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    Crucible of Gold
    Crucible of Gold
    Crucible of Gold
    Audiobook9 hours

    Crucible of Gold

    Written by Naomi Novik

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Naomi Novik's beloved series returns, with Captain Will Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire once again taking to the air against the broadsides of Napoleon's forces and the friendly-and sometimes not-so-friendly-fire of British soldiers and politicians who continue to suspect them of divided loyalties, if not outright treason. For Laurence and Temeraire, put out to pasture in Australia, it seems their part in the war has come to an end just when they are needed most. But perhaps they are no longer alone in this opinion. Newly allied with the powerful African empire of the Tswana, the French have occupied Spain and brought revolution and bloodshed to Brazil, threatening Britain's last desperate hope to defeat Napoleon. And now the government that sidelined them has decided they have the best chance at negotiating a peace with the angry Tswana, who have besieged the Portuguese royal family in Rio-and thus offer to reinstate Laurence to his former rank and seniority as a captain in the aerial Corps. Temeraire is delighted by this sudden reversal of fortune, but Laurence is by no means sanguine, knowing from experience that personal honor and duty to one's country do not always run on parallel tracks. Nonetheless, the pair embark for Brazil, only to meet with a string of unmitigated disasters that force them to make an unexpected landing in the hostile territory of the Incan empire, where they face new unanticipated dangers. Now with the success of the mission balanced on a razor's edge, and failure looking more likely by the minute, the unexpected arrival of an old enemy will tip the scales toward ruin. Yet even in the midst of disaster, opportunity may lurk-for one bold enough to grasp it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 6, 2012
    ISBN9781464048975
    Crucible of Gold
    Author

    Naomi Novik

    Naomi Novik is the acclaimed author of the Temeraire series and standalone fairytale fantasy Uprooted. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and has won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, as well as the Locus Award for Best New Writer and the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. She is also the author of the graphic novel Will Supervillains Be on the Final? Fascinated with both history and legends, Novik is a first-generation American raised on Polish fairy tales and stories of Baba Yaga. Her own adventures include pillaging degrees in English literature and computer science from various ivory towers, designing computer games, and helping to build the Archive of Our Own for fanfiction and other fanworks. Novik is a co-founder of the Organization for Transformative Works. She lives in New York City with husband and Hard Case Crime founder Charles Ardai and their daughter, Evidence, surrounded by an excessive number of purring computers.

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    Reviews for Crucible of Gold

    4/5

    402 ratings52 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Needs more character-driven plot, less jumping around like a Dirt Pitt novel. And I hate books with no ending! YUCK.
    • 3/5
      Just when you think Naomi Novik has run out of continents and cultures in her wonderful Temeraire series, she pulls out another unexpected and fully realized society for Laurence and Temeraire to explore. This time it’s Incan South America. Just when Laurence and Temeraire have accepted their exile in Australia, the British government suddenly reinstates Laurence as a captain in the Aerial Corps, to go on a critical diplomatic mission to Brazil. A shipwreck and eventual marooning cause them to take a detour through Incan territory, where they discover Napoleon's latest plot. Novik is careful not to allow the stories to become too much of the same thing, achieving this through the very different cultures Laurence and Temeraire encounter. We start off with the British method of handling dragons; they are harnessed and treated kindly, but rather more like beasts than sentient beings. Then the story shifts to China, where dragons are full citizens alongside the people. Play with that a bit, and then move to South America, where instead of people owning dragons, dragons own people! Yes, sometimes the stories read like travelogues but a travelogue in company with a 22-ton dragon is more an adventure than not.But now, some criticism. I didn’t care for where Novik takes some of her characters in this installment, and some of the plot seemed a bit forced (i.e., Napoleon shipping Tswana warriors around to fight for him as they search for their enslaved kindred). And the excitement of the earlier books is missing here—Laurence, Temeraire, and company are fun characters and their interactions are always amusing, but there isn’t a strong, driving, central motive to the story. Napoleon looms, but distantly. Still, this is an entertaining read that I finished in a day. There are a lot of loose ends left—Tharkay’s story, Edith (will she reappear? what about Jane Roland?), the fate of Emily and Demane, the whole dragons’ rights subplot that fell by the wayside a couple books back, Temeraire’s and Iskierka’s possible egg, and probably a whole host of other little things I’ve forgotten. I don’t know how Novik is going to wrap all this up in one final book, but I’m looking forward to it!
    • 4/5
      Another great book in the series. I love Temeraire's and Laurence's interaction and the general humor of the series that you only get because you've read all the previous books. The dragons are like no other dragons I have read about. Some readers have given up on the series but I can't see why. I suppose the latest books have not been as action packed as the first three books, but I find I still get just as much enjoyment out of these later books as I did the first books. I recommend the series to any dragon lover.
    • 3/5
      After repeatedly doing what they thought was moral, rather than following their orders, Laurence and Temeraire had finally broken free of the British Empire and began living a peaceful life in Australia. But alas, Laurence's dutiful nature cannot be overcome forever, and he and his draconic bff are convinced to rejoin the Aerial Service. They ship off to South America, in hopes of gaining new allies or at least, not losing their current ones.

