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

A very fun book that places dragons in the Napoleonic wars. Novik does a fantastic job of transporting the reader to her world both by her descriptions and through her prose. The book was overall a fairly light read, but gave interesting insight on what the relationship between a captain, a dragon, and an army would mean. The action sequences were also exhillerating, although it was sometimes challenging to imagine what an aerial battle would look like. The middle portions of the book were also a little slow, but still highly enjoyable as they set the background for the war. I heartily enjoyed the read, and look forward to the next installment.

This book is part of a bookray! The original forum thread can be found here. It is also the first in a staggered bookray featuring Naomi Novik's Throne of Jade and Black Powder War. 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) ResQgeek - Franconia, Virginia, USA
8) 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.

Arrived safely on Friday evening. We're have computer problems, or I would have logged it sooner. Haven't had a chance to start it (been scrambling to fix the poor computer and not lose any data if possible), but plan to start it bright and early in the morning after I drop off DD at school. Thanks VVilliam!

Hurray, I finished! And it was WONDERFUL! I cannot wait to get the next one (especially after reading the excerpt in the back of the first book).

I love this time period with its strong sense of honor and duty to country and its civility and manners. I liked learning about the different kinds of dragons and their abilities and how they are viewed by people, both military and civilian. It was nice to see dragons as more than one-dimensional characters. Thanks again, VVilliam, for starting this ray.

mailed to Ladyjanet in Normal, IL

Arrived safe and sound! Must have come on dragon's wings to get here so quickly! I've already started it, and hope to have it off to it's next stop in a week or two.

And what a great cartoon!

A friend recommended these books, and that's how they got on my wishlist... and WOW! Was she right! I ignored housework, schoolwork and famliy to finish this.

It should be on its way as soon as I get an address from omly.

On its way to omly today.

This book arrived yesterday, and I already have a good start on it. I should be finishing it quickly.

What a great start to this series; I had a really hard time putting this down! It took me far longer to squeeze in time to write about it then to steal time away to read it.

This book is a great example of one of my favorite genres: what-if fantasy. The problem is that it really needs to be completely self-consistent to be done well. I am happy to say that Novik certainly seems up to the task. Not only that but both Laurence and Tremaire are incredibly interesting and engaging characters.

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

Interesting idea: dragon warfare during the Anglo-French wars of the early 19th century, but it never takes of. Noviks writing style is longwinded. Certainly not of the less is more school. Pity, because a pacier style would give us a better book. Therefore I decided not to read part two and three of this trilogy. The books will be send to their next stop: Iran.

thank you, the books are here safe and sound!

thanks so much, the books are handed over to hengameh. i was reading eragon/eldest right before this and so i must say that i was very delighted with this, the writing is definitely different and come to think of it the plot is also very original. i loved the connection between the riders and the dragons, though the same connection was scary also. it's my belief that we can so easily be someone pets if they can't see through the difference and see the essence, not that humans haven't made pets of other humans through history and then that makes me think, what that cat in the yard is right now thiking of me!! :)

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.

What do you get if you combine Anne McCaffrey with Patrick O’Brien? Okay, I’m not sure, since it has been decades since I last read a book from the Dragonrider series, and I’ve never actually read any of O’Brien’s books. But this book, about Napoleonic wars between the British and the French, is fueled by the same historical strife that drives O’Brien’s stories, but with the added twist of airborne troops borne on the backs of dragons. And while that premise certainly might seem like a stretch, the finished product is a treat.

Our protagonist, Laurence, is captain of H.M.S. Reliant, and, as the book opens, he has just captured a French frigate. They soon discover that the French have a very valuable cargo aboard, a dragon egg. Unfortunately, the egg appears likely to hatch long before they can deliver it to the Aerial Corps so that the hatchling can be “harnessed” (paired with a rider). Because the British are in desperate need of additional dragons to counter Napoleon’s superior numbers, Laurence can’t afford not to have one of his officers attempt to harness the dragon when it hatches, even if it means losing a good man to the Aerial Corps. Things don’t quite go as planned, however, and it is Laurence who finds himself bound to the hatchling.

The book then proceeds to describe the training of the new team and the adjustments Laurence must make in his transition from Navy to Aerial Corps. Eventually, Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, are called upon to help defend England from an attempted invasion by the French, in a thrilling finale.

This is an imaginative story, with an amazingly creative variety of dragons, and a whole new concept of warfare build around them. The dragons have powerful personalities in their own rights, and they help to flesh out the story, providing interesting contrasts to the human attitudes of honor and duty. I found myself cheering for the dragons as they fought not so much to defend Britain, but to protect each other and their riders. Entertaining and exciting, and I’ll certainly be back for more.

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 have been listening to several near and dear to me people talking about the series and how great it is since I first showed Elengil the book review that came out shortly before the book was published in 2006. I wish I had read this sooner.

This is the type of historically influenced fantasy that I love most, and this book didn't disappoint at all. I loved watching Lawrence adjust to the aviator's service from the tradition bound navel service he was in when the dragon egg was captured. I was drawn in by the idea of "what if there were dragons involved in the Napoleonic wars?" and I especially enjoyed the excerpt of naturalist writing regarding dragons found at the end of the book.

I was a little surprised that so much of the action in the book was found right at the end. But there was some fantastic world building involved earlier in the story.

I'm so glad that I have the next two books in the seris here as I see myself reading them very quickly.

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