The fourth novel in the Temeraire series, Empire of Ivory begins right where Black Powder War left off, with Temeraire and Captain Will Laurence finally making it back to England. However, their accomplishment is short lived when they are sent to the Cape Colony (known to us today as South Africa), in order to find a cure for an illness that has taken hold of England’s dragons.

And there we begin another novel of cultural and societal commentary, much like Throne of Jade (where Temeraire and Laurence went to China). A lot of this novel is spent exploring the differences between native African societies and how they treat their dragons, as compared to the European nations. Along the way, because it was historically relevant at the time I suppose, Novik gives us an overview of the evils of slavery – a practice still going on during the Napoleonic Wars.

What emerges is a novel that’s a bit too polemic and lacking in focus, not to mention action. What was originally an interesting idea featuring dragons and an alternate timeline, seem to becoming a cultural expose. Even the core of the plot seems nothing more than an excuse to bring forth whole conversations peppered with social commentary.

In short, if the series continues with this formula, it’s going to lose this reader. It’s s shame too, because I don’t necessarily disagree with the points being made. The African slave trade was bad. I get it. I don’t need to be reminded of it for a hundred pages. I sincerely hope Novik moves her story along and tightens it back up. After all, there is a war on. Plenty to explore there too.

-K

While the premise of His Majesty’s Dragon is rather simple: what if dragons were used as an “air force,” during the Napoleonic Wars, Naomi’s Novik’s execution of the concept is wonderfully entertaining.

The story begins with the capture of a dragon egg from a French frigate by a British warship captained by William Laurence. That incident proves to change his fortunes when, upon hatching, the dragon chooses him as his “handler,” a bond between dragon and human that is essential. What follows next is Laurence’s adventures as he works his way through the Aerial Corps’ training and his first engagements in battle with his dragon, Temeraire.

Interestingly enough, although the book is set during the Regency and the characters (especially Laurence) seem to delight in speaking with rigid formality, I found the book quite easy to read. Novik keeps the story moving while at the same time she gives her character’s depth through dramatizing them, rather than describing them.

On the whole, I can thoroughly recommend His Majesty’s Dragon. A good adventure story with a rather novel concept, it’s perfect for an afternoon’s read.

Other participants in the “52 in 52″ meme who reviewed books recently include:

• Jeremy reviews Diablo Cody’s Candy Girl.
• Jamie reviews Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett.
• Heliologue reviews Mark Haddon’s A Spot of Bother.

-K

A father and son travel down from the mountains, all their possessions in an old shopping cart, desperately attempting to make it to warmer climates before winter comes and all of this in a post-apocalyptic America covered in the ashes of destruction – literally.

Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for The Road, his latest novel, and it’s not hard to see why. It is a dark, bleak book in which death reigns and hope should be an endangered species. It’s a testament to McCarthy’s skill as a storyteller that hope never becomes extinct in the book. Instead, it continues to exist against all evidence and experience.

However, the core of the book is not a science fiction exploration of the aftermath of apocalypse. It’s the bond between the father and his son as they embark upon their journey and what happens to that bond during their experiences. Several times over the course of the novel, that bond is tested and tested again, especially with regards to what makes one a “good guy” as opposed to a “bad guy.” It’s not an easy journey at all.

McCarthy’s style needs to be addressed before recommending The Road. His use of punctuation, especially in dialogue, is sparse. He’s also not a great fan of attribution in dialogue (“He said, she said.), which can result in a bit of confusion about who is speaking at any given time, I’ve seen a lot of comparisons to Faulkner in regards to McCarthy and that seems fair. It would be the more “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner, rather than the Absalom! Absalom! Faulkner. It’s not all that intimidating, but deserves to be mentioned.

Finally, don’t expect any “Mad Max” routines in this book. How and why the world exists the way it does isn’t explored at all. There are bare mentions of even what happened when the apocalypse descended. In this regard, while it could be called science fiction, it’s more of a literary novel using a science fiction convention for its own ends.

Between The Road and film adaptation of No Country for Old Men, I believe I’ll have to dig out the copy of All the Pretty Horses I bought in college and read that as well. I’ve known of McCarthy’s reputation for some time now, but it seems now is when I’ll finally explore it for myself.

