Novik introduces Imperial China’s claim to Temeraire, prompting the British, in an effort at diplomacy, to relent to seeing Temeraire taken back to China to meet the Emperor, providing that he can be accompanied by his flight crew and they go via sea, specifically by the British Navy crewed HMS Allegiance. Where the action of the first book was mostly centred around the British Isles and the training of Temeraire into a fighting dragon under the tutelage of the Air Corps, the second book considers the political situation between Britain and her allies or enemies and the international relations they cultivate in the name of trade, specifically with the Far East. It was fascinating to see how Naomi Novik expanded the story she’d set up so wonderfully in the first book to become a much more complex and global story. ” ‘You speak in ignorant disdain of the foremost nation of the world,’ Yongxing said, growing angry himself, ‘like all your country-men, who show no respect for that which is superior, and insult our customs.’ “ Unsurprisingly, the Chinese now want him back.
The egg that was Temeraire, which the British Navy recovered when they stormed a ship in the opening chapter of the first book, was intended as a gift for the French emperor Napoleon as he is a rare and much prized breed of Celestial dragon bred by China. However, very quickly the British military’s attention is turned from the impending French threat to Imperial China who prove to be a threat of their own when they come to England asserting their claim to Temeraire and demand his return. Throne of Jade picks up where the first book, Temeraire, left off – we follow Captain William Laurence and his dragon Temeraire of the British Air Corps in the aftermath of the Battle of Dover, of which they were crucial players.
The Chinese have demanded his return and the British cannot refuse them – they cannot afford to provoke the asian super-power into allying themselves with the French – even if it costs them the most powerful weapon in their arsenal and inflicts the most unimaginable pain upon Laurence and his dragon.“ ( Synopsis from publisher) Temeraire’s egg was captured and claimed by the British at sea, but he was meant to be the companion of the Emperor Napoleon and not captained by a mere officer in the British Air Corps. Temeraire is a Celestial dragon, the most highly-prized of all draconic breeds famed for their intelligence, agility and most of all for the Divine Wind – their terrible roar capable of shattering the heavy timbers of war ships, shattering woodland and destroying other dragons mid-flight. “ Captain William Laurence of the British Air Corps and his dragon, Temeraire, begin their slow voyage to China, fearful that upon landing they will be forced to part by Imperial decree.
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