Black Powder War by Naomi Novik

Black Powder War, the third book in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, follows the return of Temeraire and his crew from China, where the traveled in Throne of Jade. (See my review of the first book in the series, His Majesty’s Dragon, for the basic premise of the series.) The ship that was to bring Temeraire and Laurence home has been damaged, so they must make the journey overland, through China and the Middle East, to Turkey, where the Sultan has agreed to sell the British a rare dragon’s egg. But the journey is perilous, and when they arrive in Turkey, they face a double cross. Finally, they end up with the Prussians, facing major defeat at the hands of Napoleon and his new chief dragon – Lien, the Chinese imperial who faced Temeraire in Throne of Jade.

These books have been a delight. They combine good historical detail (or alternate historical detail) with interesting characters (Temeraire, especially, is a wonderfully well drawn and fascinating character – intelligent, witty, brave, and opinionated.) The details of the history are well thought out, as are the details of how a dragon-based air force would work, how the dragons would be crewed, and so on. The societies are believable, and, with the changes necessary to include dragons, match the way the societies of the time really worked. (Well, except for China, where the dragons in Novik’s books are so much more a part of the society that it had to change. But this in itself was an interesting case of working out how a society with two intelligent species living together on a daily basis might work.)

Black Powder War is a fine addition to the series and follows important developments in the war in Europe and provides again an interesting picture of how the war would change given the changes in tactics involved when dragons enter the mix. Moreover, it does provide a good portrait of the dramatic difference between Napoleon and most of the leaders who opposed him. Most of the old European military leaders fell into the problem of fighting previous wars, not the current one, of being conservative with regard to new tactics. The Prussians in the current book are an example of this. Napoleon on the other hand was an innovative military thinker. Many of is great victories were results of his being able to think in new ways and to try new tactics (at least, in our real history, on land; his misunderstanding of naval matters was one reason for the collapse of the French navy). In Black Powder War, this extend to his use of dragons and helps lead to major victories for him. (Again, in real history, it’s no real surprise that the two military leaders who were able to consistently beat the French were Nelson and Wellington, who also were not tied down by traditional tactics.)

Novik will be on my Campbell ballot for best new writer next year, and one of her books may well be on my Hugo ballot. I anxiously await the next book in the series.