gunpowder warfare.
Bold III.
Naomi Novik.
Review: Jamie M.
Alfaguara. Madrid, 2010. Original title: Black Powder War.Traducción: Jose Miguel Pallares. 446 pages.
Returning to the action which the left practically the previous delivery, The Throne of Jade , Bold and his crew must now face the long trek home. Fixed Habienado in extremis los problemas con la corte china de forma más o menos satisfactoria (y bastante sorprendente), el capitán Will Laurence y su dragón, Temerario , se encuentran ansiosos por regresar a Britain , however, certain circumstances beyond their control and a new and imperative task, they will be forced to take the land route around instead of the ship which took the first leg, leaving behind a powerful enemy in the shape of the bereaved dragon Lien . The novel is structured in three distinct parts: the trip by Asia , the enforced stay in Turkey in Istanbul more specifically, and further participation in the war that continues to plague Europe .
The three parts of the narrative thematic approaches offer very different from the initial travel writing, to the dangers of crossing the desert and mountain ranges crossing mountains splashed his way always with many difficult stages and events, to the content more "political" of involuntary and enforced stay in the palace of the Sultan of Istanbul, to the military maneuvers by Austrian and Prussian lands ... always wrapped all in an atmosphere of adventure, suspense and intrigue as the protagonists and their companions should be solving all the mysteries and avoiding all the problems that arise in their path, and not just going to be few.
The new mission entrusted to them is always a step away from disaster and their lives constantly in danger, having escaped many times using a mixture of wit and violence that will take the limit of their physical and psychological. The difficult balance between the rush to fulfill their orders as soon as returning to England and the call of duty that forces them to give their support to the Prussian war effort will be somewhat difficult to reach, placing the needle of the scale so ethereal concepts like Honor, Loyalty, Duty or Treason.
Each leg of the trip is well portrayed and differentiated by the author, first with the sufferings and sacrifices the long journey by land, with the harsh weather conditions to which they face, from heat to extreme cold, thirst and stalking desert their dangerous inhabitants of the hard step of the mountains with their wild dragons (chance of that it also serves to show another form of society that further draconil counterpoint to the "emancipation" of Daredevil). Coming in second place, the court in Istanbul where they will find themselves embroiled in a web of betrayals and plots as they are hopelessly stuck in the palace of the Sultan, seeing delayed his mission several excuses until they get out of there. And finally, third, reaching the bloody battlefields of a turbulent Europe, immersing himself, albeit a little reluctant at first, defending Prussian and bloody to the unstoppable advance of Napoleon's troops found by applying a novel and surprising tactics that appear to come from a unexpected ally.
Thanks to the varied thematic approach Novik get away from duplication (although a return to attend new air combat and talks too much "philosophical" and social relations between Laurence and Temeraire, will do nothing that would not have been clear already) with the previous books, offering a enjoyable story that moves away from the routine. The author continues to build its world drawing on the history of our own, by introducing enough nuances to make true the existence of dragons and their involvement in the affairs of humans, but Sticking to the basics of what actually happened in those tumultuous years . Enter for the occasion the presence of feral dragons, riderless extensive knowledge about these animals and how they organize, although it leaves many loopholes that could be explored later.
While Bold is wishing to implement in England learned in China about the different treatment that there are dragons, Laurence is tormented by feelings of not wanting to disappoint almost childlike impulses and his dragon rigid belief that British society will not easily accept or cheer the changes to boost your winged companion. On the one hand, Captain Fearless agree that dragons should enjoy certain privileges and concessions in the deal that it enjoys with better places of residence, access to the city, paid for their efforts ... To be treated as intelligent creatures to a level similar to humans than are final. On the other, is well aware that with the rigid structures of British society already established, and in full war period in addition, these changes will be impossible to establish in practice.
With the torn soul, the captain will ask more than once if there would have been better to stay in China Bold and treated with the respect that a celestial received in his homeland. The tension comes to chewing on occasion and the ingenuity of the dragon, still at a similar stage to adolescence, he will play tricks on more than one occasion, the fidelity between the two, despite their depth will be severely tested , perhaps with disastrous consequences.
must be said, however, that there is no excessive "Growth" of the protagonists, and is to remark ironically that perhaps the best and most interesting, or at least intriguing character in the book is the newest addition to the guide of caravans Tharkay , an individual ambiguous at all times, of which Laurence not sure he can trust or not, but which depends on many occasions to get out of the impasses to which are doomed in its journey around Asia. His air of mystery, the uncertainty of their behavior and questions about his past, his mixed British-Nepalese, get give it an attractive personality, robbing the rest of the characters in the scenes where it appears (or disappears). Fearless crew is there more to provide a dramatic counterpoint (when they get in trouble or when one dies from time to time), to provide support to the actions of the protagonists who have a depth to them own life dotase "independent" anyway more than fulfilled its role.
Powder War was heralded as the end of a trilogy, which then happens again, which gave an idea of \u200b\u200b"independence" between the two, however, as open end, with Napoleonic War in full swing and not yet installed peer back at "home", are perhaps not essential but necessary to read the following books to get the full picture of the story being narrated and get well, maybe a successful outcome. As the novel ends leaving the reader feeling that is a long way to go yet, many adventures in the future of Bold and Laurence , along which seems that the author does not stop to exploit fully the enormous potential of the series and the world created for it. It would therefore be desirable, and much appreciated, that the editorial as soon as the next trilogy and if it can be any at once (as it has done with this reissue) the better.
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