Booklog: Tongues of Serpents (Novik)

[nebroadwe]

Naomi Novik, Tongues of Serpents

Convicted of treason, Will Laurence and his dragon Temeraire have been transported to New South Wales, Australia. On arrival, however, they find that the military governor, William Bligh (yes, he of the Bounty) has been ousted in a coup d'etat. Both sides are as eager to ally with the Aerial Corps as Laurence is to avoid any such political entanglement. But politics are unavoidable, whether it involves rebellion or the unwelcome return of the abusive Captain Rankin, whose family's influence has secured him another chance to harness a dragon. Even Tharkay's offer of a letter of marque from the East India Company seems a poor choice, though Temeraire is itching for action. Laurence finally accepts coup leader MacArthur's suggestion that he, Temeraire, and their cohorts attempt to blaze a trail into Australia's unmapped interior, where the dangers are at least no respecters of persons ...

Eh. Well-written and filled with incident, as usual, but plot-wise it feels as if this installment is spinning its wheels. Just when I thought it would turn into a full-scale re-enactment of Macarthur's Rebellion, Temeraire & Co. upped stakes for the interior and another Journey Into the Unknown, with only minimal human contact outside their own party until quite late in the story. Even having Tharkay along did little to cheer me (though Emily Roland is growing into quite the strong character and her by-play with Demane was always fun to read). Letters, rumors, and dispatches from across the sea reveal that all the interesting stuff (Napoleon allying with the Tswana to invade Brazil, frex, or Temeraire's proteges upsetting Britain's economy by getting into the shipping business) is happening there -- torture for the reader as well as our heroes. I do wish everyone had arrived in Australia a little earlier, before Bligh's ouster; one of the pleasures of this series, for me, is watching the alternate history unfold so as to give Novik's OCs reason to interact with the canon characters of the historical record. (I'm still waiting for Dan O'Connell to foster Draconic along with Catholic Emancipation.) No doubt the next book will begin with Laurence called back to duty from the rustication he's planning with Temeraire; I hope they'll be headed for South America and an encounter with Simon Bolivar ... or at least with more of the Bonapartist elements of the plot. Recommended for fans only, for the purpose of keeping up with low-level story progression.