Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik
(Temeraire book 7), Del Rey, $25.00, 326pp, hc, 9780345522863. Fantasy.
Naomi Novik is back with her seventh volume in the tales of Temeraire the dragon and Laurence his captain. The stories continue to hold the interest, even as her world (the Napoleonic wars, with dragons) continues to diverge from our own. I missed Tongues of Serpents when it came out, so when Crucible of Gold arrived, I picked up the intervening volume, and read them in quick succession.
You’ll remember from the review of Victory of Eagles that Laurence committed treason by curing the French dragons from the British-invented disease which might have ended the war. In Victory, Laurence was depressed, yet managed to help repel the French invasion.
In Tongues, Laurence’s unrelenting depression seems to have lifted, to a degree. The depression was modified to the agonies of an arduous, dangerous trip across the inland desert of Australia following his and Temeraire’s exile to the overseas British penal colony. That trip did also see the birth of Kulingile, a dragon born from a very small egg which impressed none of the airmen around. The dragon wasn’t expected to survive, so Demane (one of the boys who’d joined Laurence’s crew in Africa) impressed the dragon (to take a term from the works of Anne McCaffrey).
Now, in Crucible of Gold, Laurence has been reinstated (to a degree), and sent to close a new front Napoleon is trying to opening in the war, or at least, muddle the waters enough that it won’t open to the further detriment of the British. Joined by Iskierka and Kulingile (now grown larger than Temeraire, so that the regular airmen resent the inexperienced Demane as captain of such a large beast), and of course, their crews, our heroes set sail on the transport ship Allegiance for South America and the Inca Empire. Tragedy occurs, and the captains, their dragons, and a talonful of men survive, to be rescued by a French envoy traveling to the same place. The rescue is temporary, escape is effected, and Temeraire et al come to South America.
There are actually two battles ongoing on this new continent. One is the French romancing of the Incans. The other is a revenge piece. The African Tswana (who we met in volume four, Empire of Ivory) have come to take back their own—their brethren stolen away to be slaves on the Portugese plantations. They figure into the main storyline because the Portugese are one of the few remaining British allies. Temeraire has been sent to defend the Portugese, turn back the Tswana, and keep strong the British cause. Unfortunately for the mission, Laurence is a staunch abolitionist, and cannot countenance fighting on the side of the slaveholders. But he remains hopeful that he may find an acceptable way out of this problem.
So our heroes come to South America, and find… almost no one. The plagues carried by the original conquistadors have devastated the indigenous population. The first village they come to has no one left alive; only wild llamas roaming the streets. And, we learn, it is the same all across the empire: very few people, and very protective dragons unwilling to lose any of their remaining people, either to death or to other dragons.
In this respect, the British are somewhat confused. Remember, the British call their dragons beasts, and think of them, for the most part, as animals that can talk. Laurence is different, due both to his naval background (he wasn’t raised to think of his dragon as a lowly animal), and because Temeraire is so much more advanced than the average dragon. In this, Novik seems to be remembering her classic Heinlein, specifically The Star Beast (in which, the reader will remember, John Thomas Stuart thought Lummox was his pet, while Lummox assumed she had been raising John Thomases). Dragons in South America have become very protective of their people, caring for them, and guarding them. A dragon’s wealth, in this realm, is determined by the number of people under its care. A fortunate dragon may keep an ayllu of 10 or 15 people. They are very impressed by these three British dragons, who arrive with nearly 100 men.
When they finally come to the Incan capital, they find themselves in company with the French delegation, vying for the attentions of the emperor. For a time, it looks as if the British may have to trade people for place; an act which strikes Laurence far too much of slavery. In the end, though, the option is taken away from them, and they take wing in haste.
In time, they come to Rio, their original destination, and find it already a ruin: the Tswana dragons are here, and demanding the return of their people. They have arrived, apparently, upon French transports—Napoleon’s attempt to split the Portugese and the British. Once again, negotiation is called for, and once again, Laurence’s naval background is an advantage unconsidered by the dragon corps. Our heroes win the day, but again, in a manner which nearly guarantees another court martial for Laurence—sometimes it really helps to know not only your enemy’s strength, but his mythology. At any rate, the problems Laurence leaves in his wake will be minor compared to what he solved.
But where to now? Apparently, back to China, where Temeraire is a noble, and Laurence is the adopted brother of a prince.
This reviews is the what, but it’s all about the how. That’s why you’ll want to read the book, and why you’ll keep turning the pages. Naomi Novik’s alternate world of two centuries ago is fully realized, very courtly, and at times frustrating in its formality. But her story telling is excellent, and the story she’s chosen to tell is as big as the globe in encompasses. As always, I’ll be waiting for the next adventure of Temeraire and his man Laurence.