This is book three of the Temeraire series, and book 14 of the Books 2010 project. This installment sees Captain Laurence and Temeraire recalled from their diplomatic mission to China. They are to stop in Istanbul and receive three dragon’s eggs that the British have purchased from the Sultan after years of negotiation. The details are scanty, but the wording of their orders is clear and urgent – they are to depart at once. Unfortunately, the dragon carrier that brought them to China has been damaged, and won’t be seaworthy for months. Laurence and Temeraire decide to emulate Marco Polo and make the journey to Europe over land.
This series has an interesting way of keeping fresh and exploring different aspects of the early 19th century adventure story. The first book was a military adventure in the Horatio Hornblower vein, with naval engagements and air battles. The second was a tale of diplomacy and intrigue in the mysterious Orient. This third installment starts out as a story of exploration and adventure, but ends as a tale of desperation. Temeraire and his crew arrive in Europe just in time to watch the Prussians, the Saxons, the Russians and pretty much all the rest of Britan’s allies get crushed by Napoleon and his army.
There were a lot of head-smacking moments of frustration in the last part of the book. Far too many people were harping on about “Oh, these tactics are tried and true! We used them to beat the French thirty years ago! All of our commanders have studied these for years!” None of them seemed to realize that Napoleon had also been studying those same tactics, and that he would therefore know exactly how his enemies would react.
Page Count: 400
Total page count: 4381