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This Alternate History series sets out to answer a vital question that has intrigued historians for millennia: What would the Napoleonic Wars have been like if the countries involved fought them with dragons? The series centers on William Laurence, a Navy captain who takes possession of a French ship transporting a 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 a famous French ship captured by the British; the books center on the pair's adventures together.
Five books currently make up the series:
- His Majesty's Dragon (2006)
- Throne of Jade (2006)
- Black Powder War (2006)
- Empire of Ivory (2007)
- Victory of Eagles (2008)
The series was remarkable in that, upon reading the manuscript for the first novel, the editor was so excited she asked the author, Naomi Novik, to finish the next two quickly for an unusual push: the first three novels were released back to back over the course of three months. Novik has said she has a definite endpoint for the series, but she does not know how many more books will be required; she currently estimates the series will total nine.
Peter Jackson has reportedly optioned the series for being made into movies.
Provides examples of:
- Action Girl: See Action Mom and consider all the childless female aviators and dragons there must be.
- Action Mom: Captains Roland and Harcourt. Since dragons almost always outlive their captains, said captains are expected to have children who will hopefully be amenable to the dragon after the original captain's death. Since one very valuable breed of dragon, the acid-spitting Longwing, will only accept female captains, Action Moms are probably rather common. Also, technically speaking, any female dragons that have laid eggs which have hatched.
- Dragon Rider
- Evil Albino: Lien.
- Fish Out Of Water: Captain Laurence in the beginning of His Majesty's Dragon is rather dismayed at the level of informality common amongst aviators, coming as he does from a naval background. He eventually adjusts, but remains markedly more formal than most captains of dragons—and his crew, when things are normal, tries to emulate him out of respect. And that's before this group of English folk go to China...
- Honor Before Reason: Laurence's actions at the end of Empire Of Ivory. This is made quite clear when Admiral Roland tells him in Victory Of Eagles a simple thing he could have done other than being a stiff-necked idiot, which would have had the desired effect of saving the Continental dragons without getting himself branded as a traitor.
- Ho Yay: Even with Laurence having a woman for a lover—or, more accurately, a woman having Laurence for a lover (especially as the series progresses and she becomes admiral—it's mostly dudes aboard Temeraire. This results in some behavior that keen-eyed Yaoi Fangirls haven't left unnoticed.
- Wow. I can't believe no one mentioned the great heaps of homoeroticism between Laurence and Temeraire. Case in point: Laurence calls Temeraire "my dear" and cuddles him a lot. Also Temeraire going through puberty and Laurence touching the wrong part of Temeraire.
- Given that Novik was in fact a very popular slash fanfic writer before she went pro, this is almost certainly deliberate.
- Living Ship: Ships-of-the-line rather than spaceships in this case, but the principle is the same. Also, to a certain extent, dragons. (One of the earliest touching moments is when Laurence compares Temeraire's vocalized fondness for him to what he imagines it would feel like if his old ship had said she liked him for her captain.)
- In Spite Of A Nail: Having dragons for the entirety of recorded history hasn't actually changed that much. At least in Eurasia; in Africa and the Americas, the differences from actual history seem considerably larger—for example, the Incas were a strong civilization as of the 1800s, having forced Cortez out.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: The Celestials' "divine wind".
- Military Maverick: Temeraire. And how. See Victory of Eagles.
- No Mr Bond I Expect You To Dine: This being the Napoleonic wars, found often, but especially prevalent towards of the end of Empire Of Ivory.
- Officer And A Gentleman: Laurence, most notably, but implied to be expected of Navy officers. Not so much aviators...
- Our Dragons Are Different: Dragons are divided into many breeds, a few of which have special abilities, including fire-breathing, a sonic attack, the ability to vomit copious amounts of water, and spitting venom so potent it's effectively acid and can affect nonliving and inorganic materials. Most breeds are without these abilities, and fire-breathing breeds in particular are highly prized for obvious reasons. In the West, all dragons are property/soldiers in their country's military and form an Aerial Corps, though in France under Napoleon's leadership they are treated somewhat better than Britain or Austria. They function rather like airborne ships, as each dragon has its own crew, including riflemen and bombers. The latter make even those breeds without any special capabilities a force to be reckoned with in war. Each dragon also has a captain with whom he or she shares a special bond.
- Shout Out: In Throne of Jade, it is explained that the Chinese aerial corps is composed entirely of women. This has its basis in a legend of one girl who sneaked away from home, partnered with a dragon, and won a great battle that saved China, and as a result the Emperor issued an edict announcing that girls were allowed to serve in the corps. The references to the legend of Hua Mulan are obvious.
- The Un Favorite: Laurence's father does not approve of his son's new career choice, even though Laurence doesn't exactly have a choice in the matter (not that he approved much more of Laurence as a Navy captain). Unusually, Laurence spends almost no time angsting about this; he's more prone to sigh and try to find a way to avoid his father's ire where possible. What his father thinks of Laurence's becoming an adopted son of the Emperor of China as a measure of keeping Temeraire in British hands...
- Unusual Euphemism: 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 a masturbation joke involving a dragon.
- Wham Episode: The end of Empire Of Ivory probably counts.
- What If: Effectively, "What if the Napoleonic wars were fought with dragons!". What if Nelson survived the Battle of Trafalgar? Not that major but still cool to see the guy, for this troper anyway.
- What Measure Is A Non Human: In most of Europe, dragons are considered (by non-riders) talking beasts of burden. In many other lands—including, eventually, France—they're considered the same as (if not better than) humans. Possibly an extended Take That towards the time period's European attitudes towards anything that wasn't strictly European.
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