Tongues of Serpents: Book Six of Temeraire |
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Originally published: 2010 Acquired and read: September 2025 |
In this volume of the Temeraire series, Captain Laurence—along with Temeraire, of course—has been exiled to Australia following his betrayal of Britain back in book four. Laurence must find some way to navigate no longer being allowed to serve technically, while still also being of use to his country.
I think this is probably one of the lesser installments of the series, but I still enjoyed it immensely. Novik conjures up character, place, and society with skill in equal measure; I love Laurence and Temeraire, of course, and the bits with Captain Bligh are fun but also kind of horrifying. The worst part of Temeraire's world are of course part of ours as well. Like with Throne of Jade and Horn of Ivory, some of the book hinges around discovering that a non-European society makes its own complex and interesting use of dragons. I have to say, an anti-orientalist bent is honestly not what I expected from this series going in! But it very mush is interested in using dragonriding to interrogate the way Britain sees the rest of the world. I think what hold this one back is it's more of a travelogue, without a strong sense of climax, but it was a journey I enjoyed nonetheless.
Every ten months I read an installment of Temeraire. Next up in sequence: Crucible of Gold
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