Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik

Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Best of the series so far!

The Temeraire series, for those not familiar with it, is set during the time of the Napoleonic wars, and is quite historically accurate - with the addition of dragons as weapons of war. :-)

As the series has progressed, we have visited just about every continent, and we see how dragons are treated differently, and how the cultures of those countries differ, due to how they view their dragons. And dragons are not just dumb beasts. They are intelligent, and can speak (many are multi-lingual), read and write.

In 'Blood of Tyrants', Temeraire's captain (and best friend) is shipwrecked and lost in Japan (which was violently xenophobic at the time), and has lost his memory. Temeraire is desperate to find him, but there are political issues blocking him. Meanwhile, Napoleon is massing his army (and his dragons) to attack Russia.

This book moves along better than any of the others (and I've loved them all), with wonderful scenes between Temeraire and Laurence, especially when Laurence recovers (most of) his memory. The story is fun, exciting, touching, and sometimes quite sweet. This whole series simply delights me!

I understand there is one last book coming in the series, and I can't wait for it!!

I would recommend this whole series to anyone who likes dragons or alternate histories. It's so well written, and such a complete alternate world that it's quite believable. (And, apologies to my husband, but I think I might be slightly in love with Temeraire! ;)