      At this point I kinda don't know why I shouldn't be rooting for Napoleon? I mean, I've always read the Napoleonic Wars from the viewpoint of the British, so I'm predisposed to hope Napoleon loses, purely so the protagonists can win. And in real history, he ordered various atrocities--poisoning the ill to keep from holding up the baggage train, that sort of thing. But in Novik's alternate history, it is the British who use germ warfare, defend their allies' practices of slavery, and refuse to treat women, dragons, or non-white people well. Napoleon, meanwhile, seems perfectly willing to treat women, non-white people, and dragons as equal to white men. He makes treaties with African nations to help them get their enslaved fellows back. He sees no problem relying upon the brains of his female dragon, or marrying an Incan woman. I'm sure it's all part of one of his self-serving schemes, but--his allies are perfectly aware that he's using him, and they're using him back. Would it really be that bad if this alternate Napoleon won?
    • 5/5
      Laurence and Temeraire have been living in an isolated part of Australia. It has been a simple and not unpleasant life of agriculture and an odd sort of freedom. But when Hammond arrives from China with a new and unexpected mission for the two they are torn. Laurence is reinstated, but the price is that he travels at once to South America in hopes of reconciling the African dragons Napoleon has shipped over. These angry beasts are in search of their kinsman who have been stolen and shipped overseas to serve as slaves. As a staunch abolitionist, Laurence has strong sympathies with the enemy dragons but he and Temeraire hope to influence a resolution that will see many souls freed.All seems to have fallen apart when shortly after departure their ship is destroyed by a band of criminal sailors run amok. Stranded in the ocean without hope of reaching land the dragons fly to the point of exhaustion anyway. At the last possible moment they spot a transport and collapse. Alas, it is a French vessel and they are all taken captive. The French as it happens, are also headed to South America but they have a very different diplomatic mission. Deeming the enemy dragons too much of a liability the French maroon them on a desolate island without harness. It is up to the ingenuity of the remaining crew to escape the island and reach the mainland to accomplish their assignment in Rio. I loved this installment of Temeraire's story and cannot wait to read the next one!
    • 4/5
      Fading a bit. Each book seems to pull the plot further way from where I want to see it go. The last few in the series have had really strong beginnings, but middle sections that just seem to drag. I'm still really enjoying the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence, but each book just seems to point to a spot on the map and have their adventures go there, when I was much more interested in the first few books set in the UK fighting against Napoleon. Keen to read book 8 and eventually finish the series, Novik is still one of my favorite authors. 9 books in 10 years is astonishing output.
    • 4/5
      Far better than the last book in the series.

