Book Review: Black Powder War (Temeraire, Book 3), by Naomi Novik

Title: Black Powder War
Author: Naomi Novik
Date Published: May 30, 2006
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Audible
Length: 365 pages, or 10 hours and 22 minutes on audiobook
Genre: Fantasy, alternate reality

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Synopsis: After their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty’s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and Temeraire must detour to Istanbul to escort the precious cargo back to England. Time is of the essence if the eggs are to be borne home before hatching. Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn–thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master’s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army? 

My Rating: 

★★★★

In A Sentence: So far, so good!

My Thoughts: This series is certainly maintaining my interest; I'm blowing through these audiobooks like crazy! This book kept up with Book 1 very well. Unlike Book 2, I felt the pace of this story stayed very steady throughout, and the plot had a lot of interesting events happening throughout. Once again, I wasn't very surprised by anything, but I'm still enjoying the story immensely. One thing I found fascinating was the new interpretation of feral dragons, and how intelligent they actually are. It's bringing a whole new light to the flaws of the European system of breeding and raising dragons, which is really the crux of the story; Temeraire wants to free dragons from human enslavement, and he's slowly collecting more and more proof that things should change in Europe. Book 2 was about coming to this realization. This book is about trying to figure out how to make things change without destroying relationships or ruining England's chances of winning the Napoleonic War. For me, I'm finding this approach to fantasy and war stories really intriguing. Already I've started Book 4, and I'm showing no signs of slowing down! Let's see how this series turns out!