Cruicible of Gold

Naomi Novik's Temeraire series ambles along with her latest book. The series is getting to be a bit of a travelogue - China, Asia, Africa, Australia and now South America. Novik is taking the reader on a global dragon hunt. We've seen mention of North American dragons, but I assume they will be the focus of a future book.

In this most recent novel, Temeraire and Lawrence are returned to service and tasked with stopping Napoleon's mission to Brazil. This would seal an alliance with Portugal and allow England a beachfront from which to attack Europe. Of course, things do not go to plan and our heroes wind up in Incan Peru (where Pizarro tried to conquer, but was unsuccessful thanks to dragons).

This has to be my favorite of the most recent books. The story was a little more focused and the characters given room to work. The last book wandered a little too much and previous entries seemed a little choppy.

Like many series, I expect the story of Temeraire will go on for many volumes, but perhaps not as many as Discworld. I am enjoying the leisurely development of the Napoleonic Wars, but am impatient for more haste to the conclusion.