Review: "Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2) by Naomi Novik

[megwrites]

Title: Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2)
Author: Naomi Novik (naominovik; Naomi Novik's official website)
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 432 (paperback)
Publisher: Del Rey




Basic Plotline: Throne of Jade is the second book in Novik's very popular Temeraire series. It picks up a short time after His Majesty's Dragon left off, with Captain Laurence and Temeraire kept separate while the British negotiate with Chinese diplomats who are very upset that the gift intended for Napoleon is now in British hands, and used as a battle dragon, something unheard of in China. In order to resolve the issue, Laurence, Temeraire, the Chinese Diplomats, and Temeraire's crew set out for China, to see the Emperor himself. The long voyage, however, is fraught with perils, including a member of the Chinese party that's trying to kill Laurence, and the prince's open attempts to woo Temeraire away from Laurence by showing him how much better his treatment with the Chinese will be. Even once they arrive on foreign shores, they are still not secure. As Temeraire is tempted by the Chinese, Laurence is still the target

The Positives: I'm afraid I have very little positive to say about this volume. It does answer some of the questions raised in book one, including the reason Temeraire was aboard a French vessel, and about Celestials in general. The different setting was interesting, but underused. I also appreciated that questions are beginning to be raised about why the dragons are even working with humans, and why they seem to be all right with being treated like horses that can talk. The naval research was obviously thorough, maybe a little too thorough.

The Negatives: This book was nowhere near as spectacular as the first volume of the series, so much so that I don't know if I'll even seek out book three. As a matter of taste, books about sea voyages bore me to tears, and frankly, I felt like the entire voyage could have been described in one or two chapters without taking up the bulk of the book. Sea battles may be captivating on screen, but they leave me cold in text. I get flashbacks of having to keep myself awake through Captains Courageous. There were moments when I couldn't follow it because I didn't know a damn thing about naval or 18th century naval terminology, and there wasn't even a glossary provided. If you know what futtocks are (besides misspelled ass cheeks), good for you. I haven't a clue.

I also felt like that main mystery of the book, and what should have been the plot, was sidelined and ill paced. We're talking about a major plan to unseat the Emperor of China and use a child as a puppet emperor, and a dragon that is sent far away because of it's ability to threaten the Emperor's rule.

There were a few logical fallacies as well. For instance: if the Chinese (even the Emperor) are so ill disposed towards the West, why give a Celestial to them, even to get it out of the way? Why not send it to Japan or India or one of it's closer neighbors, why Napoleon? Honestly, this novel suffers from being so much of it's source that it acquires the prejudices and shortcomings of the 18th century. The most interesting things in this novel were set aside. The main thrust should have been what was going on with the Chinese, but we only see them through British eyes, and that's a terrible choice. The Chinese were the most interesting characters, and the only reason this book even had a plot and wasn't just Temeraire and Laurence's Bogus Adventure.

I also felt like the solution to the very pressing issue of the Chinese working to split up Temeraire and Laurence was wrapped up too quickly. The main tension of the book, which is the jealousy of both Will and his dragon, and the question of whether they will be split up in spite of their extraordinary devotion is solved with a simple ceremony in which Laurence gets adopted by the Emperor, easy peasy, and everyone goes home happy.

I found that Novik's research on 18th century ships was thorough, but her understanding of Chinese culture and Chinese history was sadly lacking. While she may have had her technical details wrong, I still felt as though I was looking at a British version of China rather than the actual China of the late 18th century.

CoC Score: 6. There are so many more CoC's in this book than the last, and there is some attempt to show them with sympathy and as full people, though it is not entirely successful, due to Novik delving too deeply into the prejudices of her setting. There really ought to have been chapters from Yongxing's point of view. I feel this entire novel would have been much more tense, captivating, and thrilling if Will and Temeraire's devotion had been contrasted with the motives of Yongxing, and his desires. Yongxing was sadly one-dimensional as a character. Seeing China through Western eyes is not new or exciting. I've pretty much spent my entire life seeing other countries through Western eyes (because I'm Western and most literature I have is Western). Seeing the West through Chinese eyes? That would have been the novelty. Unfortunately, Novik didn't seem to have that kind of ambition.

GLBT Score: 0. They're on a ship for crying out loud and there's only the one chick, who has to dress and act like a boy! Yet another interesting story that is shoved aside. I'm still waiting for Novik to get brave enough to write about the female dragon riders, about Roland and what she goes through. But I don't expect it any time soon.

Gender Score: 2. There are even less women in this novel! The one woman who has any significant amount of lines in the last book basically just has sex (or vaguely worded snuggling, it's hard to tell) with Laurence and then fucks off. Roland, who is in a precarious situation because she's a young girl on a boat, also gets sidelined while Novik practical salivates over the banalities of life at sea in the 18th century.