Empire of Ivory, a review
Dec. 28th, 2007 11:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skull_bearerIn terms of writing, I would rank it either on the same level or slightly below Black Powder War. Better than Throne of Jade but nowhere near Temeraire. It does feel rushed, then first part was mostly me yelling at the characters for being so thick and there was a lot of repetition. Out of a four hundred page book, it took them more than 100 pages for them to actually get the Africa, meaning that a sea voyage of several months had to be cut to barley 15 pages. In comparison it's better than the hundreds of pages dwelling on that in Throne of Jade, but I do think it should have been longer, dwelling more on Harcourt and Riley's relationship, and the tension between Lawrence and Riley, and perhaps developing Erasmus' character a bit more.
The Africa chapters were pretty good on the other hand, the search for the mushroom was well done, giving a sense of tension without taking so long as to get dull. I liked that finding the mushroom wasn't even half the struggle, that they still needed to find more, and how the cave full of mushrooms was turned into a plot point. I thought the confrontation with Moshueshue was a bit rushed, but the ideas in that blew the book straight out of the doldrums. They was incredible. I loved how the dragons had been incorperated so seamlessly into African culture, and the little fragment at the back of the book was wonderful. The idea of using the dragons to (literally) burn out the slave trade in Africa gave me (and probably anyone else reading the book) a deep sense of satisfaction. Equally, the mention that the Inca empire is still alive and well due to the dragons has me squeeing.
Once again, I deeply admire how Novik makes every character that Lawrence and Temeraire come into conflict with so believably sympathetic. You want Moshueshue to believe Lawrence and let him go, but you can completely understand where he's coming from. They're all very human. I am a bit annoyed that al the characters she kills are those that won't be missed, Eramus could have done with being developed more, so that when he dies it's more of a shock. However, she does at least kill them realistically and it's always a shock.
And once again, I love how Novik deals with the problems of a Nepoleonic setting, the institutionalised rascism and sexism, by making them part of the plot. The inclusion of the Abolitionalists in this book not only enrich the setting, but also provide a nice comparison with Dragon Rights that were rather neglected in BPW.
And to carry on from that, I've liked how Novik portrays the French without slipping into rather more Jingoist views, something very, very easy to do since the British did win. I've always had a sneaking fondness for Napoleon (well, I am French), and she hardly blackwashes him. At the end of the book, when the British government reveals sended the sick dragon to the French (something which is at best a biological weapon and at worse [considering that without the cure all dragons would die] genocide) I officially said 'Fuck this' and started cheering Napoleon. I want to know more about Lien, considering that Lawrence and Temeraire saved her life. I'd like to think this would change her mind on revenge, but probably not. All the same, I'd love to know.
Oh Lawrence, Lawrence, you brave, honourable idiot. Like Temeraire, I want to hug you and kick you in equal amounts. *hugs*
All in all, a fairly good book, getting better and better as you go along. The first part is mediocer, the second part is good but with some drawbacks, and the third is just plain fantastic. It's not mistake that the third is also the shortest. Novik needs to learn not to pad her writing too much.
Why do I have the feelign that the pack Temeraire made with maximus and Lily will coming in veeery handy in the next book? I really want to know how she'll get Lawrence off. My personal wish is for the whole corps to discover what the government were planning and riot.
Ahhhgg! Six month wait!
The Africa chapters were pretty good on the other hand, the search for the mushroom was well done, giving a sense of tension without taking so long as to get dull. I liked that finding the mushroom wasn't even half the struggle, that they still needed to find more, and how the cave full of mushrooms was turned into a plot point. I thought the confrontation with Moshueshue was a bit rushed, but the ideas in that blew the book straight out of the doldrums. They was incredible. I loved how the dragons had been incorperated so seamlessly into African culture, and the little fragment at the back of the book was wonderful. The idea of using the dragons to (literally) burn out the slave trade in Africa gave me (and probably anyone else reading the book) a deep sense of satisfaction. Equally, the mention that the Inca empire is still alive and well due to the dragons has me squeeing.
Once again, I deeply admire how Novik makes every character that Lawrence and Temeraire come into conflict with so believably sympathetic. You want Moshueshue to believe Lawrence and let him go, but you can completely understand where he's coming from. They're all very human. I am a bit annoyed that al the characters she kills are those that won't be missed, Eramus could have done with being developed more, so that when he dies it's more of a shock. However, she does at least kill them realistically and it's always a shock.
And once again, I love how Novik deals with the problems of a Nepoleonic setting, the institutionalised rascism and sexism, by making them part of the plot. The inclusion of the Abolitionalists in this book not only enrich the setting, but also provide a nice comparison with Dragon Rights that were rather neglected in BPW.
And to carry on from that, I've liked how Novik portrays the French without slipping into rather more Jingoist views, something very, very easy to do since the British did win. I've always had a sneaking fondness for Napoleon (well, I am French), and she hardly blackwashes him. At the end of the book, when the British government reveals sended the sick dragon to the French (something which is at best a biological weapon and at worse [considering that without the cure all dragons would die] genocide) I officially said 'Fuck this' and started cheering Napoleon. I want to know more about Lien, considering that Lawrence and Temeraire saved her life. I'd like to think this would change her mind on revenge, but probably not. All the same, I'd love to know.
Oh Lawrence, Lawrence, you brave, honourable idiot. Like Temeraire, I want to hug you and kick you in equal amounts. *hugs*
All in all, a fairly good book, getting better and better as you go along. The first part is mediocer, the second part is good but with some drawbacks, and the third is just plain fantastic. It's not mistake that the third is also the shortest. Novik needs to learn not to pad her writing too much.
Why do I have the feelign that the pack Temeraire made with maximus and Lily will coming in veeery handy in the next book? I really want to know how she'll get Lawrence off. My personal wish is for the whole corps to discover what the government were planning and riot.
Ahhhgg! Six month wait!
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Date: 2007-12-28 03:05 pm (UTC)I need to get me that book!