League of Dragons (Temeraire Series #9)

by Naomi Novik

Overview

With the acclaimed Temeraire novels, New York Times bestselling author Naomi Novik has created a fantasy series like no other, combining the high-flying appeal of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern saga and the swashbuckling derring-do of Patrick O’Brian’s historical seafaring adventures. Now, with League of Dragons, Novik brings the imaginative tour de force that has captivated millions to an unforgettable finish.
 
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia has been roundly thwarted. But even as Capt. William Laurence and the dragon Temeraire pursue the retreating enemy through an unforgiving winter, Napoleon is raising a new force, and he’ll soon have enough men and dragons to resume the offensive. While the emperor regroups, the allies have an opportunity to strike first and defeat him once and for all—if internal struggles and petty squabbles don’t tear them apart.
 
Aware of his weakened position, Napoleon has promised the dragons of every country—and the ferals, loyal only to themselves—vast new rights and powers if they fight under his banner. It is an offer eagerly embraced from Asia to Africa—and even by England, whose dragons have long rankled at their disrespectful treatment.
 
But Laurence and his faithful dragon soon discover that the wily Napoleon has one more gambit at the ready—one that that may win him the war, and the world.

Praise for Naomi Novik and her Novels of Temeraire
 
“Novik’s influences run the gamut from Jane Austen to Patrick O’Brian, with a side trip through Anne McCaffrey. Her books are completely involving and probably addictive, their central conceit explored in clever detail with a great deal of wit and historical insight.”—San Francisco Chronicle
 
“These are beautifully written novels: not only fresh, original, and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart.”—Peter Jackson
 
“A gripping adventure full of rich detail and the impossible wonder of gilded fantasy.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
“A new writer is soaring on the wings of a dragon.”—The New York Times
 
“A glorious series whose future status as a genre classic is now assured.”—SF Reviews
 
“If you’ve never read these novels, now is the time to start.”—io9
 
“Enthralling reading.”—Time

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780345522931
Publisher:	Random House Worlds
Publication date:	11/29/2016
Series:	Temeraire Series , #9
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	290,676
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Naomi Novik is the acclaimed author of the Temeraire series: His Majesty’s Dragon, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, Tongues of Serpents, Crucible of Gold, Blood of Tyrants, and League of Dragons. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and has won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, as well as the Locus Award for Best New Writer and the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. She is also the author of Uprooted and the graphic novel Will Supervillains Be on the Final?
 
Fascinated with both history and legends, Novik is a first-generation American raised on Polish fairy tales and stories of Baba Yaga. Her own adventures include pillaging degrees in English literature and computer science from various ivory towers, designing computer games, and helping to build the Archive of Our Own for fanfiction and other fanworks. Novik is a co-founder of the Organization for Transformative Works.
 
She lives in New York City with her husband, Charles Ardai, the founder of Hard Case Crime, and their daughter, Evidence, surrounded by an excessive number of purring computers.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "League of Dragons"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Naomi Novik.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

Praise for Naomi Novik and her Novels of Temeraire
 
“Novik’s influences run the gamut from Jane Austen to Patrick O’Brian, with a side trip through Anne McCaffrey. Her books are completely involving and probably addictive, their central conceit explored in clever detail with a great deal of wit and historical insight.”—San Francisco Chronicle
 
“These are beautifully written novels: not only fresh, original, and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart.”—Peter Jackson
 
“A gripping adventure full of rich detail and the impossible wonder of gilded fantasy.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
“A new writer is soaring on the wings of a dragon.”—The New York Times
 
“A glorious series whose future status as a genre classic is now assured.”—SF Reviews
 
“If you’ve never read these novels, now is the time to start.”—io9
 
“Enthralling reading.”—Time

From the Publisher

★ 04/11/2016
Novik’s ninth draconic alternate history of the Napoleonic wars concludes the series with a bang. It opens where 2013’s Blood of Tyrants left off, with Napoleon’s staggering losses in the Russian winter of 1813. The allied forces are demoralized by Napoleon’s escape back to France, but nothing could have provoked the English dragon Temeraire more than the news that his egg has been stolen from China—where it was left in trust—and may well be destroyed by his grave enemy, the Chinese celestial dragon Lien. Only once the safety of his egg is assured will Temeraire turn his keen intelligence and unique perception to the problem of Napoleon’s regrouping forces, and to thwarting a scheme to turn the feral dragons of the continent against the allies. This thrilling installment is packed with action and excitement, drawing the series to a delightful and satisfying close with plenty of twists, misadventures, and aerial combat along the way. Agent: Cynthia Manson, Cynthia Manson Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

05/15/2016
Although Napoleon's invasion of Russia has been checked, low supplies and roaming feral dragons mean a bitter victory for Captain Laurence, dragon Temeraire, and their allies. Chasing the French armies west, Laurence and Temeraire fail to capture Napoleon as he returns to Paris. Worse news arrives: the French have stolen Temeraire and Iskierka's egg from China. Still dealing with the aftermath of Laurence's treasonous actions (giving the cure for a draconic illness to the French), it is an uphill battle as Laurence and Temeraire fight for their country, their lives, and finally to stop Napoleon. VERDICT This series finale would not be complete without visits from familiar figures from previous books (Her Majesty's Dragon; Blood of Tyrants) and plenty of battle scenes. Novik's fans won't be disappointed.—KC

Library Journal

Simon Vance returns for the ninth and last book in this series, set during the Napoleonic Wars as Napoleon retreats from Moscow. Captain William Laurence and his dragon companion, Temeraire, are in the middle of it. The collaboration of Russia with Britain, China, and others in the war and the interaction of the dragons with the French provide the perfect opportunity for Vance to draw on his vast store of accents for both humans and dragons. Vance sets off at a strong pace and maintains it for the duration, whether in fast-paced dialogue or more reflective private conversations between Laurence and Temeraire. Vance is as expressive with dragon characters as he is with human ones. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

★ 2016-03-30
Ninth, and last, of the Temeraire historical fantasy series (Blood of Tyrants, 2013, etc.), reimagining the Napoleonic Wars in a world where humans coexist with intelligent dragons. Napoleon's invasion of Russia has been foiled. Following his adventures in the Far East, Capt. William Laurence and his dragon partner, Temeraire, assist the Russian forces to harry the retreating French—but Napoleon escapes to Paris, where he plots a counterstroke. While raising new human armies, he promulgates a remarkable political document granting any dragons that will fight for him—including the ferals who owe allegiance to no government—autonomous territories and humane treatment. This offer proves a powerful enticement, especially to dragons from Russia (historically treated with great cruelty) and Britain (where attitudes range from callous indifference to outright hostility). Even worse, from Laurence's viewpoint, Napoleon has stolen the egg of Temeraire (whose weapon is the Divine Wind, a rock-shattering roar) and Iskierka, his fire-breathing mate, knowing that the egg is enormously precious to them and that they will go to any lengths to recover it. So it should be a simple matter to lure Laurence and the dragons into a trap. One of the great pleasures of this long, sometimes uneven, but always fascinating series is the way Novik meticulously and patiently accumulates details of the various types of dragon, each having its particular aspect, talents, and behaviors, and the spectrum of attitudes humans hold toward them. Though employing a modern vocabulary, the early-19th-century writing style precisely captures the rhythms, manners, and sensibilities of the period. The action prose is vivid and immediate, especially when adopting a dragon's perspective. You feel that, given the existence of dragons, the alternate history the author envisions might well have come to pass. Not the finest entry in the sequence, being slow to gather momentum and somewhat patchy, but overall a satisfying conclusion to a remarkable series.

Kirkus Reviews