Black Powder War

Chapter 1

The hot wind blowing into Macao was sluggish and unrefreshing, only stirring up the rotting salt smell of the harbor, the fish-corpses and great knots of black-red seaweed, the effluvia of human and dragon wastes. Even so the sailors were sitting crowded along the rails of the Allegiance for a breath of the moving air, leaning against one another to get a little room. A little scuffling broke out amongst them from time to time, a dull exchange of shoving back and forth, but these quarrels died almost at once in the punishing heat.

Temeraire lay disconsolately upon the dragondeck, gazing towards the white haze of the open ocean, the aviators on duty lying half-asleep in his great shadow. Laurence himself had sacrificed dignity so far as to take off his coat, as he was sitting in the crook of Temeraire s foreleg and so concealed from view.

I am sure I could pull the ship out of the harbor, Temeraire said, not for the first time in the past week; and sighed when this amiable plan was again refused: in a calm he might indeed have been able to tow even the enormous dragon transport, but against a direct headwind he could only exhaust himself to no purpose.

Even in a calm you could scarcely pull her any great distance, Laurence added consolingly. A few miles may be of some use out in the open ocean, but at present we may as well stay in harbor, and be a little more comfortable; we would make very little speed even if we could get her out.

It seems a great pity to me that we must always be waiting on the wind, when everything else is ready and we are also, Temeraire said. I would so like to be home soon: there is so very much to be done. His tail thumped hollowly upon the boards, for emphasis.

I beg you will not raise your hopes too high, Laurence said, himself a little hopelessly: urging Temeraire to restraint had so far not produced any effect, and he did not expect a different event now. You must be prepared to endure some

Naomi Novik is the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, and The Golden Enclaves, the award-winning novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and the Temeraire series. She is a founder of the Organization for Transformative Works and the Archive of Our Own. She lives in New York City with her family and six computers.

Praise for His Majesty s Dragon and the Temeraire series

These are beautifully written novels not only fresh, original, and fast paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart. [The Temeraire series] is a terrific meld of two genres that I particularly love fantasy and historical epic. Peter Jackson
 
A terrifically entertaining fantasy novel . . . Is it hard to imagine a cross between Susanna Clarke, of Norrell and Strange fame, and the late Patrick O Brian? Not if you ve read this wonderful, arresting novel. Stephen King
 
A splendid series . . . Not only is it a new way to utilize dragons, it s a very clever one and fits neatly into the historical niche this author has used. Anne McCaffrey
 
Just when you think you ve seen every variation possible on the dragon story, along comes Naomi Novik. Her wonderful Temeraire is a dragon for the ages. Terry Brooks
 
Enthralling reading it s like Jane Austen playing Dungeons & Dragons with Eragon s Christopher Paolini. Time
 
A completely authentic tale, brimming with all the detail and richness one looks for . . . as well as the impossible wonder of gilded fantasy. Entertainment Weekly (Editor s Choice, Grade: A)
 
Novik has accomplished something singular with her Temeraire series. . . . At its heart, it s a story about friendship that transcends not only time and class, but species. NPR

[Naomi Novik] is soaring on the wings of a dragon. The New York Times
 
A thrilling fantasy . . . All hail Naomi Novik. The Washington Post Book World
 
An amazing performance . . . [I] was immediately hooked by the writing, the research and the sheer courage of the whole enterprise. Chicago Tribune
 
Novik s influences run the gamut from Jane Austen to Patrick O Brian,