Temeraire series

## Genre Information

Alternative History
Dragons & Mythical Creatures

## About the Series

* **Genres:** Alternative History, Dragons & Mythical Creatures, Military Fantasy
* **Theme:** Napoleonic Wars with Dragons
* **Narrative style**:

## Series Description

The swashbuckling nautical adventure of Horatio Hornblower and adds dragons to the mix, resulting in an medley of history and fantasy. During the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty's Navy captures a French man-o'-war-an already valuable prize made invaluable when the crew discovers an unhatched dragon egg aboard. Laurence finds himself taking up the duty of being the dragon's captain, forcing him to leave his beloved navy and enter into the unknown world of Britain's dragon-riding Aerial Corp.

For more information visit Temeraire series wikipedia

## Books in order

1. *His Majesty's Dragon* (2006) aka *Temeraire* (UK edition)
2. *Throne of Jade* (2006)
3. *Black Powder War* (2006)
4. *Empire of Ivory* (2007)
5. *Victory of Eagles* (2008)
6. *Tongues of Serpents* (2010)
7. *Crucible of Gold* (2012)
8. *Blood of Tyrants* (2013)
9. *League of Dragons* (2016)

* *In His Majesty's Service* is a compilation book that includes the first three books in the series, as well as the Temeraire short story "In Autumn, A White Dragon Looks Over the Wide River".
* *Golden Age and Other Stories* is a collection of *Temeraire* short stories, and was released in August 2017.

## World Building

### Setting

The series of books revolves around the primary characters Temeraire and Captain William Laurence. Captain Laurence is a member of the British Royal Navy, serving in combat against Napoleon's navy when he recovers a dragon egg unlike any other known to the British. The egg soon hatches, and Temeraire, a Chinese dragon, is born. Under the impression that an "unharnessed" dragon will become feral and unmanageable, Laurence becomes Temeraire's companion. Despite the difficulties this causes, Laurence begins to think of the dragon as his dearest friend. This forces a change in the sailor's life, drawing him from the prestigious Royal Navy to the less desirable Royal Aerial Corps.

The subsequent novels in the original trilogy follow the adventures of Laurence and Temeraire as they do battle with the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte and the diplomatic fallout caused by Captain Laurence's adoption by the Chinese Emperor. The fourth novel deals with Laurence and Temeraire seeking a cure for a draconic illness, introduced by a North American dragon, which spreads throughout the British dragons while Napoleon seeks to press his advantage. The fifth novel is the account of Napoleon's invasion of England, forcing a British retreat to Scotland, while Laurence faces the consequences of their treason in taking the cure for the illness to the French. The sixth novel begins within the penal colony of Australia (Laurence's death sentence for treason commuted to transport to the colony), and a chase across the continent to a discovery that has far-reaching consequences for the global war. The seventh book has Laurence returned to service and sent to South America in an attempt to secure an alliance with the Inca Empire (which still exists, though reduced, in the series timeline), then to Asia again. In the eighth book, Laurence is partially amnesiac due to injury as Temeraire and the crew deal with new intrigues in Japan and China before flying to Russia in time to be involved in the French invasion of Russia.

### Dragons

Dragons in the series are similar to dragons in many real-world mythologies, although they are divided into different "breeds", with differences in coloration, size, skeletal structure, etc. All (with the exception of sea serpents, which are thought to be a separate species) have wings and the ability to fly, even those that mass up to fifty tons (this is said to be partly due to their bodies' compartments of lighter-than-air gas; "weight" figures represent overall mass, and a fifty-ton dragon might show a mere ten tons on a scale).

Dragons are shown to be intelligent and sapient, although the degree of their intelligence varies from sufficient to understand a few words up to being able to compose epic poetry. Dragons are typically born with the ability to speak.

### World

In the first three books, the world and its history is portrayed as being very similar to the real one, barring the addition of dragons; British society and values is unaltered, the American Revolution succeeded, et cetera, although there are references to some changes as a result of their presence. For instance, the Han dynasty was founded by a dragon rather than a human; Hernando Cortez was killed by a dragon rather than successfully conquering Mexico. The most significant departures from history in the early books are found in Throne of Jade, due to the importance of dragons in Chinese society, and Horatio Nelson's survival of the Battle of Trafalgar from incidental changes to the battle itself: Nelson is injured by dragonfire rather than fatally shot--he is killed by drowning at the end of the fifth book Victory of Eagles.

Changes to the historical timeline become prominent in the fourth book, Empire of Ivory, and set a trend for the rest of the series. Dragons effectively become an equalizer across nations due to their intelligence and power; nations without advanced metallurgy or subjected to European disease are able to successfully resist European efforts to conquer them. The Tswana people wage war on Cape Colony to end the slave trade with the assistance of dragons and in Crucible of Gold have invaded Brazil to reclaim their countrymen. In the latter book, the characters also visit the Inca; the line of the Sapa Inca has continued past the 1500s in this alternate timeline thanks to draconic rejection of the conquistadors. Blood of Tyrants also mentions Tecumseh as the President of the United States in 1812 rather than James Madison. Numerous historical figures die earlier or live longer than in history; survival past the time of historical death also does not preclude a subsequent death with fictional causes.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Temeraire series wikipedia