm largely ignorant on dragon lore. I find myself tripping over dragon details, which interrupts flow of book for me. For example, language... Dragons must be ~precocial, imprinting like a duckling in order to speak (perfect!) English immediately upon hatch? Would T have spoken French rather than English if he had hatched on the French boat? It seems farfetched that a dragon would have the throat and palate and tongue to speak like a human--wouldn't T have had some mentionable unique characteristics in speech?

5readafew
maig 23, 2007, 11:31 am

4> Hopefully this isn't a spoiler (let me know and I'll remove it), but they do address the spoken language thing later in the book with the French/Englishl.

6domeloki
maig 23, 2007, 12:56 pm

Besides the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence, I like watching how Laurence deals with the difference between the orderly and somewhat rigid life of the navy with the more relaxed attitudes of the aerial corps. We see a man who is very sure of himself and his place in life being thrust into a completely different world and not sure what to do with himself.

I also like the intelligence that Naomi has bestowed upon her dragons. Temeraire is delightful in his curiousity and desire to learn. Yet she also created variety within the dragons where not all dragons are the same and breeding for desired qualities has had some detrimental drawbacks. Volatilus, or Volly, for instance. And this is something that one would expect to see with a limited breeding pool the way England has. I know I have met some pure bred dogs who were very sweet, but not always the brightest bulb on the tree.

7clamairy
maig 24, 2007, 10:28 am

I finished the book this morning, and I really did enjoy it. I'll post the second discussion thread this afternoon, if I have the time.

I knew I shouldn't have separated the discussion of this book into two threads. LOL It seemed like several of you were clamoring for me to start the discussion, but very few of you are posting! Next time we're doing the book in one fell swoop. (Or is that one swell foop?)
:o)

8margd
maig 24, 2007, 12:10 pm

Funny--there are 50 messages on thread discussing the discussion but only seven in the actual discussion!

9clamairy
maig 24, 2007, 12:36 pm

Bwaa haa haa, margd! Well, it should start to fill up... any minute now.

*waits*

10lefty33
maig 24, 2007, 12:39 pm

The breeding aspect of the dragons was good. And that the breeding was followed through to show that a small gene pool would produce some not-so-perfect dragons.

And I love intelligent dragons that have greatest loyalty to one person. That is perhaps my favorite feature of dragon stories.

11clamairy
maig 24, 2007, 12:42 pm

Well, I think my favorite feature is that there is NO MAGIC!
:o)
I'm sure this is the first book I've ever read with a dragon in it that didn't involve magic of any kind. It is impressive that she pulled it off so brilliantly, IMHO.

12Morphidae
maig 24, 2007, 12:46 pm

>10 lefty33: Have you read Lackey's Joust series?

13xicanti
maig 24, 2007, 5:59 pm

I'm about halfway through now, and I'm very pleased with this book. I wasn't so sure at first; I find the very thought of military fiction a bit daunting, and from the first it seemed that this would be very much in that vein. As it progressed, though, I found myself liking it a little, then genuinely enjoying it, then loving it. Rather like Laurence's reaction to Temeraire, really. ;)

General thoughts:

I love how their relationship develops. They have great chemistry, (so to speak), and I can really feel their affection for one another. I'm also very fond of Temeraire's name; it just rolls off the tongue.

I'm really enjoying the Corps and how they're organized. The training is fascinating. I'm not quite ready to relinquish my hesitations re: military fiction, but Novik's portrayal of army life, (albeit very unconventional army life), has definitely softened me up to it. I'm also enjoying the contrasts between the Corps and the Navy.

Poor Levitas! I pegged Rankin as his handler right away. I really hope things improve for him by the end of the book.

The one thing that I still semi-dislike is the formal language/lack of contractions. I find that this makes the dialogue a bit stilted, though it does fit with the setting. I'm more or less used to it now, but I do kind of miss the contractions.

