C Gockel Writes

Book Review : Throne of Jade

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Throne of Jade: A Novel of Temeraire Kindle Edition by Naomi Novik (Author)

UPDATE: I finished the whole series, adored it, and went into a state of withdrawal afterwards. It is traditionally published and very popular…and therefore available at libraries, though the first two ebooks are reasonably priced.

Fresh off reading His Majesty’s Dragon, I picked up this book from my local library. (Hooray for ebook lending! So helpful in this age of “Come on Eileen”–errr…think of what that title rhymes with. I will not speak the name of the pestilence aloud! Or type it and make you hear it in your mind.)

I loved the first book: it was just such a lovely imagining of what Britain would be like during the Napoleonic Wars if dragons existed. The characterizations were also spot on–something that is really important to me. I typically drop a book immediately if characters don’t ring true.

As much as I loved His Majesty’s Dragon, Throne of Jade was better. It was funnier. (Do you have a problem? Your dragon will eat it.) But it was also deeper. Some of the things that niggled at me in the first book, the British populace not knowing that dragons are completely sentient and self-aware, for instance, were addressed. As was the issue of the dragons being perhaps manipulated into service of the crown, almost, in fact, slaves.

It was also nice to see a China that was strong instead of weak when the West came knocking–mostly because they treat their dragons very differently than the British treat theirs. I wondered if this fictional China will start to decline in later books as it did in the real world. I am going to keep reading to find out. I love Chinese history, and there were many reasons beyond the British that caused it to slide. I suppose, Dragons or no, it could happen.

Again, characterizations were spot on–but I laughed more. Oh, and there were some phenomenal battle scenes! They were even better than the ones in the first book–and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like battle scenes. (Battle scenes are like sex scenes, when they don’t further the growth of the character, or aren’t intrinsic to the plot, to me, they’re just …meh. These aren’t like that.)

Black Powder War is available at all vendors, but in some regions only in dead-tree & audio format. Ebook: Amazon US, Amazon AU, Amazon DE, Kobo, iBooks, Nook, GooglePlay

Dead-tree: Amazon UK, Amazon CA

Also, check your local library!

Box Set List Featured Fantasy

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

A $2.99 as of May 28, 2020 6 AM in the US & Europe
Click for Current Prices Amazon US, Amazon DE, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and GooglePlay

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

* C. Gockel’s Note: I love this book, and have recommended it to all my friends and family on my personal Facebook page, official Author’s Page, and here. It is a little more expensive than most of my Box Set List Features, but I highly recommend it.

See all the Box Set List Featured Fantasy | See All Featured Sci-Fi

Book Review: His Majesty’s Dragon

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His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Available at Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia

Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, GooglePlay

Well, this was delightful. Recently I read a Regency Romance that I thoroughly enjoyed. The culture of Regency era Europe is so foreign, that it might as well be fantasy. There are gazillions of Regency Romances out there and I thought I might find another I liked as much quite easily. Ha, ha, ha…No.

And then I discovered His Majesty’s Dragon, by Naomi Novik. I am a huge fan of her reimagined fairy tales Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and decided to give this a shot. His Majesty’s Dragon is NOT a Romance; it is better. It has the cultural voyeurism that I so enjoy with DRAGONS! Talking dragons that take the place of airplanes and join the Napoleonic Wars. The lead human character is a good guy, but a bit on the stiff side. The author writes this stiffness in a way that makes it endearing, and shows the positive attributes of that sort of character. Too often the upright individual winds up the minor antagonist in fiction. The hero always has to be the maverick.

It is a super fun book. It is the perfect thing to take your mind off things that we shall not mention it by name here, but it rhymes with “Come on Eileen.”

UPDATE: I finished the whole series, adored it, and went into a state of withdrawal afterwards. It is traditionally published and very popular…and therefore available at libraries, though the first two ebooks are reasonably priced.

Available at Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia

Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, GooglePlay

Uprooted Book Review

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Uprooted is Naomi Novik’s take on Beauty and the Beast. If you like heat, it has more heat than Spinning Silver (though it is nothing particularly explicit—you can’t study for anatomy exams with this book.) I thought it showed the differences in the characters relative life experience, so wasn’t about being steamy per se.

Except that the heroine goes somewhat unwillingly to a castle to live with the Beast for a time it doesn’t bear much relation to that story. It is much more exciting than that story. like Spinning Silver there are a lot of great relationships—friendship, love, and family. 

The world is exquisitely crafted. The language is just as lush, and I recommend it highly. It kept me up late reading even if Spinning Silver was my favorite. 

Available at Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and GooglePlay.

Spinning Silver Book Review

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Spinning Silver

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is the second in a wonderful series, though I read it first and had no trouble jumping right in. This book is lush in its descriptions and emotions. There is plenty of love—of the friendship variety, of child to parent and parent to child, and even romance. 

This is a story is a take on Rumplestilskin, but in it the heroine Miryem owes nothing to a dwarf. She is the daughter of a money lender who is too kind for his own good. She goes about collecting on her father’s debtors to keep her family from starving. Lenders of money are seldom the heroes, but there is ethically lending  and unethical lending. (There is ethical denying of money—it is wrong to lend money to someone you know will never be able to pay it back.) Her family does spread their wealth around, and is good to those who work for them, treating them as family.

I loved the heroine. She is shrewd and hard when she needs to be, but her coldness is directed at those who deserve it. She is also brave…but not unflawed. In a moment of pride in an enchanted forest she boasts about being able to turn silver to gold, catching the interest of the forest’s powerful fae.

This isn’t just Miryem’s tale. It spins in the tale of a princess and a shepherdess. It’s really full and rich, and I highly recommend it.

Available at Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, iBooks, and GooglePlay.