Victory of Eagles (Temeraire, Book 5) by Naomi Novik

Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The story opens this time with Captain Laurence sentenced to death for his actions at the end of the previous book and his dragon Temeraire consigned to miserable exile in a damp cave in the Welsh breeding grounds. Things only grow worse when Napoleon uses his new found aerial superiority to launch a full scale invasion of the South of England quickly leading to the capture of London and a humiliating retreat to the Scottish highlands for the routed British forces. Can the British forces rally and mount an effective counter attack in time?

The time line of the Napoleonic wars in the Temeraire universe diverges quite spectacularly from our world in this volume with the logical consequences of dragons being used as troop transports radically changing the strategic options available. Sir Arthur Wellesley is also introduced as a character, but now he is having to fight on British soil rather than in Portugal and Spain. It is also interesting to see different battlefield tactics being explored, with the British dragons fighting as a brutally effective guerilla force, and also a new test for the famous effectiveness of the British infantry square formation when faced with a heavy weight dragon.

Another excellent addition to the saga, but the only problem is the wait until next summer for the intriguing sounding continuation.

View all my reviews.