Tongues of Serpents

Although I hate to start my reviews off smack dab in the middle of a series, timing lends itself to such. I’ve just finished Naomi Novik’s Tongues of Serpents, the sixth installment in her Temeraire series, a work of historical fantasy that sets the Napoleonic Wars in a reality where dragons create the Aerial Combat Corps, a force much like Britain’s RAF that would be formed decades later with the advent of the fighter plane. Novik crafts her novels with an emphasis on the historical rather than the fantastic, thus giving each novel in the series a sense of realism that grounds, rather than distracts the reader.

            In this latest novel, the dragon Temeraire and his human captain Laurence have been exiled to the prison colonies in Australia after being convicted of treason. Sadly this baseline creates a sense of finality and defeat during the early chapters, as if Novik didn’t quite know what to do with the story she’d created, but couldn’t bear to just let it end. However, military politics and a healthy does of contrived adventure push the plot along, so that I was quickly able to move past my early disinterest and engage with characters that by now I know quite well.

            In fact, the characters are the diving force behind Tongues of Serpents, which otherwise would have been a rather lack luster read. Novik has honed her skill for writing witty dialogue, and it truly shines in quick exchanges between the rough and tumble men of the Corps, and Laurence, who clings to his past Naval propriety. Of course, Temeraire provided me with the moments I actually chuckled out loud. Over the course of the series, he’s becoming increasingly move vocal on the subject of equality and democracy, viewing the world with a childlike innocence, and delivering one liners that simultaneously provide humor and provocation. His unabashed discussion with Laurence about the difference between mating for procreation versus pleasure was only one of the many times when I had to quickly stifle my snorts of amusement while reading in public.

            Overall, Tongues of Serpents does not stand out as the best of the Temeraire series, but I would still recommend it for those who delve into Novik’s universe and as I did, quickly become to engaged to think about skipping an adventure.