League of Dragons

Image credit: HarperCollins

We’ve made it! The final book in the exciting, dramatic, and action-packed Temeraire series: League of Dragons. I’m not going to lie, after being firmly planted within the fantasy genre for so long, I am sooo ready to read something else. That is not to say that I have not enjoyed this series. While the initial, somewhat childish, joy that made my heart flutter when I read the first couple of books definitely petered out as the story got more elaborate and the convoluted, I still enjoyed the journey and was satisfied in the end.

With Napoleon’s invasion of Russia thwarted, the time to strike a final blow is upon the Allies. But their numbers are dwindling and internal squabbles and prejudices threaten to tear them apart. While Captain Laurence struggles to bring his own enraged countrymen under his newly-appointed command, Temeraire has his claws full trying to dissuade all the dragons his can against siding with Napoleon who has publicly promised the dragons of every country – including the ferals- new rights and powers if they fight under his banner.

League of Dragons brings us back to the action-packed and narratively enthralling drama that catapulted us into the second half of the series. Reminiscent of the fourth and fifth books, it’s a well-paced balance between wartime action and closeted narrative drama that widens the arc of the series and brings that second, underlying story into the limelight: the changing relationships between humans and dragons in European civilization. Until now we have been drip-fed the drama of the simmering revolt of the British dragons, but here it finally comes to a head and makes for very entertaining scenes in which the dragons diplomatically puzzle out how they can best improve their status and treatment at home without upsetting their sense of duty. It’s a very nice example of character development that had almost gone unnoticed, veiled by the captivating action of the central, wartime narrative.

As we more or less know how the war will pan out, the drama of the central plot is made enthralling thanks to Novik’s thrilling descriptions of aerial combat interspersed with scenes of social drama and intrigue that still manage to draw a delighted ‘ooh’ from the reader as they flip the pages.

Being the final book, it’s time to tie everything up and sometimes that can be hard to do with long-running series. But I think that Novik has closed up the series nicely, ending on an uplifting and hopeful note that life goes on…

Image credit: NPR

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed the Temeraire series. Yes, there were peaks and troughs in the action and the pacing sometimes, but ultimately this series is a fun and fresh fantasy series that pulls you in and keeps you enthralled with its characters and engaging story.

Author: Naomi Novik, 2016

Published: HarperVoyager, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, 2016.

League of Dragons is the 9^th and final in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. It follows Temeraire, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, Tongues of Serpents and Crucible of Gold, and Blood of Tyrants.