2019/28: Tongue of Serpents -- Naomi Novik

Whatever they might think of Temeraire's personal habits of free-thinking, these they generally credited, Laurence knew, to his own account: when, he was dryly amused to think, the reverse was by far the truth of the matter. [p. 122]

In which Temeraire and Laurence go to Australia.

After a deeply unpleasant voyage, and a brief stopover in Van Diemen's Land (where the deposed governor of the New South Wales colony, one Captain Bligh, fails to impress with his suggestion that Temeraire could help him recover his place), Laurence and his crew have the task of setting up a new covert or breeding-ground near Sydney. For this purpose they have brought three dragon eggs with them. Laurence is unimpressed by a great many things, including but not limited to the misery of the colony; the mutineers who've displaced Bligh; and the presence of Rankin, last seen being vile in Temeraire, who is to be given one of the eggs.

It is with relief that the crew -- with the eggs, for safety -- embark on an expedition to set up a cattle-drive road through the Blue Mountains. Except that is not their only goal: Tharkay is keen to discover how Chinese goods are being smuggled into Sydney. But then one of the eggs is stolen, and despite the perils of the unexplored continent (men disappearing, venomous vermin, et cetera) they must pursue and rescue it.

On the journey the remaining egg hatches; they encounter bunyips and natives; and when they finally reach the egg's destination, they are astonished to find ... well. It is, I can guarantee, quite divergent from our own history (and in many ways rather delightful, whatever Laurence and company might think of it).

There's a strong sense of the wider world despite Laurence and Temeraire being exiled to this remote corner of it. Letters from Jane and Perscitia describe the situation back in Europe: a chance-met American trader reveals the onslaught of the Tswana, as well as a few tantalising glimpses of how differently America has developed in a world with dragons: and the Chinese are much less isolationist.

But this is far from my favourite in the series: I started reading it when I was unwell, and that may have affected my opinion, but it didn't feel as much fun as previous volumes. Although the travelogue aspects are interesting, and the natural hazards of the journey provide some obstacles, there's little that is new in Temeraire's relationship with Laurence. Until the end, which feels like a false dawn: the series could easily stop there, albeit with a great many untidy threads.

Still: being unwell meant lounging around reading, o woe!