| | |  | Amazon Kindle | Home » » » Throne of Jade (Temeraire) | | | | | | | Description: | | When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces.
Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands–and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East–a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.
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Average Customer Review:
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25 of 27 found the following review helpful:
 Even better than its predecessor!May 30, 2006
By Nichola F
"Fay"
Novik succeeds admirably in creating a novel which follows on neatly where 'Temeraire' (US title 'His Majesty's Dragon') left off - and yet which could be read very satisfyingly as a stand-alone by anyone who had not read the previous tale. I was very impressed by the elegance and clarity with which she provided the whole 'Previously, on Temeraire' information in the first few pages without ever resorting to obvious expositiony tactics. The opening scene drops us into the thick of things and immediately wins the reader over to worrying about the future for Lawrence and Temeraire, and when they *are* reunited - well, I for one was quite choked, and rooting for them, and wanting to *punch* the wretched idiots who were treating them both so badly. And the story had barely begun, at that point.
Other reviewers will tell you that Novik evokes an alternative history with verve and clarity through her attention to period detail, and they're right. They may also praise the fascinating way that she envisions her dragons (and similar beasts) interacting with humans, whether in Europe, at Sea, in Africa or in China. And they're right too - she gives us thoroughly intriguing and carefully considered glimpses into this unprettified fantasy world, and raises real questions about how humans would interact with other sentient beings - and how they do interact with other people.
But the thing that I enjoy most about both 'Temeraire' and 'Throne of Jade' is how very rounded and real and touching are the relationships that Novik delineates. Most obviously being that between Lawrence and Temeraire - but all the interpersonal dynamics are interesting and well observed, and it is this, perhaps even more than the marvellously detailed evocation of naval life or the aerial corps, that really breathes life and soul into the books. Certainly there is an interesting plot full of swashbuckling at sea and political machinations; certainly there are fire-breathing dragons and peril and bravery and all that jazz, and there's even a dash of sex. But the heart of the novel, and its predecessor, is the relationship between Lawrence and Temeraire, and how this relationship shapes and changes them both.
Look, just stop dithering, and buy the bloody thing already! It's a Very Good Book Indeed.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Not as good as the first.Jan 02, 2008
By Peter Shermeta
I am through two books of the series and I am conflicted. I mentioned after His Majesty's Dragon that I love Naomi Novik's dragons. While that still holds true, I now wonder how much, if at all, I truly love the rest of the story.
Throne of Jade is over 400 pages long and I felt like very little happened for the first (roughly) 300 pages. Once it was time for the few important events to take place, they happened so abruptly I wondered if they were as important to the story as they seemed that they should be.
Ms. Novik brought dragons into our world in the first book and here she broadened our horizons with a look at dragons from the far ends of the Earth. I will continue to read the series, at least for now. But I am beginning to wonder if it is the idea that I love and not its execution. It may become difficult to get through what is now already a five-book series if I cannot get excited about what happens on dragonless pages.
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 A very disappointing sequel to an excellent first bookNov 22, 2006
By Elkensteyin
I truly enjoyed "His Majesty's Dragon", the first book of the series. I eagery started the second book, and ended up forcing myself to have to finish the book. I will agree with most observations that the development of Tereraire is very good in this book. Unfortunately, it seems that the author forgot about the main human character in the book, Laurence. The problem is, is that Laurence started out as a Captain of a Royal Navy Ship, and served for more than three years, yet for all of that, his character appeared to be as green as a raw recruit in everything in this book except the single fight scene. I felt that he was immature and had almost no common sense in this book, which is completely at odds with his character in the first book. True, this is more of a diplomatic area than wartime, and I could forgive a little uncertainty on his part, yet it just seemed like less thought was put into his character development than in Temeraire's.
10 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Get me off this boat!Aug 17, 2009
By Martin from Massachussetts
I loved book one of this series and was quite excited to purchase book #2. It's an incredible let down. Slow to the point of not moving, and the characters just don't act true. We take a long, slow, boring, boat ride to China with the dragon. It's brutal in the detail. The author tries to stir up something interesting by having some assassination attempts but never really follows through with them. Most of the characters just shrug, oh well, nothing we can do about it. REALLY?
I got about half way through the book and put it down. I just couldn't make myself plow through anymore. Very disappointing.
12 of 15 found the following review helpful:
A steep decline ...Jun 08, 2006
By J. Harper
"criminal mastermind"
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but feel like this second book goes far, far astray. The first book sets up a wonderful world in which dragons fight in the air during the naval battles of the Napolionic (sp?) war. This book throws it all away to get onto a literal slow boat to China. I bought the third book at the same time, I hope the series picks back up.
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