Now that we are enjoying the clement weather of summer (finally), what is better than pulling up a chair, finding a nice shaded spot outside while catching a cool one and spending some quality time with a book. One option you could take in the literary stakes right now would be the Temeraire by Naomi Novik. A tale set in the Napoleonic Wars with its mixture of true historical content and swashbuckling fantasy, a little slice of action and for those that like something to make their go all a flutter a little dab of romance. Oh and did I mention, its got dragons in it as well?
While Novik isn’t the first author to merge the worlds of true historical fact and fantasy together this is something of a genre that is in relative terms still in its infancy and when you take the premise of such historical conflict and blend it with such an exciting fictional idea then you can’t fail to have a winner.
Novik herself gave up an advanced career in computers and online technology to become a full time writer in 2003 and upon completing her first novel looked to the online community to give it a title, using the online medium of livejournal she took suggestions until a clear winner was found. In tandem with her technological credentials (she is a developer of online computer games) Naomi is also a history buff with a particular penchant for the Napoleonic era.
We’ve teamed up with our friends at Hyperlaunch to offer three people the chance to win a copy of the book. All they have to do is answer this ridiculously easy question to be in with a chance.
The question is, what is the mythical creature that features in the Temeraire story?
Send your answer in the form of an email to adi@cix.co.uk and the first three will receive a copy of the book.
