Storyline: 2/5 
 Characters: 3/5 
 Writing Style: 3/5 
 World: 3/5 
 Novik's second (view spoiler)[alternate history, dragon (hide spoiler)] novel continues along the foundations established in the first, both substantively and stylistically. Readers continuing with the series get more on the implications of the last book's events and a measured dose on dragondom. It is this measuring out that makes the books so systematically neat. That discipline means that Novik commits few errors but also that she rarely surprises. A perfectly capable book with a perfectly capable author, I somehow still came away wishing for something less generic - a surprising complaint given the book's (view spoiler)[Napoleonic-era, dragon fantasy, (hide spoiler)] identity. I have an upper-elementary school age daughter to whom I'm going to recommend these. If she likes them and wants to read on with the series, I'll join her for the shared experience. If not, then I'll be perfectly happy to withdraw from Temeraire and with no hard feelings.