I just finished His Majesty’s Dragon, Book 1 of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Outstanding! In the fantasy/alternate history genre, it’s hard to get better than this; set in the Napoleanic Wars, with all the attendant pagentry of the era…but with dragons. Not bad at all, and the dragon characterizations are excellent. I bought this first one when were at the bookstore just last night; I’d been eyeing it occasionally, but never gotten around to buying it. Stayed up late last night with it and finished today (it’s a quick read), and just ordered the rest from Amazon.

Recommended. It’s apparently the author’s first book as well, which impresses me. Her style is very light; doesn’t get in the way of the story. It reminds me a bit of the Horatio Hornblower/Master and Commander stuff (the human protagonist is a British Navy Captain that ends up a dragon rider); she does a good job of exploring the era’s military and class issues in way reminiscent of those books. But it ends up a fun and easy read with characters I like (even some who aren’t that important to the plot…always a sign of a good author IMO).

Book 5 in the series, Victory of Eagles, is out later this year…I hope the series continues to entertain. I always enjoy having a book to look forward to!