Dark Days

I just finished reading Victory of Eagles, the fifth book in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, and it was a blast.
After the grim ending of Empire of Ivory, which ended with an unbearable cliffhanger, I couldn't wait to find out what happened next, so I devoured the book in just a few days.

There are many parts of VOE that are similar to previous entries in the series. There are fights, there's Napoleon trying to conquer Europe, and there are lots of old friends who come back to join the fun. At the same time, there are many parts in VOE that are very different from the previous four books, and those have to do with what happened in EOI, how the cliffhanger is resolved, and what the consequences are for Laurence and Temeraire. VOE is basically the aftermath of EOI, and Temeraire develops a lot as a character in ways that allow Novik to touch on themes such as individual freedom, slavery and forced labor, equal rights, social inadequacies, and justice. If you have read the previous books in the series you know that Temeraire is not your run-of-the-mill dragon, and he even isn't like other dragons in the saga. All those aspects are really showcased in VOE, and our favorite dragon becomes even more interesting than he was before.

Even though this is "the Temeraire series", there is no Temeraire without Laurence, the dragon's captain, a character that my dear Halagan finds slightly aggravating. A lot of what makes Laurence the sort of character he is abounds in VOE as well. He is honor bound, law-abiding, a slave of duty, and maybe just a little bit uptight. This was part of what caused EOI to end the way it did, and because of the very nature of what happened and the very nature of Laurence himself, VOE features a Laurence that is both the same he's always been and wildly different at the same time. This is mainly seen in the way he interacts with Temeraire throughout most of the book, and also in the assignment he accepts in the second half of the story. By trying to stay who he is, Laurence becomes something else, which is an interesting paradox because he is also who he was before.

I realize this sounds rather confusing, but I don't want to spoil anything. Therefore, just do yourself a favor and pick up this series. I know Halagan takes exception to Novik's literary style, and I won't deny her syntax is complex and her sentences stretch for several lines at a time: you've never seen commas and semicolons used this much in a book, I practically guarantee it. And yet, Novik expresses herself with such clarity and with so many nuances and observations about what she is describing that it's almost impossible not to be carried away by her prose. I think her style shows she is a very organized and methodical person, and even though a sentence can be ten lines long, every element is where it should be. She is taking you down a long, winding road, but there are plenty of markers and signals for you to find your way through this world she has created. And what a compelling world it is.