Empire of Ivory
Oct. 4th, 2007 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakRecently read: Empire of Ivory by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
naominovik, the newest novel in the Temeraire series.
The offhand mention of an Inca being around to negotiate with in Black Powder alerted me to the fact we're in an AU in more than just the dragon way, and Empire of Ivory made the point more strongly, by letting Nelson survive Trafalgar and hence be instrumental in preventing Wilberforce's efforts to pass the bill against slavery. Among other things, this means we can't be sure this saga will end with Waterloo playing out the way it did, which increases the suspense. Clever choice. At the same time, Empire of Ivory continues the trend of showing the darker side of English society. Not only does the treatment-of-dragons theme from prevous novels continue, but it gets explicitly coupled with the practice of slavery, and later with... but I'll get to that. At any rate, it is ever so refreshing, because in most books, films and tv shows set in the Napoleonic era, England is presented uncritically. Not so here (and all this without going into the other extreme of making the French look ideal instead). Re: Nelson, honestly I have no idea what his attitude towards slavery was, but as Laurence reflects in the novel, the idea that it was necessary for the fleet specifically and the country in general was quite wide spread in the navy, so I found it plausible.
We touch on the thorny question of colonialism, too, and I found the character of Mrs. Erasmus compelling; her decision to remain in Africa instead of returning to England felt immensely right and satisfying. Still, to me the true meat of the novel wasn't the middle section set in Africa but the last third which was the pay-off for the previous set up of the illness striking dragons down and the whole question of the status of dragons - are they animals, slaves or comrades? Guess. In a twist that reminded me of the end of Alan Moore's second volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the English decide to use biological warfare by deliberately infecting the French dragons as soon as they have the cure for their own. In Moore's story, it's Nemo who is so appalled that he leaves in anger and disgust. Here, this discovery isn't the end but presents Laurence with a wonderful (in the sense of meaty storytelling) ethical dilemma. Not Temeraire, because Temeraire's decision to not allow the French dragons to die is not a question. But if Laurence helps him, he's aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war and directly going against his oath. It's the question of which principles are more important, and I was both gratified and of course very worried that Laurence chose to save the dragons. (Quite how he'll get out of his execution for that one, I have no idea, but I trust the author will come up with something better than the classic deus ex machina or a royal pardon at the last minute.)
Temeraire by his action also saving his arch enemy and sister Lien was a delicious irony, and makes me believe the story between the dragons won't end with Lien dying in combat with Temeraire. I know a life debt set up when I see one. Also, on the human front Napoleon now owes Laurence, big time, even if Laurence doesn't want his gratitude. All very promising, and I can't wait for the next volume!
naominovik, the newest novel in the Temeraire series. The offhand mention of an Inca being around to negotiate with in Black Powder alerted me to the fact we're in an AU in more than just the dragon way, and Empire of Ivory made the point more strongly, by letting Nelson survive Trafalgar and hence be instrumental in preventing Wilberforce's efforts to pass the bill against slavery. Among other things, this means we can't be sure this saga will end with Waterloo playing out the way it did, which increases the suspense. Clever choice. At the same time, Empire of Ivory continues the trend of showing the darker side of English society. Not only does the treatment-of-dragons theme from prevous novels continue, but it gets explicitly coupled with the practice of slavery, and later with... but I'll get to that. At any rate, it is ever so refreshing, because in most books, films and tv shows set in the Napoleonic era, England is presented uncritically. Not so here (and all this without going into the other extreme of making the French look ideal instead). Re: Nelson, honestly I have no idea what his attitude towards slavery was, but as Laurence reflects in the novel, the idea that it was necessary for the fleet specifically and the country in general was quite wide spread in the navy, so I found it plausible.
We touch on the thorny question of colonialism, too, and I found the character of Mrs. Erasmus compelling; her decision to remain in Africa instead of returning to England felt immensely right and satisfying. Still, to me the true meat of the novel wasn't the middle section set in Africa but the last third which was the pay-off for the previous set up of the illness striking dragons down and the whole question of the status of dragons - are they animals, slaves or comrades? Guess. In a twist that reminded me of the end of Alan Moore's second volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the English decide to use biological warfare by deliberately infecting the French dragons as soon as they have the cure for their own. In Moore's story, it's Nemo who is so appalled that he leaves in anger and disgust. Here, this discovery isn't the end but presents Laurence with a wonderful (in the sense of meaty storytelling) ethical dilemma. Not Temeraire, because Temeraire's decision to not allow the French dragons to die is not a question. But if Laurence helps him, he's aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war and directly going against his oath. It's the question of which principles are more important, and I was both gratified and of course very worried that Laurence chose to save the dragons. (Quite how he'll get out of his execution for that one, I have no idea, but I trust the author will come up with something better than the classic deus ex machina or a royal pardon at the last minute.)
Temeraire by his action also saving his arch enemy and sister Lien was a delicious irony, and makes me believe the story between the dragons won't end with Lien dying in combat with Temeraire. I know a life debt set up when I see one. Also, on the human front Napoleon now owes Laurence, big time, even if Laurence doesn't want his gratitude. All very promising, and I can't wait for the next volume!
