Most historical fiction authors either ignore these horrors or revel in them, neither of which is ideal. That’s not to say the modern day is anything close to sunshine and roses, but at least the worst excesses of the past like overt colonialism and imperialism tend to be frowned on. Anti-ColonialismĪ challenge for anyone looking to write historical fiction is that, in human terms, history is a nightmare. That said, let’s look at what Novik does well. The real world is incredibly complicated, and every change an author introduces will ripple out in ways that are difficult to predict. In some writing circles, there’s a perception that this is easier than the kind of worldbuilding practiced by Tolkien or Lewis, but I assure you it isn’t.

She’s not constructing an entire world from scratch but implementing how her speculative elements will affect her chosen time period. The Temeraire books are alternate-history fantasy, so Novik has a very different job than an author of high fantasy or space opera does. But what about the worldbuilding? Does it pass muster, or will it go down like a sinking French frigate? I’m a big fan of these books, especially the affectionate bond between protagonist Lawrence and his scrappy dragon companion, the titular Temeraire. That means flintlock muskets, ships of the line, great serpents sweeping the sky, and, of course, comedy based on upper-crust Georgian social etiquette. That’s right: Temeraire is a Napoleonic Wars story with dragons. Her setting doesn’t have a fancy name because it’s set on our very own Earth, circa early 19th century, with a few speculative elements thrown in. That’s why today we’re dissecting the worldbuilding in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. We often think of worldbuilding in terms of creating entire new worlds from the ground up, but there are other options.

Temeraire by naomi novik