      An interesting look at new societies and new types of dragon-human relations.
    • 4/5
      On second reading, the first two-thirds of the book was kind of a slog, reminding me of the previous book in the series. It got better in the last third. It's also interesting to me that I forgot the entire plot of this book since reading it 15 months ago (and that it was *still* a slog despite that).
    • 4/5
      Laurence and Temeraire are abruptly brought out of Australia by none other than Hammond, the ambassador to China they had traveled with before. Their new assignment: to go to Brazil, where the Tswana have gone to reclaim their stolen kin, now slaves, and attempt to break up the tentative arrangement they have with Napoleon. Along the way, however, the restored Captain Laurence and his friends Granby and Iskierka are brought on board a French ship where they discover a new plot involving the Inca.After floundering a bit in the last few books, this plot picked right up with new adventures and references to older ones coming together in a compelling way. The banter and humor that I enjoy is back, and I found myself racing on to find out what would happen next. Perhaps part of my enjoyment was because it was a first read and I didn't know what was coming, but I'm very much looking forward to seeing how Novik wraps up the story in the next two books.
    • 3/5
      While Crucible is more entertaining than Serpents - things happen! There is derring do! Beards! Frenchmen! Feathered dragons! - this feels like a return to a well-established formula, which I have mixed feelings about (it's a fun formula, but formulae are why I don't like franchises). Still, it's a welcome return to form after Serpents... until we hit the third act, where Novik's narrative choices induced such rage that they spoilt my enjoyment of all the fun that had preceded them. I'll be continuing with this series only because I have excellent reading companions; left to my own devices, this soured me to the point I'd usually revert to Wikipedia recaps to see how (if) the overarching plot resolves.Full review (with spoilers)
    • 4/5
      I have become very fond of this series by Naomi Novik about the dragon Temeraire and his captain, Laurence, who fought in the Napoleonic wars. In the book before this one Temeraire and Laurence had been banished to Australia for treason. However, in this episode they have been pardoned and reinstated so that they can go to South America to help the Portuguese in Brazil. Accompanying them on the mission are the dragons Iskierka and Kulingilie and their captains plus an English diplomat. Everyone is aboard the ship Allegiance which sails across the Pacific as fast as it can. Disaster strikes when the sailors on board get into the rum ration and start a fire. The ship sinks but the dragons manage to get quite a few of the crew aloft. However, with no navigational charts the distance from the sinking to land is almost too far for the dragons when they spot a ship on the ocean. It is a French vessel bound for the Incan Empire trying to get the Incan Queen to side with them. The English surrender to the French captain who then leaves them on a remote island before they continue on their mission. Many more adventures in South America await Laurence and Temeraire so, of course, they do not stay on the island awaiting the return of the French. Read the book yourself to find out how it ends. I won’t spoil it for you.
    • 4/5
      Look, this is European history (of the Napoleonic era) reimagined with dragons woven into the fabric of battle and diplomacy. It is 100 times better than it sounds. And the dragons are some of my favorite non-human characters in any books, right up there with Hobbits.
    • 4/5
      Naomi Novik presents another chapter in her alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars with Dragons. In this imagined world the guns, germs, and steel of Western Europe weren't enough to force the global hegemony which they managed in real history.

      I think my favorite thing about this series is how seemlessly it blends the style and conventions of 19th-Century literature with modern techniques and sensibilities. There are occasionally vivid and detailed descriptions of exciting events, but just as often a scene of action will be skipped and then reflected on through dialogue and rich implication in what the characters do not say or do. Naomi writes the thoughts and feelings of a Gentleman Officer as well as a rather impulsive dragon with equal feeling and authenticity.

      I realize I haven't had much to say about this specific book in the series. I liked it. Themes from Classical Literature abound, though I don't want to spoil them by being specific. "Crucible of Gold" ties together many unresolved minor plotlines from previous entries in the series in a way that is satisfying, but definitely anticipates monumental developments in the next Temeraire book. The story includes a few worldshaking developments, but it also introduces and resolves a sufficiently important major conflict and leaves the characters in relative safety and happiness.

      If I have any complaint of this book, it is only that I wish that there were passages where the story was told from the perspective of the supporting characters. Emily Roland, specifically, has grown up over the course of these novels and become a character I wish were more fleshed out. Seeing her through the eyes of William Lawrence, her guardian, is great, but I wonder how she sees herself.
    • 2/5
      I really want to like this series, but I'm afraid the previous two entries have fallen flat with me.

      I enjoy the characters, but I don't really feel like they are progressing much. Novik is doing a good job of moving her characters around the globe and putting them in new settings. I liked the work she did w/ the Inca culture and it was nice to meet the Tswana again. Overall, however, we didn't learn much new about the characters and they didn't seem to evolve much. Sure we learned a personal secret about Granby and his relationship with Iskierka may have *finally* come to a head.

