Throne of Jade (Temeraire Book 2)

* ebook
* Print
* Audio
* CD

## Description

**“Readers with a penchant for both Patrick O’Brian and Anne McCaffrey may have found their perfect match. Naomi Novik beautifully renders an 1800s Europe in which naval buffs and dragon lovers will be keen to immerse themselves.”—Alan Dean Foster, author of the Pip & Flinx series**

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.

## Plot Summary

After defeating Napoleon's forces at the battle of Dover, Laurence and Temeraire are confronted by envoys from Imperial China, including Prince Yongxing, brother of the Jiaqing Emperor. The Chinese are eager to recover their rare Celestial dragon from the British. According to Chinese law, Celestials are only allowed to accompany royalty; Temeraire was intended for Napoleon, Emperor of the French, while Laurence, a mere commoner, is deemed unworthy. This raises consternation within Government, as a Napoleon allied with China -- the most powerful nation in the world, isolationist and able to keep other countries at bay through their superior draconic husbandry -- would be impossible to oppose.

After several failed attempts to convince Laurence and the Royal Aerial Corps to return Temeraire to China, the Chinese and the British agree to have Temeraire and his flight crew — including Laurence — accompany the Imperial envoys back to China. As the land routes are deemed unsafe, the Navy has a dragon transport, HMS *Allegiance*, captained by Laurence's former second officer Tom Riley, ferry the Celestial and his crew to China. During the voyage, attempts are made on the life of Laurence in order to remove him from Temeraire. In addition, political machinations on the part of the British, French, and Chinese are discovered that threaten the position of Britain in the East, as well as the stability of the Chinese throne. News of the defeat of the Third Coalition at the Battle of Austerlitz and subsequent death of Prime Minister William Pitt casts a pall over the voyage. Finally, Laurence has ongoing difficulties with both Captain Riley, a staunch supporter of the slave trade (Laurence himself descends from known abolitionists), and the diplomat Arthur Hammond, sent along to smooth the operation.

During the sea voyage, Temeraire catches a respiratory illness from Volatilus, a slow-minded though sweet-natured Greyling serving in the courier corps who visits the *Allegiance* with dispatches. They stop at Cape Town, lately captured in the Battle of Blaauwberg, to look for a remedy. By use of a posset made using an extremely smelly mushroom, the cooks of the Chinese delegation are able to restore Temeraire to health. This event, though seemingly unimportant at the moment, shapes the next two novels of the series.

After their arrival in China, Temeraire gets to meet his family, including his mother, and observes the conditions of dragonkind in China, which he deems far superior to British custom: Chinese dragons are citizens in their own right who, amongst other things, may take the Imperial Examination. He begins courting an Imperial dragon named Mei, and is exposed to a young boy of Yongxing's company, who attempts to befriend him. Laurence, for his part, attempts to learn Chinese, liaises with the French ambassador de Guignes, and suffers more direct attempts on his life, including confrontations with Yongxing and his companion, the albino Celestial Lien. Hammond is able to deduce that Yongxing has designs on Prince Mianning, the heir-apparent whose dragon is Temeraire's twin brother, and that Temeraire was sent to France not because the Chinese esteem Napoleon -- indeed, the British are relieved to learn that the Chinese have no particular esteem for Napoleon at all, laying their greatest fear to rest -- but so that Temeraire himself could not be used to complicate the line of succession. Indeed, Yongxing has had him returned to China so that Temeraire may lend legitimacy to a puppet king Yongxing intends to set upon the throne.

At a theatre production in the British delegation's honor, Yongxing attempts to put his plans in motion, but is prevented by the actions of Temeraire and Laurence, and is himself killed in the ensuing scuffle. As a result, the Emperor of China himself adopts Laurence as an honorary son, at a stroke resolving the issues with Laurence's social status and easing relations with Britain. Temeraire, after much deliberation, decides to return to Britain, partially out of love for Laurence and partially to attempt to bring the greater civil liberties of the Middle Kingdom back to the Commonwealth.

## Characters

* **Captain William Laurence**: Former captain of HMS Reliant while in the Royal Navy. Circumstance compels him to become captain of the dragon Temeraire and join the Aerial Corps, the least respected branch of the British military.
* **Temeraire**: A powerful dragon and the titular character of the series. Named after *Téméraire*, a French vessel captured during the Napoleonic wars, his name means "reckless". Captain William Laurence is his companion. He possesses an extremely practical, inquisitive, and sometimes too blunt personality, although he sometimes can be overly sensitive about the differences between his appearance and that of western dragons. He is also quite possessive and protective of Laurence.
* **Lieutenant John Granby**: Laurence's second-in-command. Served under Captain Portland on Laetificat. Becomes Iskierka's Captain.
* **Captain Tom Riley**: Captain of the Dragon Transport ship *HMS Allegiance*
* **Arthur Hammond:** British diplomat attending Laurence's mission to China whose primary goal is to preserve or to improve British standing with the Chinese Empire, even if it comes at the expense of giving Temeraire to the Chinese. He is generally disliked by the crew of the *Allegiance* and Temeraire's crew. He was adopted by Churki, and he has become the object of her affections, though he has no desire whatsoever to belong to a dragon.
* **Prince Yongxing:** Son to the Jiaqing Emperor of China. Anti-Western and seeks to bring Temeraire back to China. Schemes to ultimately supplant his younger brother's claim to the Imperial Throne. Companion to the white Celestial Lien.

(See Throne of Jade Plot Summary for more characters and other information.)

For more information,
visit Wikipedia:Temeraire (series)