History Literature / Temeraire

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: The BigBad, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, is portrayed as a WorthyOpponent verging occasionally on {{Friendly Enem|ies}}y of the protagonist Laurence, and is genuinely interested in improving the lives of his citizens. In contrast, Laurence's fellow captain Rankin is a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain classist, racist, sexist,]] [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman speciesist]] ass whose defining moment is abandoning his dragon companion to die alone, begging to see him, while he goes for drinks.

* [[CantArgueWithElves Can't Argue With Dragons]]: A plot point but ultimately subverted in ''Tongues of Serpents''. Temeraire spends a lot of time warning an egg about how horrible Captain Rankin is... but [[spoiler: neglects the possibility that the hatchling might turn out materialistic and appreciate a captain from a rich family.]]

* MildlyMilitary: The combination of English society's general wariness of dragons, the fact that a dragon often won't be useful to the Corps if separated from their captain, and England's dire need for fighting dragons has resulted in the Aerial Corps becoming a uniquely un-military subculture. Aviators aren't court-martialed or removed from their dragons for anything short of treason, and activities that would net a demerit in other branches of the military get little more than a slap on the wrist in the Corps so long as they don't directly affect the dragons. Many aviators willingly sleep around with each other and prostitutes, and nobody much cares if those pairings are [[InappropriatelyCloseComrades between a superior and subordinate]], same-sex (so long as it's kept quiet), interracial, out of wedlock, or produce illegitimate children. All but the most basic protocol and formalities have largely been done away with, to the point that most aviators go around in disheveled uniforms and only have the barest notion of how to behave in polite society. The one notable exception is that unlike other branches of the military, dueling is strictly forbidden because it's no good to lose a fighting dragon to their captain dying in a duel.

* BadDreams: Both Temeraire and Laurence experience these on occasion. While Laurence's include nightmares about Temeraire coming to injury, or guilty dreams about people he believes he's let down, Temeraire has [[FlashbackNightmare nightmares]] about [[BlueAndOrangeMorality losing Laurence his fortune]].
--> Temeraire still woke occasionally with a start from dreams in which he heard Roland saying again, “He has lost his fortune,” and found the eyes of all his friends upon him accusingly, horrified, as they all repeated in unison, “Ten thousand pounds.”

* AppetiteEqualsHealth: Among other symptoms, the sick dragons in ''Empire of Ivory'' lose their appetites, which actually exacerbates their illness due to malnutrition. Their human companions try to fight this by over-spicing their food so they can still enjoy it despite their deadened sense of taste.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: In ''Tongues of Serpents'', Temeraire wonders how Laurence can believe in the Holy Spirit while scoffing at claims that the men were being dragged off by vengeful spirits in the desert.

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after what is said in the book to have been a famous French ship captured by the British (though that wasn't the case with the real ''Temeraire'', which was built in Britain and, incidentally, [[Art/TheFightingTemeraire has another place in the history of art]]); the books center on the pair's adventures together.

* PowerEqualsRarity: The most powerful breeds of dragons like the massive Regal Copper or acid-spitting Longwing are also some of least common. The Celestials, of which there's ''maybe'' a half a dozen alive at any given time, take it to another level. Justified in that these are heavyweights; they eat more food, take up much more room, and like large mammals reproduce slowly (heavyweight eggs can take years to hatch). Middleweights like the Yellow Reaper make up the bulk of the various air forces, and while a heavyweight is a force to be reckoned with, two or three middleweights can equal them.

* TheNotLoveInterest: Laurence and Temeraire. Also implied of most dragons and their companions. Dragons see their humans as something between a parent, a child, and a prized possession, and usually their humans return the affection, being willing to sacrifice a great deal for their partner's happiness.

# ''Throne of Jade'' (2006), in which Temeraire, [[FirstEpisodeSpoiler identified as a rare Chinese Celestial]], is courted by a royal Chinese ambassador who wants him to return to the Middle Kingdom and is willing to separate him from Laurence to do so. While Temeraire learns about his [[ChangelingFantasy true heritage]], Laurence must untangle the motivations of the Chinese, without offending the single most powerful empire of the age...

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: Temeraire is from China. He's originally identified as an Imperial, but his [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic attack]] identifies him as a Celestial--one of, it is believed, less than two score alive[[note]]it's actually eight[[/note]]--and was meant to be Napoleon's personal steed. Of course, this [[SequelHook raises the question]] of why China was sending a valuable, nay priceless, dragon to France...