Other participants in the “52 in 52″ meme who reviewed books recently include:

• Jeremy reviews Joe McNally’s The Moment It Clicks.
• Jamie reviews The Archer’s Tale, Vagabond, and Heretic by Bernard Cornwall.
• Heliologue reviews Karen Armstrong’s A History of God.

-K

When the body of Sir James Thirkie is discovered at Farthing, the ancestral estate of Lord Eversley, Scotland Yard dispatches Inspector Peter Carmichael to investigate and find out who killed the architect of England’s “Peace With Honour,” ending its involvement in World War II.

That’s right. Farthing is an alternate history, set in a world in which the United Kingdom made peace with Adolph Hitler in the early summer of 1941, thus allowing Hitler to attack the Soviet Union with his western flank secured. Farthing is also a “country house” mystery (which most readers might be familiar if they ever played Clue) and a political thriller.

Like a lot country house mysteries, Farthing can be both a bit dry and dull at times. I normally never touch them, but I am a sucker for alternate histories when they are done well. It’s also notable that the alternate history is really used as a backdrop to the main story, rather than explored in itself such as in a Harry Turtledove novel. Don’t expect a lot of attention to be paid to how this world diverged from our own. Anything you get is mentioned in passing. (Although interesting.) The real meat of the novel is the mystery and the politics.

The narrative is split between Inspector Carmichael and Lucy Kahn, the “black sheep” daughter of Lord Eversley who insisted on marrying a Jewish man. I enjoy multiple points-of-view when they are handled well (see Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire) and Walton is more than up to the task. Only occasionally does the pacing slow to yawning point, but that’s a price to be paid when a conversation traces the lineage of a family who received their titles from Henry VII. Otherwise, the story remains taut and the mystery pretty well done.

A sequel, Ha`Penny, was released last year with a third novel, Half a Crown, due out in August. Although I’ll probably wait until they are in paperback, I look forward to reading what else Walton is going to do with her milieu.

Other participants in the “52 in 52″ meme who reviewed books recently include:

• Jeremy reviews Brian K Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man.
• Jamie reviews Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
• Heliologue reviews Christopher Hitchens’ Thomas Paine’s ‘The Rights of Man’.
• Natasha reviews The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

-K

What would happen if gunpowder suddenly didn’t work? How about explosive combustion in any form? Failure in electronics and electrical transmission, or steam power?

Technology would revert back to before the end of the Middle Ages, which is the core idea behind Dies the Fire. After a mysterious flash of light over Nantucket, two groups of people find themselves in a world in which technology no longer works except in its most basic forms. Paying scant attention to the causes of the “Change,” as it’s referred to, the novel instead focuses in the cultural survival implications of suddenly having to depend on sword and bow, as well as ox and plow. Fortunately, they are pretty well thought out and developed, even if the characters themselves are stock.

Most of the action takes place in Oregon, specifically the Willamette Valley which runs from Portland, south through Salem, to Eugene and western Idaho as one of the main characters, Mike Havel, leads a group back to the valley after they survive a plane crash. The other group, lead by a former Celtic singer, finds shelter and survival in her cabin, located in the mountains on the east side of the valley.

Years ago, I watched Connections for the first time. In it, journalist James Burke begins asking a series of questions to make the viewer aware just how dependent mankind as a species has become on technology. Everything from knowing what an edible plant looks like, to how to operate a farm without machinery, to how prepared you are to kill someone else, even to defend your food supply. That’s how this novel opens. There’s the Change and then all hell breaks loose. Within fifty pages, the first people are starting to realize they will have to live pretty much like people did in the 12th century. This is just the beginning for a series of consequences which are explored, some very entertainingly. Some, disturbingly.

However, Sitrling’s characters leave something to be desired, as does his narrator’s voice. While not stock characters themselves, they come damn close, especially the leaders of both groups. And if that wasn’t enough, their inner voices are just plain jarring to read with phrases that just scream “Manufactured!” Several times I would hit a point where I leaned back, rolled my eyes and wished the character would just move on.

With regards to the creation of the world, it’s not a bad job at all. I’ve been a fan of alternate history for some time now, and while I don’t think this qualifies per se, I do think it’s an interesting premise. Dies the Fire starts a trilogy of books which cover the history of these survivors in the Willamette. While the book has its weaknesses, it’s strengths definitely make up for it. For anyone who likes to ask “What If?” I’d heartily recommend it.

-K