Imagine the world in the 1800’s. Tall sail ships sailed across sea monster infested waters. Imagine this world with dragons – all kinds of dragons. Dragons of every size, color, and ability. Intelligent dragons that are used as an air force. This is the world of Throne of Jade.Throne of Jade is the continuation of His Majesty’s Dragon. At the end of His Majesty’s dragon, it was discovered that the cute and cuddly Temeraire was in fact, a Celestial dragon. Celestial dragons are a very rare breed and have the ability to literally blow you away with their roar. The Chinese delegation gets word of Temeraire’s existence and demands that he be returned back to China. Much politicking ensues and Captain Laurence is told to lie to Temeraire so that the young dragon will cooperate and return to China. Of course, our young dragon is a little bit of a rebel and he refuses to cooperate so Captain Laurence and his entourage escort the Chinese delegation back to China by ship.A good portion of the book takes place on the ship. At times, the narrative is very slow. There are some humorous moments when the cultural differences between the Chinese and English are highlighted. During a formal dinner between the Chinese and the English officers, the English were expected to use chopsticks which resulted in food everywhere. The English are not used to all the strange ingredients that the Chinese cooks use. I found it interesting when the Chinese catch and dispose of shipboard rats, the British sailors are upset because later on in a voyage, those same rats could provide food for the crew. Long ship voyages lead to some very interesting situations. Did you know that dragons can catch colds? Don’t stand too close when a dragon sneezes. YUCK. A memorable moment occurred when Temeraire was surprised to find out that humans do not hatch out of eggs, resulting in the where do babies come from question expertly deflected by Captain Laurence. There be sea monsters, too! One of the more memorable scenes was a battle with a 250 foot sea serpent that ate a few crew members. The time spent in China was eye opening. Much politicking, much intrigue – a very different world from England. The Chinese treatment of dragons was very different than that of the English. Temeraire’s eyes are opened. Temeraire is a really special character. He is about a year old at the time of the sailing and close to full grown and full sized. Temeraire has a child like innocence about him which endears him to the reader. His observations allow the reader to see things from a completely different perspective. Temeraire also has a little bit of a rebellious streak in him. It is muted in this book, but I am sure it will be a factor in the next book in this series. I'm not sure how to rate this book. At times it read like a 4 star book - exciting, funny, clever. Other times, it just read a little too slowly for me. I'll give it 3.5 stars for all the funny, clever, and action filled times.
