His Majesty's Dragon

An excellent revision of the dragon tale. The book is based in nineteenth century England and dragons are militarized as an Air Force. Mostly the book is concerned with preventing the attempts of Napoleon Bonaparte from invading England. This is an excellent series and will translate well to the Big Screen. Apparently, I'm not the only one to feel this way, because Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings) has purchased the rights and will be developing them soon. He said there will definitely be multiple movies so maybe this will be the next big series.


"This is the first book in a superbly written, character-driven series, Temeraire, which conjures the Napoleonic-era military replete with aerial corps of fighting dragons and their handlers. When Captain Laurence of HMS Reliant takes a French frigate as a prize, the cargo includes a dragon egg due to hatch before the Reliant can reach a British aviators' base. When the hatchling chooses the captain to be his handler, Laurence's naval career comes to an end. He is now an aviator and a member of a service more tolerated than admired. Within very short order, he finds himself bonded with Temeraire, a most elegant and intelligent dragon, more closely than he has ever been bonded with anyone before, and that includes the lady he had thought he would marry. Novik fully integrates dragons into late-eighteenth-century military tactics and develops a convincing armed-service social milieu that includes the dragon corps. But what keeps one turning the pages is the urge to find out what happens next to Captain Laurence and Temeraire, characters who win one's heart from the beginning." - Booklist

Dramatis Personae

Clive Owen as Capt. William Laurence- He was raised a gentleman's son with all the privileges of the nobility, including an education and travel. He ran away from home to join the Royal Navy at age 12, where he rose through the ranks until he became captain of his own ship. Laurence's personal habits were formed by his upbringing and his time in the Navy, which included observing the formalities of dress and personal interaction. He preferred his clothing to be well-kept and was distressed by the haphazard way in which aviators tended to pack. He was also unaccustomed to their casual social behavior.

Paul Bettany as Tom Riley- Riley is an officer in the Royal Navy , a longtime friend and colleague of William Laurence. In appearance, he had fair, freckled skin, and tended to telegraph his emotions on his face. He was ordinarily of an easy-going humor. He was Laurence's second-lieutenant when they found Temeraire's egg and as the ranking officer on the ship, he effectively was promoted to Captain when Temeraire chose Laurence as his Captain.


Lee Boardman as Berkley- Berkley is a heavy-set fellow with a red face. He was not particularly proper, but spoke freely and rarely wore a coat. He has a very loud, booming voice and older than most other new captains, due to his having to wait 6 years for his dragon to hatch. He has a sort of brotherly relationship with Laurence and they enjoy teasing and provoking each other.



Rachelle Lefevre as Catherine Harcourt- Catherine Harcourt was a tall, slender young woman with a wide, pleasant face, a snub nose and long red hair, which she usually wore in a braid. Her dragon's egg hatched five years earlier than expected and so she is much younger than the other new captains. She, Berkley, Laurence, and their dragons become a tight group of friends.



Lucy Lawless as Jane Roland- Jane Roland is a strong, confident woman and an experienced aviator. She has a distinctive scar across her face and neck that caused her left eye to droop. As an aviator, she habitually wore a uniform, including trousers, and was characterized as having a "mannish" stride. The combination of her scar and her unfeminine manners often caused stares when she appeared in public among non-aviators, but Jane simply ignored them, seemingly perfectly comfortable.


Dakota Blue Richards as Emily Roland- Emily's mother is the experienced aviator Jane Roland, who had flown with Excidium for years. Emily is to be Excidium's next captain when Jane dies. She has sandy blonde hair which she cuts in a bowl fashion, similar to the male cadets. She also wears boys clothing. Emily told Laurence she had been in the corps for three years. She was eager and helpful and demonstrated an ability to take initiative, which made him chose her as one of his runners.


Robert Pattinson as John Granby- a tall, lanky man, with dark hair and pale skin that was almost always sunburnt from spending so much time in the air. As he did not come from a Corps family, he had small chance of getting a dragon of his own, but he hoped that he would progress far enough to be able to give a son or a nephew a leg up. He serves as Temeraire's First Lieutenant. ß