134. (June 2024) Temeraire, by Naomi Novik — The Tabletop Roleplayers' Book Club

Temeraire Discussion starter 2) The characters

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 05:58:26 +0000

Did William Laurence's story arc from up-and-coming navy captain to aviator on the fringe of society (but devoted to Temeraire) make sense to you? What about the secondary tier of characters, especially the other aviators? Did you feel that the reactions of representatives of society (such as Laurence's father and Edith, to whom he was going to be betrothed) seem credible in a Napoleonic context?

Temeraire Discussion starter 3) Humans and dragons

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 05:59:04 +0000

Were the dragons different enough from humans? Or did they feel like people in fancy dress? A great many different sub-species of dragons are described - did this variety work for you? What about the aviators? Did the description of their enclave within the wider society make sense?

Temeraire Discussion starter 4) The significance

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:00:59 +0000

Lots of stories work by trying to map present-day issues onto other more-or-less parallels. Was this the case here? Or was it attempting to just be a fun read? Do you like extra depth to a story? Does it matter whether it's skilfully or clumsily done?

Temeraire Discussion starter 7) Gaming

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:04:21 +0000

Clash has, of course, got a prior advantage over the rest of us here because of In Harms Way: Dragons What features of the book would you use in a game? Would you prefer to play it as battle-heavy, or political, or strategic? Do you think it would make a better tabletop, board, or roleplaying game (and in passing, which games work well in each of those modes)?

Temeraire Discussion starter 8) Anything else

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:04:48 +0000

Anything else not covered so far?

Temeraire Discussion starter 6) The series thereafter

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:03:04 +0000

Naomi Novak went on to write another eight books in the series. Are you tempted to explore them further? Brief summaries I have read indicate that Laurence does not rise through ranks in these in the way that, say, Horatio Hornblower does. Instead, narrative change is effected by moving the location to other parts of the world - the next book is set largely in China. What do you like to see in a book series?

Temeraire Discussion starter 5) Is it a fantasy book?

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 06:02:19 +0000

It is often described as a fantasy book rather than, for example, alternate history. Is this fair? After all, there's no magical structure within the book at all, and the dragons are presented as a normal species within the natural world. What makes a book fantasy?
@Apocryphal came across a comparison of the Temeraire series with Babel - maybe he could amplify this comparison a little - is there any way that the two can sensibly be compared?

Temeraire Discussion starter 1) The story

RichardAbbott — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 05:57:43 +0000

Did you like the story? Its pace? Length? Plot twists? Writing style?

Cover blurb for Temeraire

RichardAbbott — Sat, 11 May 2024 15:33:59 +0000

Naomi Novik’s stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Captain Will Laurence has been at sea since he was just twelve years old; finding a warmer berth in Nelson's navy than any he enjoyed as the youngest, least important son of Lord Allendale. Rising on merit to captain his own vessel, Laurence has earned himself a beautiful fiancée, society's esteem and a golden future. But the war is not going well. It seems Britain can only wait as Napoleon plans to overrun her shores.

After a skirmish with a French ship, Laurence finds himself in charge of a rare cargo: a dragon egg bound for the Emperor himself. Dragons are much prized: properly trained, they can mount a fearsome attack from the skies. One of Laurence's men must take the beast in hand and join the aviators' cause, thus relinquishing all hope of a normal life.

But when the newly-hatched dragon ignores the young midshipman Laurence chose as its keeper and decides to imprint itself on the horrified captain instead, Laurence's world falls apart. Gone is his golden future: gone his social standing, and soon his beautiful fiancée, as he is consigned to be the constant companion and trainer of the fighting dragon Temeraire…

About Naomi Novik

RichardAbbott — Sat, 11 May 2024 15:36:36 +0000

[From Amazon]
An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular fascination with the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O'Brian and Jane Austen. She lives with her husband and daughter in New York City along with many purring computers.

[From Wiki]
Naomi Novik (born 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the Temeraire series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her Scholomance fantasy series (2020–2022). Her standalone fantasy novels Uprooted (2015) and Spinning Silver (2018) were inspired by Polish folklore and the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale respectively. Novik has won many awards for her work, including the Alex, Audie, British Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards.

Novik grew up in Roslyn Heights on Long Island. She is a second-generation American; her father's family were Lithuanian Jews, and her mother's family were Polish Catholics. Displaying an interest in reading at a young age, she read The Lord of the Rings at age six, and developed a love for Jane Austen soon afterward.

She received a bachelor's degree in English literature at Brown University and holds a master's degree in computer science from Columbia University. She participated in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide, until she discovered that she preferred writing over game design.