      So, overall, I'm disappointed. I'm still a big fan of Ms. Novik's work. I'll still read everything she puts out, I'm just hoping that she tries something new. I get the feeling that she's bored w/ Temeraire. More to the point, she's developed his character to the point where there is no reconciling him with the British Empire circa the Napoleonic conflicts. This is a difficult problem to solve for a series whose main selling point is putting a dragon into that time period.

      I'm hopeful, now that Temeraire has been to Australia and South America, that the series will advance in areas other than geographical. I guess we'll see when they get back to China.
    • 3/5
      I swear this book was all about how much can Lawrence and Tremeraire and still come out alive. The book starts with him getting his captain position back in order to help the Empire in Brasil. A shipwreck leaves them off course and way behind the eight ball. In the end they are alive but I thought the ending was a total surprise and jsut seemed to be a way for them to leave Brasil and the war there. I do have to say that I'm glad the series is coming to a close with only two more books. At this point they will more have earned their retirement.
    • 4/5
      I am looking forward to this book! Although the one before this was not as good as the others, the reviews of "Crucible of Gold" have been very good. I hope it lives up to my expectations.
      --------------------------
      Well, I finished a few days ago, and I think it was a worthy continuation of the series. Better than "Tongues of Serpents", but not my favorite in the series (which would be hard to pick, but maybe "Empire of Ivory"). I am looking forward to the next installment in the series!
    • 4/5
      (Completion date approx) Another pleasant combination of Jane Austen language and manners (Napoleonic War) and fantasy possibilities (dragons!).
    • 3/5
      More like 3.5 stars? I loved the earlier Temeraire books, but these last two....well, the previous one I thought was terrible, and wasn't sure I was even going to try this one. This one was...OK? I just finished listening to it, so I should probably wait a bit before I really try to say much more.
    • 4/5
      I'm divided on this series. On the one hand, I think Novik is a great writer. She's created a rich and believable alternate history of humans and dragons. Her writing is free of the bloat that plagues other fantasy series. The characters are well-drawn and I enjoy spending time with them.On the other hand, this is the second book in a row that has felt like she's just moving pieces around the chess board. It's great as worldbuilding, but not as great as a story in and of itself.I like the series too much to give up on it. I just wish the books were more self-contained.
    • 4/5
      Will Lawrence and his dragon (or the other way around) Temeraire, are summoned back into the British Navy to stop Napoleon's seemingly endless victories. A bit darker in tone than the previous novels, yet again a breathless adventure from the outback to South America - and beyond.
    • 5/5
      Very exciting. They go to South America and the natives fair much better in this world than in ours. There is a shipwreck, being held captive, escape, and in the end it is back to China.
    • 4/5
      We're entering the third act of the Temeraire series and things are starting to come to a head. William Laurence has been restored to the list and sent on a mission that will change everything for England. The resulting series of events is as full of wit as it is of adventure. The world and the characters continue to be developed wonderfully. Although I wouldn't recommend that readers begin anywhere but the beginning with this series, it continues to be perfect for fans of the Aubrey-Maturin series who also enjoy fantasy.
    • 4/5
      Quite possibly my favourite of the series so far--exciting and game-changing and giving me the depth I wanted from the world. And it promises great things to come in the last couple of books. Writing honestly about this era in human history is a tricky balance, even--or maybe especially--in a speculative fiction series, and I think she handles it reasonably well here.
    • 2/5
      Better than the previous book, but still didn't have a focus. I enjoy the characters very much, particularly dour, straight-laced Lawrence, and I enjoyed each little adventure, but it seems more like a string of beads than a novel.
    • 4/5
      I don't think anything will top the first three Temeraire books, but the around-the-world adventures continue to be entertaining. I particularly enjoy the various examples of different ways humans and dragons can live successfully together, and, in this case, two starkly contrasted views on people-as-property. I remain a little eager to see things properly wrapped up - I much prefer a series to a serial - but I'll keep reading Temeraire for a while yet.
    • 4/5
