I just finished the book. The ending battle is brilliant, but I found that Laurence's situation depressed me quite a bit, and

Yes, the battle is great. This is something that I think Novik excels at.

spoiler….

I wasn't crazy about them being shipped off to New South Walesm. Granted, there was no relief for Laurence's situation in England, but what are they going to do in Australia?? I just read Kate Grenville's The Secret River about this man who after a miserable, poverty-stricken childhood gets sentenced to New South Wales and don't feel very uplifted by New South Wales in general.

Yeah but…not too many other places they could have gone. If they’d stayed in England, it would probably have been back to what they were enduring before the invasion – or something not much better. And Laurence knows, in his heart, that he can never go home again. Not after what happened with the scavenging parties. I recall reading something about how the Romans used to do something similar. They’d ravage the countryside but leave the headmen and their families alone so as to cause resentment amongst the populace.

What is with the punctuation in this book?? Has anyone ever seen such a mishmash of colons, semicolons, and commas?

LOL, her editor mentioned that. I had noticed it a bit in the previous books but it did seem overwhelming in this one. When I was reading, I didn’t take the time to bookmark any examples and couldn’t find the worst ones I had seen so decided, when I was writing my review, not to mention any.

spoiler….

I wasn’t crazy about them being shipped off to New South Walesm. Granted, there was no relief for Laurence’s situation in England, but what are they going to do in Australia?? I just read Kate Grenville’s The Secret River about this man who after a miserable, poverty-stricken childhood gets sentenced to New South Wales and don’t feel very uplifted by New South Wales in general.

What is with the punctuation in this book?? Has anyone ever seen such a mishmash of colons, semicolons, and commas?

and I'm definitely excited to continue with the series. I like where it's going, and I'm optimistic about the events in next book (which certainly hasn't always been the case in this series -’ it's a measure of how good Novik's writing is that I come back eagerly, even when I anticipate sadness).

I don’t see how Temeraire and Laurence could have regained their status in situ. As far as most of the British military is concerned, they are traitors and
.
.
.
.
.
.
spoilers
.
.
.
.

could never had stayed in England. I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing Temeraire and Iskierka in Australia – since it doesn’t have any native dragons. I wonder if a) she’ll ever get an egg from him and if she does b) what traits the offspring will have.

[Mild spoiler warning]

I thought they were going to spend more time in Scotland, in and around Loch Laggan. We spend a lot of time in that part of the country, and I was planning to slowly savor the vision of Laurence and Temeraire in surroundings I know and love so well. Alas, they didn’t hang about in familiar territory, and my strategy to slow down my reading, well, failed.

That said, I really enjoyed the book, and I would agree with Jane’s B+ grade. It’s as good as any but the first one (and that with the caveat that the first one has novelty as a huge advantage), and I’m definitely excited to continue with the series. I like where it’s going, and I’m optimistic about the events in next book (which certainly hasn’t always been the case in this series — it’s a measure of how good Novik’s writing is that I come back eagerly, even when I anticipate sadness).

I will go more slowly and savor when I read it again!

Ellen, I’m glad things finally ‘clicked’ reading-wise for your son. I hope you can find more reading material for him from Dayna’s blogging site.

For a quick recommendation, though, have you tried the Bartameus (sp?) Trilogy? I’m blanking on the author, and Bookworm is in bed, but we’ll post it on Friday for certain. He’s also read Gena Showater’s RedHanded (which again, I have not) and informed me giddily it had the word ‘sexy’ in it, AFTER he read it.
I gave Gena trouble for that, but I think she stopped listening after “Another squeeing fankid is born”.

Jayne…I’d um…go on about my kids all day if I could *blush* I did tell Bookworm about your comment, and he grinned so wide I could see the space where one of his molars is missing. He was also very glad to hear you liked The Temeraire books.

I think I got almost halfway through last night. I can’t wait for them to get to Scotland — they are headed for my personal stomping grounds! I’m going to have to slow down to savor, or I will have withdrawal pains and be mad at myself for “binge-ing.” That only happens with really good books.

I love O’Brian, but his books hardly “stick exactly to what really happened.” 1813 didn’t have three summers, for instance.

He bought me the Temeraire boxed set for Christmas — I had borrowed the first one from the library and loved it, but had yet to read the others. He plans to borrow them as soon as he finishes his summer reading for his sophomore honors courses.

My boys aren’t as voracious about reading as my girls are, and none of them are like I was/still am. Video games, in particular, occupy what I would have considered prime reading time. But when I look at some of their peers and friends, who NEVER read for pleasure, I figure I’m a lucky mom.