14hobbitprincess
maig 24, 2007, 8:57 pm

This is absolutely wonderful! I love the idea of signalling with flags while on dragons. I also never thought of dragons as being big enough to handle many men. I'm finding it hard to get a good mental picture of the size of these dragons.

I adore Temeraire and his wit and intelligence. Novik has done a brilliant job with developing their relationship. I feel so sorry for Levitas too. I get emotionally caught up in my books, and I'm very much afraid something bad will happen to Levitas. The image of him curling up alone and neglected is disturbing.

That Novik can invoke such feelings in me is proof-positive that she's done a great job!

15cad_lib
maig 25, 2007, 1:39 pm

Tremendously enjoyed the book. So the English king of the title would be George III? So this is Hanoverian England (not quite Victorian era). With little factual basis, this style of conversation and the strained relationship of Laurence and his father, etc. all play to my ideas of a very stuffy, stilted society. So, the formal character of navy and gentlemen's conversations don't give me any trouble reading them.

I just wonder if everyone was so formal? Sherman, set the Wayback Machine!

16jeri889
Editat: maig 25, 2007, 2:44 pm

I am so glad this is the group read. I adore Temeraire; can I have one of my own?

I also didn't know if I would like it, but it has become a great escape. I like that Laurence is starting to see people a bit differently than he did in his Navy days, maybe (not there yet) he will someday be a bit more relaxed.

#11 Clamairy: No magic I think is why, IMO, that the story almost seems real. You get the feeling she is telling you that this is how it happened, and you get pulled in - though it would be great to have dragons flying around.

And poor Levitas - maybe (I can hope) that he will have a sneezing fit one day while Rankin is riding and Rankin will fall off :}

edited because I can't type!

17pollysmith
maig 26, 2007, 4:15 pm

I'm almost done with my book and can't believe this thread slipped by me

I find it amazing that Ms Novak has intergrated dragons into real life history. I could almost believe it. The dragons appear to be as lovable as dogs. I want one!

laurence's shock at being chosen is understandable as he had other plans for his life.

18littlegeek
maig 26, 2007, 9:03 pm

It was billed as Patrick O'Brian, but I'm finding it more Top Gun!

I like the story and the character of Temeraire, but I'm a little disappointed that the human characters are so shallowly drawn. Characterization is one of O'Brian's strengths; silly me to expect that comparison to hold up.

It's fun, if a bit more fluffy than I was anticipating. I also like the non-magic.

19katylit
maig 27, 2007, 11:43 am

I find it a bit fluffy too littlegeek, also, for some reason, Temeraire being able to speak so eloquently from the get go bothers me - I can't help but feel there should have been more of a learning curve there.

But I like the social aspects, Laurence being ostracized by his family and peers, dragons being part of the war, it's a marvelous concept. I've always been a fan of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series so this book is a fun addition to those.

20Tane
maig 29, 2007, 3:57 am

Ok, I've only just started it (I'm up to chapter 3), but I'm enjoying it so far... I like the naval aspects, and the two leads (Laurence and Temeraire) seem to be interesting characters... can't wait to see where it goes from here

21MrsLee
juny 17, 2007, 2:18 am

I've just finished this book, so I'll try to keep observations here to the first six chapters, in hopes others will still read and discuss it even if they are late like me.

I found the language thing for dragons unsettling, yet I trusted the author with it. After all, it's her world. Even if I do wish it were real, and she does explain somewhat later on. Other dragons stories/myths I have read have had them speaking perfectly, so why not?

I found this book not only engaging for the above mentioned reasons, but I actually laughed out loud several times during the reading of it.

The character development of Laurence and Temeraire is enough for me, the rest are just satellites to enhance. Yes, a fluffy, easy read, for some reason I was put in mind of Zorro. We can all use a little of that in our lives. :)

I agree with the no magic making it more "real." Also, I thought the dialog very like other books of that supposed era, and I appreciated that. Also Captain Laurence's sense of duty and honor. Being a sea adventure fan, this grabbed me right away, my second favorite military group, the aviators. :)