Black Powder War, by Naomi Novik

Volume three of the Temeraire chronicles opens where two ended, with the Celestial dragon and his crew preparing to leave China for a long voyage home. A dispatch from England prompts a decision to take the much faster, but treacherous, overland route to collect three eggs from the Ottoman Empire. An adventure ensues via mountains and desert, leading to encounters with tribal raiders and feral dragons. Then there are political troubles to deal with in Istanbul and battles with the old foe Bonaparte in Prussia – will they ever get back home? Novik seamlessly blends her world of dragons with historical detail of the Napoleonic wars. The pace of this journey is a little brisker than the previous one to China, with interest maintained throughout. But it is still light on character development; Captain Laurence and his crew remain, ironically, vehicles for the dragons rather than fully rounded protagonists. Volume four will hopefully focus on the crew’s reintegration into British military life, allowing development of relationships on the home front. Or maybe they will just jump off on another all-action boys own adventure. It’s called Empire of Ivory so probably the latter.