      The latest in the Temeraire Dragon series has brought Laurence and his Celestial dragon back to the British Aerial Corps so that they can attempt to win the support of the Incan empire in South America away from Napoleon. Their adventure is fraught with dangers and difficulties as well as jealousies among the dragons but the character development and revelations carry the reader on to the new world with an entertaining style. Can't wait for the next book!
    • 4/5
      An entertaining read. This series has never really matched its beginning novel. But it's light and readable and the characters have been allowed to change with experience.
    • 4/5
      Naomi Novik continues the ongoing adventures of Temeraire and her rider, Captain Will Laurence, in Crucible of Gold. Crucible of Gold introduces a twist that some readers may find upsetting: some of the riders are themselves slightly twisted. While there is nothing overt in the book, when faced with the prospect of marriage to the Incan ruler, Captain John Granby reveals that he would be incapable of fulfilling his marital duties as he prefers men. That’s as far as it goes. I would still consider the rest of the book YA acceptable.The good news, for those wrapped up in Temeraire’s saga, is her captain has been reinstated into the corps. They, and the usual companion dragons, are sent to South America to compete with Napoleon for an allegiance with the Inca Empire. Along the way, there is the usual squabbling between the dragons, escapes from rough spots and the continuing rivalry between the French and British forces.If you have been following the series, you will enjoy this addition. If you are jumping into this alternate world, you may not appreciate the humor of the dragon squabbling and will certainly be at a loss over some of the human rivalries. Better to go back to the beginning, His Majesty’s Dragon, or at least a few books back. Naomi Novik still maintains her excellent writing style with concise descriptions that still tell you everything you need to know, witty dialog and well developed characters. Putting this all together, I have no hesitation awarding four stars to Crucible of Gold.
    • 3/5
      Just when you think Naomi Novik has run out of continents and cultures in her wonderful Temeraire series, she pulls out another unexpected and fully realized society for Laurence and Temeraire to explore. This time it’s Incan South America. Just when Laurence and Temeraire have accepted their exile in Australia, the British government suddenly reinstates Laurence as a captain in the Aerial Corps, to go on a critical diplomatic mission to Brazil. A shipwreck and eventual marooning cause them to take a detour through Incan territory, where they discover Napoleon's latest plot. Novik is careful not to allow the stories to become too much of the same thing, achieving this through the very different cultures Laurence and Temeraire encounter. We start off with the British method of handling dragons; they are harnessed and treated kindly, but rather more like beasts than sentient beings. Then the story shifts to China, where dragons are full citizens alongside the people. Play with that a bit, and then move to South America, where instead of people owning dragons, dragons own people! Yes, sometimes the stories read like travelogues but a travelogue in company with a 22-ton dragon is more an adventure than not.But now, some criticism. I didn’t care for where Novik takes some of her characters in this installment, and some of the plot seemed a bit forced (i.e., Napoleon shipping Tswana warriors around to fight for him as they search for their enslaved kindred). And the excitement of the earlier books is missing here—Laurence, Temeraire, and company are fun characters and their interactions are always amusing, but there isn’t a strong, driving, central motive to the story. Napoleon looms, but distantly. Still, this is an entertaining read that I finished in a day. There are a lot of loose ends left—Tharkay’s story, Edith (will she reappear? what about Jane Roland?), the fate of Emily and Demane, the whole dragons’ rights subplot that fell by the wayside a couple books back, Temeraire’s and Iskierka’s possible egg, and probably a whole host of other little things I’ve forgotten. I don’t know how Novik is going to wrap all this up in one final book, but I’m looking forward to it!
    • 4/5
      At the end of "Tongues of Serpents" Will Laurence had passed through his personal slough of despond and regained his equilibrium and sense of direction; just in time for Novik to send Will and Temeraire on another desperate mission. The British government being hard-pressed enough to stave off a Franco-Tsawana invasion of Brazil that they're prepared to recall our insubordinate duo to service.What ensues is one disaster after another, but the difference is that Laurence is now prepared to make choices that fit the facts on the ground and make them stick. The question remains as to what will stave off victory by Napolelon, and this means another adventure for our heroes; adventure being defined as someone in trouble a long ways from home.