Temeraire (series)

Temeraire is a series of nine alternate history novels written by American author Naomi Novik. The novels follow the adventures of Captain William Laurence and his dragon, the eponymous Temeraire. The series consist of both fantasy and alternate history: they are "a reimagining of the epic events of the Napoleonic Wars with an air force—an air force of dragons, manned by crews of aviators".[1] The first book, His Majesty's Dragon, won the 2007 Compton Crook Award in the (science fiction/fantasy) genre.[2] The book was also nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2007.

This article is about the series of books written by Naomi Novik. For other uses, see Temeraire (disambiguation).
U.K. paperback edition cover of Throne of Jade
U.K. paperback edition cover of Black Powder War

Novels

Also, In His Majesty's Service is a compilation book that includes the first three books in the series, as well as the Temeraire short story "In Autumn, A White Dragon Looks Over the Wide River".[6] Golden Age and Other Stories is a collection of Temeraire short stories, and was released in August 2017.[7]

Setting

The series of books revolves around the primary characters, the dragon Temeraire and Captain William Laurence. Captain Laurence is a member of the British Royal Navy, serving in combat against Napoleon's navy when he recovers a dragon egg unlike any other known to the British. The egg soon hatches, and Temeraire, a Chinese dragon, is born. Under the impression that an "unharnessed" dragon will become feral and unmanageable, Laurence becomes Temeraire's companion. Despite the difficulties this causes, Laurence begins to think of the dragon as his dearest friend. This forces a change in the officer's life, drawing him from the prestigious Royal Navy to the less desirable Royal Aerial Corps. The subsequent novels in the original trilogy follow the adventures of Laurence and Temeraire as they do battle with the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte and the diplomatic fallout caused by Captain Laurence's adoption by the Chinese emperor. The fourth novel deals with Laurence and Temeraire seeking a cure for a contagious disease, introduced by a North American dragon, which spreads throughout the British dragons while Napoleon seeks to press his advantage.

The fifth novel is the account of Napoleon's invasion of England, forcing a British retreat to Scotland, while Laurence faces the consequences of their treason in taking the cure for the illness to the French. The sixth novel begins within the penal colony of Australia (Laurence's death sentence for treason commuted to transport to the colony), and a chase across the continent to a sudden discovery that has far-reaching consequences. The seventh book has Laurence returned to service and sent to South America in an attempt to secure an alliance with the Inca Empire (which still exists, though reduced, in the series timeline), then to Asia again. In the eighth book, Laurence is partially amnesiac due to injury as Temeraire and the crew deal with new intrigues in Japan and China before flying to Russia in time to be involved in the French invasion of Russia.

List of characters

Humans
  • Admiral/Captain William Laurence: Former captain of HMS Reliant while in the Royal Navy. Served aboard HMS Belize, HMS Orient, and others prior to receiving his post on the Reliant. Now Captain in the Aerial Corps and captain to Temeraire. Primary figure in the series. He comes from a wealthy family distantly related to the king. Although he serves in the Aerial Corps (the least respected military branch of England), he is a gentleman and the son of Lord Allendale. While remaining a captain for most of the series, in the final book of the series, he receives a promotion to admiral.
  • Arthur Hammond: British diplomat attending Laurence's mission to China whose primary goal is to preserve or to improve British standing with the Chinese Empire, even if it comes at the expense of giving Temeraire to the Chinese. He is generally disliked by the crew of the Allegiance and Temeraire's crew. He was adopted by Churki, and he has become the object of her affections, though he has no desire whatsoever to belong to a dragon.
  • Admiral Jane Roland: Captain to Excidium. Mother of Emily Roland, a member of Laurence's crew. Becomes Laurence's paramour after Laurence breaks off his engagement. Later promoted to Admiral.
  • Admiral Lenton: Admiral in charge of the covert at Dover. Obversaria was his dragon, until the third book in the series.
  • Captain Berkley: Stationed at Dover. Captain to the Regal Copper, Maximus.
  • Captain Catherine Harcourt: Stationed at Dover. First female dragon-captain Laurence meets. Twenty years old when promoted to Captain. Captain to the Longwing Lily. Captain Harcourt has a brief liaison with Captain Thomas Riley which leads to pregnancy. Catherine is later pressured to marry him for legal and social reasons as Captain Riley's estate is entailed and his mother and female relations will have no source of income if he dies before producing a son.
  • Captain Langford James: Courier. Captain to Volatilus. First dragon-captain to meet Laurence. Gives him a basic introduction to how the Aerial Corps works.
  • Captain Rankin: Abusive Captain to Levitas. Becomes Captain to Caesar in Tongues of Serpents.
  • Captain Thomas Riley: Lieutenant under Captain Laurence on HMS Reliant in His Majesty's Dragon. In Throne of Jade is promoted to captain of HMS Allegiance, a dragon-transport. Family owns slaves in the Caribbean. Is married to, and has a son with, Captain Catherine Harcourt.
  • Demane: A native of the Xhosa tribe, he leads Laurence to the cure for the draconic flu. He was later assigned to fly with Arkady and his feral dragons as he was fluent in both English and Durzagh languages (in addition to his native Xhosa). He later becomes the unofficial captain of Kulingile, a very large heavyweight dragon.
  • Emily Roland: A member of Captain William Laurence's crew, she was in the first book mistaken for a boy. Daughter of Captain Jane Roland.
  • Hannah Erasmus: Wife of Reverend Erasmus. A former slave, she is a member of the Tswana tribe and returns to Africa with her husband and children. After her husband is slain in an encounter with her native tribe, she is recognized and freed and ultimately elects to stay in Africa.
  • Lieutenant John Granby: Laurence's second-in-command. Served under Captain Portland on Laetificat. Becomes Iskierka's Captain.
  • Prince Yongxing: Son to the Jiaqing Emperor of China. Anti-Western and seeks to bring Temeraire back to China. Schemes to ultimately supplant his younger brother's claim to the Imperial Throne. Companion to the white Celestial Lien.
  • Reverend Josia Erasmus: A former slave in Jamaica. Joins Temeraire and Laurence in their expedition to Africa to find a cure for the draconic flu.
  • Tenzing Tharkay: A guide hired by a banker in Constantinople to bring Captain Laurence and his crew to the Turkish capital. While duplicitous in appearance, this is an air cultivated purposefully by Tharkay due to his mixed heritage.

