Name: Throne of Jade
Rating: 3.808219178082192 (73 reviews)
ISBN: 9780345481290

Naomi Novik

British naval officer Will Laurence's partnership with Temeraire, a rare Chinese imperial dragon, is threatened when Temeraire is summoned to the imperial court by the powerful Chinese emperor, who had intended the dragon to be a gift for Napoleon Bonaparte, not the companion of a lowly English pilot. Original.

Throne of Jade

Prashanth Srivatsa

The Throne of Jade retains the sunbathing-under-a-hammock feel of its predecessor, and attempts to sensitize the colonial implications of the British through introductions of global characters and a voyage into hostile territory. The book serves a reminder of the haughtiness of the British, shown in their temperament towards the dragons, who, despite Novik's terrific efforts to humanize them, continue to retain their beast status. In contrast, Novik politicizes the agenda by opening the gates of human-dragon brotherhood on Chinese soil, leaving us mildly rooting for those silk-smitten royals.

Magnus Dahl

Tårögd bara jag tänker på Laurence och Temeraire.

Kirsten Simkiss

** spoiler alert **
           I found this book to be a great deal more interesting than the first book in the series. I think, for the most part, this was due to the tension between characters and the action scenes being more consistent. In the first book, I know it bothered me that the pace was so slow and that the only real action occurred near to the end of the book. In this book, there was action throughout. I still find Laurence to be a relatively boring and stuffy main character, but I admire his loyalty. I'm a much more cynical person and I feel like Laurence is sometimes content to believe the best in people when he'd do much better to mean the worst of them. If they had outed Yongxing as the mastermind of an attempted murder and done away with him on the ship, they would have saved themselves a helluva lot of time and trouble. And it's not like China would have been mad if Temeraire had eaten him, since the Celestials are practically royal family in China.

I was wary of the Chinese aspect of the story being too absurd, but it seemed relatively decent to me. I'm no historian, unfortunately, but the only things that seemed unusual to me can easily be blamed on the historical inclusion of dragons in the foundations of the culture. I'm also not Chinese, so my knowledge is limited in that respect as well. 

I still think, as far as books go, her writing is descriptive to the point that it gets slow (seriously, we had to read several pages of Laurence being mad they were bringing his dragon meals they'd cooked and describing them). I'd love it if certain bits weren't dragged out quite so much as they were. It would make things a whole lot more fun to read. (Seriously, we get it. He likes the cooked foods with spices. Great.)

Sarah Escorsa

Introducing…Throne of Jade: the pros and cons.



Yes, I'm starting with the cons, so what? This is my review, I do want I want. 

✘ The pace is slow.
Wait. No. It's not slow. It's painfully slow. That kind of painfully slow:



✘ There isn't much action.
There is so little action here that Laurence reading to Temeraire at night feels like a major event. Exciting, right?

✘ There is a story, but it's not that gripping.
Laurence, Temeraire and friends are on a boat to China. It takes them a long time to get to China. They finally get to China. One or two things happen (wow). End of story. 

Now would probably a good time to remind you that I did actually give this book a 4-star rating. I mean, these cons up there ↑↑ might lead you to think I got my stars mixed up. But I didn't. Because the pros outweigh the hell out of the cons.



✔ Laurence and Temeraire.
✔ Laurence and Temeraire.
✔ Laurence and Temeraire.
✔ Laurence and Temeraire.
✔ Laurence and Temeraire.
✔ Laurence and Temeraire.

►► Get the point? Good. 

I said it before, and I'll say it again. And again, and again, and again: this series makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside Why? Because Laurence and Temeraire. Because Temeraire and Laurence. The cutest, most adorable, most heartwarming, greatest friendship that ever was. So cute, adorable and heartwarming that even I, the heartless cynic, fell victim to it. So cute, adorable and heartwarming that reading about them makes me feel like I'm 10 again. Because, yes, unbeknownst to most of you, I was a child once. And no, I wasn't yet nefarious back then. I was kind of a late bloomer in the villainous department actually. But I'm a fast learner. And I caught up with my inner wickedness in less time than it takes Temeraire to eat a sheep. Pretty impressive, huh?



So basically, what I'm trying to say is: as long as Laurence and Temeraire are in these books, I'm happy. Who ever said I was hard to please? And always needed non-stop action? And kickass heroines? And overbearing assholes? And poof-off-to-the-harem-you-go material? And sex scenes? (view spoiler)[Oh no. Stop it right there. Don't go putting filthy ideas into my little head, you depraved bunch. (hide spoiler)] Hey, I can be perfectly content with utter nothingness, too. Take that, ye of little faith.

And where does that leave us then? Well. I wanted to steal Temeraire away from Laurence, but then realized neither of them would allow it. So now my evil, nefarious plan is to work some, evil, nefarious magic so as to become Laurence. So that I can have Temeraire. And the greatest interspecies friendship that ever was. Piece of cake.
 


So we actually have 3 cons and 1 pro here. Which takes us to the moral of this review. Which is to never underestimate the minority. Because the minority will get your ass kicked every single time. 

· Book 1: His Majesty's Dragon ★★★★ 
· Book 3: Black Powder War ★★★★

Kelsi Proulx

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one, but this was still very enjoyable. I liked learning about Temeraire's history and the setting in China was pretty cool. Looking forward to the next one!

Ben Nathan

Good book. It's not as engaging or fun as the first book (which is amazing), but the characters are spot on and the world building is interesting. I'll keep reading the books as I'm interested in knowing everything about Temeraire there is to know.

History takes flight in the second book of Naomi Novik’s deliciously addictive series which captures the Napoleonic period perfectly and skillfully layers the timeline with imagination by adding a Dragon Air Force to the battle for England.

Throne of Jade (The Temeraire Series, Book 2)

Linus Stieldorf

In the second novel of the New York Times bestselling Temeraire series, the Napoleonic Wars take Captain Will Laurence and his dragon to China on a perilous mission. "Full of wonderful characters with real heart."--Peter Jackson When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo--an unhatched dragon's egg--Captain Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain's Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Napoleon Bonaparte's invading forces. Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands--and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. A reluctant Laurence has no choice but to take Temeraire back to China--a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await. "Readers with a penchant for both Patrick O'Brian and Anne McCaffrey may have found their perfect match. Naomi Novik beautifully renders an 1800s Europe in which naval buffs and dragon lovers will be keen to immerse themselves."--Alan Dean Foster, author of the Pip & Flinx series Don't miss the magic of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series: HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON - THRONE OF JADE - BLACK POWDER WAR - EMPIRE OF IVORY - VICTORY OF EAGLES - TONGUES OF SERPENTS - CRUCIBLE OF GOLD - BLOOD OF TYRANTS - LEAGUE OF DRAGONS

Throne of Jade

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