Not as good as the first, as it was a bit draggy as Capt. Laurence and Temeraire take a slow boat to China (literally). A Chinese embassy has come to England to demand the return of their Celestial Dragon (= Temeraire), claiming he was stolen and shouldn’t be subjected to such indignities as having a companion not of the Imperial Family. Britain doesn’t want to offend China so off they go.

Things pick up speed when they finally arrive in China. I was kept wondering all the while how in the world they would overcome the multiple objections to returning Temeraire to Laurence’s keeping, but Novik manages to tie everything up in the end. Also interesting was the description of how different cultures treat dragons – in China, where they are common, the cities are built to accommodate them too and they apparently receive wages and are free to roam around and buy what they want. Also they have to study(!) and take exams, just like scholars.

Anyway, this book’s not bad, quite a good read once the eventful yet tedious ocean voyage is over. I’m looking forward to the third.