Black Powder War by Naomi Novik

Will Laurence and Temeraire are quite eager to be on their way home from China, but their ship catches fire near Macao, and they are forced to remain there far longer than they really want to, until a message arrives by courier from England ordering Laurence to proceed to Istanbul to take possession of three dragon eggs purchased by the British from the Turks. As the ship cannot sail immediately, they decide to go overland, and hire a guide - the same man who delivered the message - to show them the way to cross the land mass of Asia.

The first half of the book reads a bit like a Marco Polo travelogue of exotic lands and people, as they travel with a train of camels, both to carry water and to feed Temeraire when necessary. Along the way, they encounter a clutch of semi-feral dragons who live in the mountains, and Temeraire's stories of civilization tempt them into accompanying the adventurers. When they finally arrive in Istanbul, it turns out that the payment for the dragons eggs has been stolen, the British ambassador has disappeared, and Laurence and his crew are "guests" of the Turkish rulers for far longer than they had hoped. They are forced to steal the eggs, finally (they learn that the Turks really had received the gold, after all), and flee the city and area.

They end up in the middle of Napoleon's invasion of Germany, Austria and Prussia, and try to help the German armies to defeat the emperor. But things go badly, and the French overrun part of Russia, as well, and Laurence and Temeraire are trapped behind enemy lines, while the time for the eggs' hatching approaches far too quickly.

This one is a bit depressing...I guess the Napoleonic Wars were, too, weren't they? Except for the French, perhaps.

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

This is the second book in the Temeraire series, and Will Laurence and his dragon find themselves beset by politics, rather than the conventional sort of conflict. The Chinese emperor has sent a delegation to demand that Temeraire be returned to them, as the celestial dragons are reserved for emperors only, and since Temeraire did not end up with Napoleon, as originally intended, he must return to China. The British diplomats and politicians do not want China to enter the war on the side of the French, so they are bending over backwards to accommodate their demands. In the end, Will and Temeraire board a transport ship bound for the Far East, as they are inseparable, hoping to work things out when they arrive at their destination.

One of the Emperor's nephews, Yongxing, is in charge of the Chinese group, and he is unremittingly hostile towards Will for the entire journey. They are attacked at one point by the French and some of their dragons, and only Temeraire's Divine Wind breath weapon saves the expedition from disaster. They also encounter an enormous sea serpent which attempts to crush the ship and eat the sailors (a la Voyage of the Dawn Treader, perhaps?). Will himself is attacked by one of the Chinese who has either gone mad or is under secret orders from Prince Yongxing. They encounter many strange lands and peoples along the way, though a voyage that took months seemed curiously short in this book.

When they finally arrive in China, they are delayed in seeing the emperor, until he has returned from his visit to another part of the country, and they get to get out and experience a totally different culture. One of the things that's rather interesting is the way dragons are integrated into Chinese society, in contrast to the English. In England, people are still very fearful of dragons, and they are either in captivity for breeding, or kept in the coverts where they train to fly with their crews for warfare. They are well taken care of, like a thoroughbred racehorse, but they have no property of their own, receive no wages, and are not citizens, though they are indeed for the most part as intelligent as men.

In China, however, dragons are everywhere, and for the most part the common ones fend for themselves, taking employment fitting to their talents, receiving wages, eating at restaurants (with a bit different menu from humans, of course) and buying goods they desire. The upper crust of dragondom, the imperials and celestials, live in splendor with the royalty, and are treated with great respect. They are very literate, and create works of art and write poetry. This whole situation provides a new challenge in Will and Temeraire's relationship, and should set up some interesting side plots when they return home in the next installment.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

His Majesty's Dragon is the first in the Temeraire series by Novik. The novel is set in the time of the Napoleonic wars, though it doesn't spend a lot of time working on total historical accuracy. The story starts aboard a warship in service of the king of England, when they have just finished a somewhat one-sided battle with a French frigate. When they board the ship to plunder it, Captain Will Laurence discovers a treasure worth a king's ransom, the unhatched egg of a dragon.

Dragons are more commonplace in the world of Temeraire than in our own, so Laurence is not unfamiliar with them, though its discovery puts him into the midst of a dilemma, as the aerial corps who normally deal with dragons is several weeks sailing away from their present location, and a dragon normally imprints upon whomever harnesses it first, shortly after hatching. Once the bond is forged, that person must join the aerial corps, and will have to leave the Navy - a fate worse than death, evidently. They draw lots to see who will approach the dragon first, and a young sailor is chosen - who is afraid of heights, by the way. The dragon ignores the sailor, and fixates on Captain Laurence, instead.

Laurence turns over the ship to his second in command, and spends the rest of the voyage home taking care of the young dragon, whom he has named Temeraire. The dragon grows by leaps and bounds, and eats to match. When he arrives home in England, he's in a little hot water with his superiors until they realize he really had no choice in the matter of adopting a dragon, and then starts off on the wrong foot with the Corps, as they have sent a dragon rider to take Temeraire off Laurence's hands, but the dragon has other ideas, and refuses to be controlled by anyone other than Will.

So Will leaves his own service, is disowned by his father, and joins the Corps. He and Temeraire must train quickly in the skills necessary for aerial combat, and find their place in a whole new world, as Napoleon's own dragon riders are coming soon to invade England and bring it under his rule.

Some great action sequences, a sympathetic hero, a few interesting supporting characters - though none with any great depth - and an interesting premise for alternate history make this one a good read. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series already.