Black Powder War
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| Author | Naomi Novik |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Temeraire |
| Genre | Alternate history |
| Publisher |
Del Rey (US) Voyager (UK) |
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Publication date
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May 30, 2006 (US) August 2007 (UK) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 400 pp |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Throne of Jade |
| Followed by | Empire of Ivory |
Black Powder War is the third novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik.
The story is set during an alternate history version of the Napoleonic Wars, in which dragons not only exist but are used as a staple of aerial warfare in Asia and Europe. The dragons of the story are portrayed as sentient and intelligent, capable of logical thought and human speech. The series centers primarily on events involving Temeraire (the titular dragon) and his handler, William Laurence.
In Black Powder War, Captain William Laurence and Temeraire - along with the surviving members of their crew - are ordered to make all haste and return from the mission to China via Istanbul, where they are to take custody of three dragon eggs purchased from the Ottoman Empire by the British Government. Laurence and his first lieutenant John Granby are confused at the provenance of these orders, as there must surely be some British dragon nearer to Istanbul than they, but the promise of the eggs spurs them on. In a prologue, Laurence also observes the burial of Prince Yongxing, the primary antagonist of the previous novel, and the mourning of his much-distrustred albino dragon Lien. She is seen in company with the French diplomat de Guignes, which Laurence feels cannot bode well.
Deciding to eschew the Allegiance, which suffers fire damage at the opening of the novel, Laurence takes the services of a guide named Tharkay, the well-bred but ostracized child of a British diplomat and a Nepalese woman. With his help, the group survives ambush in the Central Asian deserts, befriends a pack of feral dragons in the mountains of Turkestan, and makes its way to Istanbul. Once there, however, they face clear betrayal; the Sultan has chosen to ally himself with Napoleon, probably at the urging of Lien, who is now present in his court, and has seized the exorbitant payment offered him by the British Crown whilst simultaneously reneging on any intent to hand over the eggs in return. Lien makes a private visit to Temeraire and announces that she has set herself to his destruction; as opposed to merely killing him, she wishes to see Temeraire deprived of all he holds dear, and live out the rest of his life in squalor and despondency. In the end, Laurence and his crew simply steal the promised eggs, especially once they discover that one of them, a Kazilik, is a fire-breather, something England has been trying to get into her Aerial Corps for hundreds of years. She hatches before the end of the book, naming herself Iskierka and accepting Granby as her captain.
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