The first part sees them make their journey to Istanbul and has the usual excitement I have come to expect from Novik: sandstorms, bandits, rogue feral dragons and miscommunication. Fervently believing Temeraire to be the architect of her anguish, she has vowed to ally herself with his greatest enemy in order to exact a full and painful revenge upon everything and everyone the black dragon holds dear.Unlike other books in the series, the three parts feel more like three different episodes of a TV series. Lien, the white celestial dragon, absconded from the Chinese Imperial Court shortly after the humiliating death of her beloved princely companion.

The crew will also face unexpected menace, for a Machiavellian herald precedes them, spreading political poison in her wake. The Prussians muster their forces before them, barring their way, and Laurence and Temeraire become swept up in the battle against Bonaparte – trapped by politics as they learn that the British had promised to send their allies aid – but help is months overdue. Barely surviving the poisonous intrigue of the Ottoman Court, the small British party's journey home is delayed once more. The small party must be prepared to travel the treacherous Silk Road: navigating frigid mountain passes and crossing sterile deserts to evade feral dragon attacks and Napoleon's aggressive infantry. A cross-continental expedition is a daunting prospect, fraught with countless dangers. And time is of the essence if the eggs are to hatch upon British shores. The British Government, having purchased three valuable dragon eggs from the Ottoman Empire – one of a rare fire-breathing Kazilik dragon, one of the most deadly breeds in existence – now require Laurence and Temeraire to make a more perilous overland journey instead, stopping off in Istanbul to collect and escort the precious cargo back to England. But before they set sail, they are waylaid by urgent new orders. British flyer Will Laurence and his extraordinary Celestial dragon, Temeraire, gratefully anticipate their voyage home from China. Naomi Novik's stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Black Powder War by Naomi Novik