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The most recent New Book that I've read (and which is currently available--I'm saving my favorite review for when a particular book actually hits shelves) is Crucible of Gold, the latest in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. And damn, is it a good book.
It's hard to review a book late in a series, especially a not particularly episodic series. There are dragons and their crews--or at least captains--and exciting action scenes, and a whole lot of travelogue, which is about what you'd expect from a book in this series. Temeraire is winsome and delightful to read, Laurence tries his best to be Good and Honorable in very trying circumstances, and so on and so forth. Honestly, if you're reading this book, you probably already read and liked (most of) the books in the series before them, so there's not a lot to say on that account. It's a great addition to the series!
Anyway. Some specifics, for fans of the series who don't want spoilers but are trying to decide when to grab the book.
Granby and Iskierka get a lot to do in this book, though, alas, we don't actually get the PoV from either. Iskierka continues to be an endearing absolute pill of a dragon, but proves that she's actually even more difficult to deal with when she tries to do careful long-term planning. She also proves to be a bit smarter than Temeraire in at least one area, which delighted me to no end. (I adore Temeraire, but he's rather full of himself at times.) Granby gets tormented terribly, as is standard for all his appearances, and some delightful character development. So for fans of either of those two, there's a lot to love.
Kulingile, Demane, and Roland all get some interesting things to do, but they're very much secondary characters in this book; Sippho barely shows up at all. (He's there, but he's not really doing a lot of plot-relevant things, which is really about to be expected, given his age and interests.) There are other characters who show up--or disappear--somewhat unexpectedly, but going into detail there would be giving things away.
The primary travelogue of this book is about the Mayans and their dragons--or, one might say, about the Mayans and their humans. I always love the way Novik sets up different approaches to dragon-human relationships in different parts of the world, and this is no exception. What's new, though, is that the dragon-human relationship in the Mayan nation is clearly one that has changed significantly in the last several decades, due to the devastation of European diseases. It's fascinating to see another society where that relationship is also in flux, as opposed to settled into a comfortable long-term traditional status.
And oh, that culture! Though I won't go into spoilers, I'd say that it's adding some fascinating new complexity to the whole concept of freedom and ownership and obligation that was already started in the previous books. Temeraire's exposure to China back in book two showed him that dragons didn't necessarily have to be enslaved by humans, but could act as equal citizens; the Mayan approach to how dragons and humans interact gives a whole new suggested pattern of relationship which makes things even more complex. (And raises some interesting questions about the rights and responsibilities of officers over pressed sailors who don't particularly want to be sailors anymore, at that.)
For those who gave up around Black Powder War or Victory of Eagles, due to the grimdark grimness, I note that this book is a lot peppier than some of those. There's still plenty of Terrible Stuff Happens, because it is following a group of military people traveling with primitive technology through dangerous places while at war, but it's overall much, much cheerier and less depressing than some entries in the series. I'm particularly fond of the small running subplot involving Hammond and his unwanted suitor. (Hammond gets just enough PoV that I understand him better, though that doesn't make me particularly fond of him. Just empathetic.) And did I mention Iskierka and Granby?
Anyway. It's a good book. If you like the series, you'll really like this book.
It's hard to review a book late in a series, especially a not particularly episodic series. There are dragons and their crews--or at least captains--and exciting action scenes, and a whole lot of travelogue, which is about what you'd expect from a book in this series. Temeraire is winsome and delightful to read, Laurence tries his best to be Good and Honorable in very trying circumstances, and so on and so forth. Honestly, if you're reading this book, you probably already read and liked (most of) the books in the series before them, so there's not a lot to say on that account. It's a great addition to the series!
Anyway. Some specifics, for fans of the series who don't want spoilers but are trying to decide when to grab the book.
Granby and Iskierka get a lot to do in this book, though, alas, we don't actually get the PoV from either. Iskierka continues to be an endearing absolute pill of a dragon, but proves that she's actually even more difficult to deal with when she tries to do careful long-term planning. She also proves to be a bit smarter than Temeraire in at least one area, which delighted me to no end. (I adore Temeraire, but he's rather full of himself at times.) Granby gets tormented terribly, as is standard for all his appearances, and some delightful character development. So for fans of either of those two, there's a lot to love.
Kulingile, Demane, and Roland all get some interesting things to do, but they're very much secondary characters in this book; Sippho barely shows up at all. (He's there, but he's not really doing a lot of plot-relevant things, which is really about to be expected, given his age and interests.) There are other characters who show up--or disappear--somewhat unexpectedly, but going into detail there would be giving things away.
The primary travelogue of this book is about the Mayans and their dragons--or, one might say, about the Mayans and their humans. I always love the way Novik sets up different approaches to dragon-human relationships in different parts of the world, and this is no exception. What's new, though, is that the dragon-human relationship in the Mayan nation is clearly one that has changed significantly in the last several decades, due to the devastation of European diseases. It's fascinating to see another society where that relationship is also in flux, as opposed to settled into a comfortable long-term traditional status.
And oh, that culture! Though I won't go into spoilers, I'd say that it's adding some fascinating new complexity to the whole concept of freedom and ownership and obligation that was already started in the previous books. Temeraire's exposure to China back in book two showed him that dragons didn't necessarily have to be enslaved by humans, but could act as equal citizens; the Mayan approach to how dragons and humans interact gives a whole new suggested pattern of relationship which makes things even more complex. (And raises some interesting questions about the rights and responsibilities of officers over pressed sailors who don't particularly want to be sailors anymore, at that.)
For those who gave up around Black Powder War or Victory of Eagles, due to the grimdark grimness, I note that this book is a lot peppier than some of those. There's still plenty of Terrible Stuff Happens, because it is following a group of military people traveling with primitive technology through dangerous places while at war, but it's overall much, much cheerier and less depressing than some entries in the series. I'm particularly fond of the small running subplot involving Hammond and his unwanted suitor. (Hammond gets just enough PoV that I understand him better, though that doesn't make me particularly fond of him. Just empathetic.) And did I mention Iskierka and Granby?
Anyway. It's a good book. If you like the series, you'll really like this book.