Dragons
  • Temeraire: A Chinese Celestial dragon (mistaken for an Imperial dragon in the first book) and the titular character of the series. Named after Téméraire, a French vessel captured during the Napoleonic wars, his name means "reckless". His Chinese name is Lung Tien Xiang. Captain William Laurence is his companion. Possesses an extremely practical, inquisitive, and sometimes too blunt personality, although he sometimes can be overly sensitive about the differences between his appearance and that of western dragons. He is also quite possessive and protective of Laurence.

The dragons

Dragons in the series are similar to dragons in many real-world mythologies, although they are divided into different "breeds", with differences in coloration, size, skeletal structure, etc. All (with the exception of sea serpents, which are thought to be a separate species) have wings and the ability to fly, even those that mass up to fifty tons (this is said to be partly due to their bodies' compartments of lighter-than-air gas; "weight" figures represent overall mass, and a fifty-ton dragon might show a mere ten tons on a scale). Dragons are shown to be intelligent and sapient, although the degree of their intelligence varies from sufficient to understand a few words up to being able to compose epic poetry. Dragons are typically born with the ability to speak. They learn languages while still in their eggs, and can speak any language they are sufficiently exposed to during that time fluently from birth. Throughout the series, it is stated that particularly intelligent dragons can continue to acquire languages quickly throughout their entire lives. In the wild, dragons usually have their own languages, and this is shown a number of times when "feral" dragons are encountered throughout the series. Generally, all dragons are depicted as helplessly possessive, attracted to shiny objects, property, and hoarding treasure whenever and wherever possible. This materialistic behavior also extends to people.

Within the series, domesticated dragons "bond" with a human on hatching. This process is described as typically happening when the human presents the just-hatched dragon with their first meal, usually meat, and the dragon accepts it. The Chinese, who are renowned for their dragons, are described as having a different method, however. They have another dragon take care of the hatchling and educate it until it is knowledgeable enough to choose its own companion. Both methods are said to form a strong psychological bond similar to filial imprinting seen in species of real-world birds; in some cases, this is reminiscent of an owner-pet, friend-friend, and even parent-child relationship. Dragons will do anything to prevent their companions from coming to harm. In battle, dragons can be "captured" and forced into compliance, if their aviators are held at gunpoint or in some other way threatened. Dragons are commonly jealous of the attention of their human companions.

Because of their great longevity, dragons frequently outlive their human partners. When this happens they may take another companion (often a relative of their lost partner), or fall into depression. If they do not care to take new companions they are often sent to live in breeding grounds, providing a comfortable, albeit mundane existence. Some dragon breeds are shown with the ability to breathe fire, or "spit" acidic venom, traits that are prized in countries where dragons are primarily thought of as military tools. The Chinese Celestial breed has a unique trait called the Divine Wind, a roar that can shatter wood, crack stone and cause hemorrhages at a short range. Other breeds throughout the series's world have a variety of unique traits such as the ability to make sharp turns (British Anglewing), the ability to ingest and spew large quantities of water (Japanese Siu Riu), or the ability to see clearly at night (French Fleur-de-Nuit).

