3.5
Crucible of Gold
By Naomi NovikPublisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education comes the seventh volume of the Temeraire series, as the Napoleonic Wars bring Will Laurence and Temeraire to South America.
“An absorbing adventure.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The French have invaded Spain, forged an alliance with Africa’s powerful Tswana empire, and brought revolution to Brazil. Captain Will Laurence and his indefatigable fighting dragon, Temeraire, must travel to South America to negotiate with the Incas, who are also being wooed by the French.
If they fail, Napoleon may conquer yet another continent in his campaign for world domination, and the tide of the war may prove impossible to stop.
Don’t miss any of Naomi Novik’s magical 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 • LEAGUE OF DRAGONS
“An absorbing adventure.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The French have invaded Spain, forged an alliance with Africa’s powerful Tswana empire, and brought revolution to Brazil. Captain Will Laurence and his indefatigable fighting dragon, Temeraire, must travel to South America to negotiate with the Incas, who are also being wooed by the French.
If they fail, Napoleon may conquer yet another continent in his campaign for world domination, and the tide of the war may prove impossible to stop.
Don’t miss any of Naomi Novik’s magical 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 • LEAGUE OF DRAGONS
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3.5
Beau N. Darrows
Created about 1 month agoShare
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“I decided to pick this series back up after quite a few years break. I'd entirely forgotten how dense the dialogue is. Not something one might usually say about the dialogue, but jesus.
Infuriatingly proper. Like, painfully. Certainly not something my early-morning brain can easily deal with. I have to read some lines more than once to parse it.
It's not only the dialogue, of course. Almost the entire book is written in this overly careful way. I know it's done this way to be evocative of the time period, and it's very effective in that. It just makes for heavy, slow reading sometimes. I found I couldn't read this one during my morning commute very often. This was more for the trip home.
At about 93%, however, there was a section that seemed to read entirely differently. As they began quietly taking over the transport ships, the writing shifted somehow. It's still excellently descriptive, not overly flowery. It reads a hell of a lot more easily than almost all the rest of the book. The language was a lot less dense. I don't know if this was deliberate on Novik's part. Did she realise it was different? Who knows. Either way, it was a nice little respite from that very specific style of English.
I don't know if Hammond is meant to be a likable character. I can't decide if I do or not. He's a pompous windbag most of the time, always thinking he knows better. But he's literally just doing his job. So, I did find it at the same time very strange, but also heartwarming that the Incan dragon Churki really decided she wanted him. She's willing to go back to England with him. Weird.
He seems like he hates the idea, and wants to dissuade her. But the other dragons don't see why she shouldn't go with them.
I didn't get it either. Getting a dragon is a privilege, an honour. Why was he saying no? Not to mention he's pretty much been disgraced as an ambassador and negotiator. Things did not go quite the way he'd hoped and expected.
Really, not a huge amount of exciting things happen in this book. They're travelling, for the most part, getting waylaid, finding a way back to where they were headed, getting waylaid again. It got a little monotonous in parts - a bit like a ship caught in the doldrums (which in the early chapters was exactly what was going on).
The second half is where the more interesting things happen. Meeting new and vastly different types of dragons was really cool. I love the idea of feathered dragons. Very much like I enjoy the idea of feathered dinosaurs. Diversity is interesting.
One of the things I enjoy most is Laurence's use of loving-names for Temeraire. He often calls him "my dear," and that's just darling. He genuinely loves his dragon. This isn't just something thrust upon him by duty to country. And Temeraire's love for Laurence is obvious. But upon reflection, you begin to wonder how much of that is simply due to the imprinting that happens when they hatch.
It's clear now that not all dragons do that. Churki being a plain example. Hers is a more community-driven attachment. That's been her family for generations. Now she's made a choice; and Hammond is it, for whatever reason. I do like the idea that a dragon isn't just driven by that imprint-instinct. They are a living, breathing creature who can make decisions for their own future.
So, I'm giving this a 3 out of 5 stars.
I definitely liked it; I enjoyed myself, for the most part. The language boggs you down sometimes, but you push on through.”
MSMDragon
Created about 2 months agoShare
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“I really enjoyed Crucible of Gold and thought it was a great addition to the Temeraire series! I’m so glad Laurence is finally a captain again, although I also enjoyed his time away from all the fighting. The setting of South America made for a really interesting adventure and I absolutely loved the dragons there! Granby being gay was a nice surprise. I knew there was a reason I liked him so much! And his dragon, Iskierka! She is so funny and feisty. This story continues to be captivating and action-packed!”
Robin
Created 3 months agoShare
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Bernalj1
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Vixra Dot
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About Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik is the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, and The Golden Enclaves, the award-winning novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and the Temeraire series. She is a founder of the Organization for Transformative Works and the Archive of Our Own. She lives in New York City with her family and six computers.
Other books by Naomi Novik
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