Purchased this book via Amazon.com as slightly used after reading about it in the Washington Post Book World article "The Beasts of War".

This book read more like three separate novellas rather than one narrative. Each third of the book takes place in a very different environment, with very different challenges. The first third was my favorite, and the other two had the slow pacing of the previous book. The last third, however, had more of the great mix of the Napoleanic Era and dragons. The characters also didn't seem to evolve as much as they did in the previous books. The descriptions of the various locales and action sequences were still top-notch and made for very exciting reads. Overall it continues the previous two books, which is a good thing, but less fresh this time.

This book is part of a bookray! The original forum thread can be found here. It is also the third in a staggered bookray featuring Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon and Throne of Jade. The ray participants are:

1) DragonGoddess - Olathe, Kansas, USA
2) Ladyjanet - Normal, Illinois, USA
3) omly - Arlington, Massachusetts, USA
4) Twinfather - Gouda, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands <== HERE
5) katayoun - Tehran, Iran
6) Hengameh - Tehran, Iran
7) shaesong - Mandurah, Western Australia, Australia
8) ResQgeek - Franconia, Virginia, USA
9) nimrodiel - Evanston, Illinois, USA

Since this is a staggered bookray, here are some additional notes that may be applicable.
1) It is not a problem to remove yourself from the latter bookrays in the trilogy if you get too many books or don't like the series. Just PM me and I'll take you off the list.
2) Since it can be expensive to ship three books internationally, you may want to PM the next person on the list to ask if they can wait for all three books at the same time in one package. If the next person is ok with this, be sure to try to read the books quickly and pass them on.
3) Since postage for shipping three books internationally can be expensive, I may be able to help with the costs if it becomes a problem. Just PM me if it gets too expensive and I'll see if I can help.

Mailed to DragonGoddess in Olathe, Kansas, USA.

Got it! Thanks VVilliam! I've got one I'm almost finished with and then I'll start this one. If it's as good as the first two, I'm sure I'll have it done in no time!

Started it on Wednesday and now I'm done. I didn't like it as much as the first two, but I will say I liked that there were more battle scenes and yet more kinds/nationalities of dragons introduced. It very much leads up to the next (and not yet completed) book. According to Naomi's livejournal, there will be three more Temeraire books after this one.

Another note to add, Naomi posted on her livejournal that Peter Jackson has optioned the Temeraire books. I posted it on the forum thread for this ray (with links, even!). The link for the forum thread can be found in VVilliam's journal entry above. I can easily see these books made into a movie.

I will be sending this off to Ladyjanet this week.

Arrived safe and sound, and I can't wait to start it! I cleared out my other rings books (two all night reading sessions!) just so I could jump into this the moment it arrived!

All Done! Off to Omly. his was a bit slower than the rest- it seemed to take forever to get out of Europe and away from Nepoleon's army. All in all, a good series. The next book sounds great! Thanks VVilliam for the triple ring!

I finished the book I was previously reading on the bus ride home, so I was delighted to find this book in the mail. I have already started it and am moving right along.

I have to agree that the third book is a bit slower than the first two. I actually enjoyed the time spent in the middle ease, but the time spent in Austria seemed to slow down a lot. Perhpas that was to mimic what the charaters themselves were facing, but it still made that section drag a bit. Despite that it took me less than a day to read, and all 3 books are on their way off to the Netherlands now.

Received the package with the trilogy today.Straight to the top of Mt. TBR!

and yet one more time thank you, the books are here safe and sound!

the only trouble with these series was, well they coming in one batch, i suppose i'm not used to reading so much of the same thing!! so the third one was a bit more difficult to finish. thanks again for a great series and handed over to hengameh over salad olivier and raki!!

thanks for sharing.i'll get the next bxer's address.and sorry that it took so long.

hengameh wasn't able to send the books before changing address and so they are entrusted to me to be sent on their way.

These books arrived safely in Virginia. I had forgotten about this bookray, but I'll try to get to them as soon as I can.

After the sluggish pace in “Throne of Jade”, the action returns in this third book in about the dragon Temeraire and his rider, Captain Will Laurence. After foiling a plot against the Chinese Emperor, Laurence and Temeraire are ready to return to Great Britain and help in the struggle to contain Napoleon in Europe. However, as they prepare to get underway, they receive orders go to the Ottoman Empire and collect three dragon eggs that the British have purchased. Unfortunately, a fire aboard their ship threatens has delayed their departure, putting this mission in peril of not arriving before the eggs hatch.

In an attempt to save time, Laurence and Temeraire set off across Asia, following the old trade routes, facing the immense deserts and other perils along the way. When they arrive in Istanbul, they find that the political landscape has changed, and the Ottomans are unwilling to part with the eggs. Eventually forced to take the eggs by force, Temeraire and his crew race back to Europe, hoping to get the eggs back to Great Britain before they hatch. Unfortunately, the fly right into the middle of Napoleon’s latest offensive. Pressed into service as an ally of the Prussians, Laurence and Temeraire find themselves thrust back into the midst of the European war.

In addition to providing additional glimpses of the geo-political reality of the Napoleonic era, but the real meat of this book is the continuing development of the dragons. We learn a great deal more about the different types of dragons, as well as their abilities and personalities. During the long journey west across Asia, we encounter a pack of feral dragons, which not only sheds light on the nature of dragons “in the wild”, but also has implications later in the story. This may be my favorite book in the series, though the “sneak peak” at the fourth book at the end of this one is enough to make me want to search out the next book and keep reading.

Mailing this book off to the final participant in the bookray. Enjoy!

This got here safely. Shortly after I signed up for the bookray my partner actually went out and bought the series. But I hadn't read them before they got loaned to a friend who still has our copies. So, I'm exited to read these :)

I really enjoyed this book!

I thought it very engrossing to the tale to see the different types of dragons in action (rather than just description), and the feral dragons encountered during the overland travels were probably my favorite part.

but this book has a lot more go go g action, more political intrigue and brings us back into the war in Europe as Napoleon tries to conquer it all.

Passing this on to my younger sister who i think will enjoy this series.