Empire of Ivory
core novel 2007 Temeraire
Record
| First published | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.99 (34,791 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 416 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345496874 |
| Internal chronology | 4 |
Synopsis
Empire of Ivory picks up the Temeraire series after Black Powder War, as Laurence and Temeraire return to Britain to find a flu-like epidemic has spread through much of the nation's dragon population, with British science unable to produce a cure. Because Temeraire previously survived a version of the illness, the pair are sent to southern Africa in search of a remedy, traveling with other dragons including Iskierka, Lily and Maximus, alongside missionary Rev. Josiah Erasmus, his wife Hannah, and the African boys Demane and Sipho. Their search for a cure near Mosi-oa-Tunya brings them into conflict with the Tswana people and their dragons, whose resistance to the slave trade and distinct spiritual beliefs make them formidable opponents, leaving the British expedition to navigate a volatile situation while Captain Harcourt, who is pregnant, faces particular hardship among the captured members of the party.
Where it sits
- Universe: Temeraire
- Series: Temeraire core; position 4 of 9 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Naomi Novik
Notes
- From the series record (Temeraire): 9-novel completed historical-fantasy sequence (2006-2016): the Napoleonic Wars in a world where an intelligent-dragon aerial corps supplements every nation's military. One continuous linear narrative; publication order equals in-story order. Unusual debut cadence: the first three novels were all published in 2006 (Del Rey rapid-succession launch).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Temeraire: position 4 of 9: previous Black Powder War (2006) · next Victory of Eagles (2008)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temeraire_(series)
- https://www.sfadb.com/Naomi_Novik
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Ivory
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