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after what is said in the book to have been a famous French ship captured by the British (though that wasn't the case with the real ''Temeraire'', [[Art/TheFightingTemeraire which has another place in the history of art]]); the books center on the pair's adventures together.

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after [[Art/TheFightingTemeraire a famous French ship captured by the British (which has another place in the history of art)]]; the books center on the pair's adventures together.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after [[Art/TheFightingTemeraire a famous French ship captured by the British (which has its own place in the history of art)]]; the books center on the pair's adventures together.

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after [[Art/TheFightingTemeraire a famous French ship captured by the British (which has its own place in the history of art]]; the books center on the pair's adventures together.

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after [[Art/TheFightingTemeraire a famous French ship captured by the British]]; the books center on the pair's adventures together.

The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a [[EggMcGuffin valuable dragon egg]] home. Unfortunately for Laurence, the egg is very close to hatching when he takes it on board, and an "unharnessed" dragon who doesn't choose a captain within a day of hatching becomes feral and thus useless for anything but breeding stock. He ends up harnessing the baby dragon and naming him Temeraire, after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fighting_Temeraire a famous French ship captured by the British]]; the books center on the pair's adventures together.

* BerserkButton
** Don't hurt a captain unless you want their dragon's multi-tonne shit to flip out. And for that matter, don't hurt a dragon unless you want to turn their captain into TheDeterminator.
** Conversely, ''threatening'' a captain's well being (whether by a boarding party holding one at gunpoint or keeping one imprisoned on the ground) is considered the most certain means of controlling an otherwise hostile dragon...but even that can backfire.
** Dishonourable means to suit the ends have never been in good favour with Laurence, and you'd think Britain and her allies would have learned their lesson from the ''last'' time they [[spoiler: threatened the lives of all Eurasia's dragons just to win an advantage in the war]]. They almost don't and [[spoiler: failing to learn from their mistakes could have cost the alliance their most valuable admiral and dragon--[[OhCrap to Napoleon, this time]]]].

* SequelHook

*** Dragons also seem to be able to help societies cope better with disease. even when they are occasionally vulnerable to such themselves. This results in things such as [[spoiler:the Tswana not being as devastated by malaria as they might otherwise, as dragons seem to drive away mosquitoes. But there's also the indication that the natives of North America, at least, are much better off than they might otherwise have been. There's also the irony in that a dragon plague from from North America to Europe nearly did to Eurasian dragon populations what European diseases did to native American populations in the real world.]]

* WoodenShipsAndIronMen: Or rather, "Scaled Dragons and Iron Men".

* UnusualEuphemism
** Since it takes place in the Napoleonic era from the perspective of a British officer and gentleman (see above), whenever something impolite occurs we are generally treated to Laurence's appalled, embarrassed, or indignant reaction (justified or not). This results in such well-hidden gems as [[spoiler:a masturbation joke involving a dragon]].
--->''"Did you have a pleasant bathe?" he asked, changing the subject.''\\
''"Oh, yes; those rocks were very nice," Temeraire said, wistfully, "though it was not ''quite'' as agreeable as being with Mei."\\
...this sudden mention [of his Chinese companion] seemed a nonsequitur... Then Granby said, "Oh dear," and stood up to call across the camp, "Mr. Ferris! Mr. Ferris, tell those boys to pour out that water, and go and fetch some from the stream, if you please."''

* PepperSneeze: Used as a weapon against dragons. Particularly effective against those with breath weapons, but it greatly disrupts flying for almost any breed.

* JustFollowingOrders: [[spoiler:While under charges of treason and sentence of death, Laurence takes an order to LeaveNoSurvivors, but protects his subordinates from accusations of war crimes by having a general give them all signed orders that command them to do what Laurence tells them to, without specifics. This protects his crew by leaving only Laurence--already facing the ultimate penalty--as the only one responsible.]]
* KangarooCourt: [[spoiler:Several of those sitting on Captain Laurence's court martial were involved in the genocidal plan he and Temeraire foiled. [[HonorBeforeReason Even if he were willing to mount a defense]], the fix was in.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:The wicked slavers who screwed over Laurence's first fortune in his absence never face justice. Even worse, the evil ministers in parliament who devised their genocidal plan for the world's dragons are never even named, nor face their well-deserved retribution. Not that this [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone discourages Laurence any for feeling 'treasonous' after defying such monstrous excuses for men]].]]