Dragon classification by size

Heavyweight

Dragons in this category are enormous, although size varies greatly between heavyweights of different breeds (20–50 ton weight range). The largest British heavyweight, the Regal Copper, weighs a maximum of 50 tons, can be up to 120 feet (37 m) long and have a wingspan of 180 feet (55 m). There are also unidentified breeds of dragons and cross-breeds known to be even larger, such that their size can only be described as "immense". A typical middling heavyweight Chinese Celestial/Imperials and the French Chanson-de-Guerre, both of which weigh in around 20-25  tons at a minimum. The Turkish Kazilik is the only known fire-breathing heavyweight. Heavyweight eggs are extremely valuable, often said to be more valuable than gold per pound (a Regal Copper egg is said to be worth 56,000 pounds, an enormous amount of money in the early 19th century). Kazilik eggs command incredible value, with the British paying the Ottoman Empire half a million pounds for three eggs (most of which was allocated for the Kazilik).[8] Typically heavyweights are the most long-lived of all dragons, some are known to live for hundreds of years, but by contrast, they take much longer to recover from illness or disease than middle or lightweights.

Since that size is often difficult to grasp, a better method for understanding their size is by how many humans a particular breed can carry. While the crew of a typical heavyweight might be 30 men (this includes riflemen, bellmen, officers, etc.) they can carry many times more. In the series, special harnesses covered a dragon's entire body and were outfitted with slings where men could sit for transportation. Using this method a Regal Copper could carry up to 500 men, meaning the surface area of a Regal (at least the sides and top of the main body) was the same as 500 people lying side-by-side.

Middleweight

Much more common than heavyweights, these dragons make up the bulk of any country's aerial forces. Middleweights range in weight from 10 tons to 20 tons. Yellow Reapers can weigh as little as 10 tons (with a maximum weight of 17 tons), making them one of the smallest middleweights. British Parnassians are said to be large middleweights, weighing around 18 tons on average, very close to the minimum weight of a heavyweight dragon. Middleweights are much more likely to show special offensive capabilities, such as spitting acidic venom (Longwings), or breathing fire (Flamme-de-Gloire) than heavyweights. Middleweights tend to be faster and more agile than heavyweights, although if lacking special abilities, they are unlikely to be able to match any heavyweight in a fight.

Lightweight

This group is divided between courier and light-combat dragons. Couriers are the lightest of dragons, and usually carry mail, important military messages, and royalty/VIPs. They range in weight from a mere 2 tons (Winchester), to around 5 tons (Greyling). Couriers also do work as scout dragons doing reconnaissance over enemy territory. Light-combat dragons are little larger and act as skirmishers and flank attackers against enemy formations. They range in weight from around 6 to 9 tons, with the French Pascal's Blue being a prime example of such a breed. Lightweights exhibit more excitable behavior than do other dragons of heavier weights. The Spanish possess a fire-breathing lightweight, the Flecha-del-Fuego ("Fire Arrow"), which is the rare lightweight breed that is a prime combat dragon.

Film version

The Hollywood Reporter reported that Peter Jackson, who is best known for directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, had optioned the rights to the series. Jackson added that Temeraire "is a terrific meld of two genres that I particularly love—fantasy and historical epic. I can't wait to see Napoleonic battles fought with a squadron of dragons. That's what I go to the movies for."[9] On July 24, 2009 in an interview with IGN, Jackson stated that he had considered making the story as a mini-series, as he was worried that if the first movie flopped at the box office, it would put the story at a full stop and leave it incomplete.[10] On Naomi Novik's AMA on reddit on February 24, 2016, Novik said that the film rights had reverted to her once again, and there is no plan for any adaptation at the moment.[11]

References
  1. "Temeraire: the official website of Naomi Novik". Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2006.
  2. Baltimore Science Fiction Society: Compton Crook Award Winners
  3. Betsy Mitchell (June 22, 2011). "Posted Prologue: Crucible of Gold". Temeraire.org. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  4. Novik, Naomi. "Naomi Novik official Facebook page". Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  5. Amazon listing. "League of Dragons Temeraire book 9". Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  6. Novik, Naomi (2009), In His Majesty's Service (hardcover), Del Rey, ISBN 978-0-345-51354-0
  7. "Golden Age and Other Stories". Subterranean Press. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  8. Black Powder War, p. 125.
  9. Borys Kit (September 12, 2006). "Lord of fantasy: Jackson eyeing 'Temeraire'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  10. http://movies.ign.com/articles/100/1007061p1.html
  11. https://www.reddit.com/r/YAwriters/comments/476y90/ama_naomi_novik_author_of_uprooted_the_temeraire/
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