201
J'ai aussi l'impression qu'ils ont changé le titre français. Et c'est un peu dommage, surtout que l'illustration dans le médaillon ne correspond plus au titre. :rolleyes:

209
...ce Black Power War est sans doute le meilleur tome des trois...
... nous disait Gillossen dans sa critique. Et je ne peux qu'opiner du bonnet. Effectivement, ce troisième tome gagne en consistance et en intensité. Le côté dramatique est largement renforcé, et malgré les petits "défauts" déjà présents dans les deux premiers volumes, quand ça démarre, on a du mal à poser le bouquin.Dans sa première partie, du très classique, avec ce lent retour à travers l'Asie centrale, qui est cependant loin d'être inintéressant :
► Afficher le texte
Second tiers, Istambul donc, qui est de loin la partie qui m'a le moins convaincue :
► Afficher le texte
Dernière partie, la plus savoureuse, l'opposition à la Grande Armée :
► Afficher le texte
A l'arrivée, beaucoup de bonnes choses donc, et la relation dragon-capitaine-équipage s'étoffe encore. Les questionnements de Temeraire, s'ils paraissent simples, demeurent fondamentaux et ajoutent une consistance à cette oeuvre que je suis avec un plaisir sans cesse croissant.

211
Une petite remarque omise hier (merci la citation du jour :)) : le changement de titre "Par les chemins de la soie" en lieu et place de "Le bruit des canons" est une bien mauvaise inspiration de la part de l'éditeur :(, on était quand même beaucoup plus dans le sujet principal avec le titre initial.

212
Mon avis sur ce 3ième tome est assez semblable à celui de Pumila. ^^J'ai beaucoup apprécié toute la première partie "voyage", en raison des points évoqués par Pumila, et aussi à travers les réflexions de Téméraire, ses discussions avec Laurence, etc. J'ai retrouvé ce que j'avais adoré dans la première moitié du tome 2: tout les petits moments de la vie de l'équipage de Téméraire, les découvertes, les drames et les moments d'humour.Le second tiers est effectivement moins intéressant. Ca se rapproche de ce que nos héros ont déjà vécu quelques temps plus tôt...Mais la dernière partie... Quel régal! Je l'ai lu d'une seule traite et je rejoins en tout point l'avis de Pumila à ce sujet (et oui, encore! ^^).Vraiment, cette saga ne démérite pas d'un tome à l'autre. Je suis toujours aussi attachée à Téméraire et à son capitaine, et prête à les suivre encore longtemps si la qualité des intrigues et de la narration se maintient à un tel niveau! Et ça fait longtemps que je n'ai pas connu un enthousiasme aussi persistant et régulier à l'égard d'une série (d'ordinaire, il y a des hauts et des bas en fonction des volumes). Longue vie aux Dragons de sa Majesté! ;)

213
Content de voir que ta réaction recoupe la mienne :). Et je vois également que je ne suis pas le seul à avoir particulièrement apprécié la première partie du second tome. Je me rends d'ailleurs compte (faut du temps pour que ça monte au cerveau :o) que les tomes II et III sont exactement fichus pareils : voyage-recentrage de l'intrigue-final, même si j'ai trouvé le final du III bien supérieur à celui du II. Curieux de voir si le quatrième volume est ficelé de la même façon. Au fait, sait-on si Le Pré au clercs gardera le même rythme de parution, ce qui nous ferait un quatrième volume pour le dernier trimestre 2008 ?

214
J'ai fini tard dans la nuit ce troisième tome!Pour la première partie, ça n'a pas raté : je me suis dit "l'auteur va pas recommencé". Et alors que l'ennui allait à nouveau pointer le bout de son nez (après le tome 2), la première partie se finissait et les choses sérieuses allaient commencer. Tout en douceur, au début. Contrairement aux autres, la seconde partie m'a bien accroché avec ses intrigues politiques.Et enfin, la troisième partie commençait... Je me suis alors rappeler pourquoi j'aimais cette série. Parce qu'une fois la seconde partie entamée, pas la peine d'essayer de lâcher le livre, vous n'y arriveriez pas! Plus sombre, cette partie est un véritable régal et laisse présager que le meilleur est encore à venir. franchement, je l'espère, car quand l'auteur lâche ses chevaux (ce qu'elle fait un peu trop rarement à mon goût), et bien ça déchirrrrreeeee graaaavvvvvvvveeeee!Concernant le changement de titre, je trouve ça un peu dommage. Le nouveau titre désigne plus la première moitié du bouquin (la moins sympa) tandis que l'autre, vous l'aurez compris, désigne la partie la plus réussie!Zedd

215
1ere critique disponible :
SF Review a écrit :With all the attention that has been lavished upon this series in its brief existence — indeed, it's hard to believe it premiered just two short years ago — it's gratifying to see that it hasn't caused Naomi Novik to lose focus. To go from one's debut to superstardom in such a short time, let alone to draw the attention (and the option money) of Peter Jackson into the bargain, could understandably throw anyone off balance, affecting the work for good or ill. But not Novik. This unassuming Manhattanite, who enjoys such modest activities as actually traveling to the many exotic locales in her books just to get her research right, has steadfastly stuck to her storytelling guns. Her fifth Temeraire adventure is no less invigorating and filled with spectacle than her first four. Perhaps the reason such consistent quality in fantasy series fiction is so rare is that, among the writers who stay good, the undiluted passion for "story über alles" simply suffuses every page, whereas in the series that quickly tread water, the sense that the writer has lost his way, is just pandering to fans, or lazily cashing a paycheck is just as obvious. Victory of Eagles brings the saga, finally, to the ultimate confrontation between Britain and Napoleon towards which it's been building for two years. Napoleon has landed on England's shores, and all bets are off. Story synopsis can in fact be easily gotten out of the way with little to no risk of spoilers (though, as with all series fiction, there will inescapably be spoilers herein for previous novels). There are, in fact, two wars in play in this story: the main conflict between England and France, and the internal conflict Will Laurence suffers over the consequences of his treasonous acts at the end of Empire of Ivory. Laurence still believes his choice was the moral one, but its ramifications, not merely to himself but to his country in a brutal war they could all too easily lose, weigh heavily upon him.Separated from Laurence (who has naturally been tried for treason and condemned) and believing him dead, Temeraire is languishing in the breeding pens with all the useless nags past their prime, who have lost their captains and been put out to pasture. Temeraire cuts through their petty cliquishness and bickering and, with success that is perhaps a little too fast to be entirely convincing, turns these unharnessed dragons into a fighting force all their own, striking out against the French with Temeraire himself as their commander. But Laurence has survived the wreckage of the ship that was returning him across the Channel in irons. And he is given a temporary stay of execution if he is willing to bring Temeraire, with his rare talent for the devastating Divine Wind roar, back down to London for the decisive showdown with Bonaparte, who has occupied the capital where he has the luxury to dig in and wait until the British forces and their dragons are simply too starved for supplies to put up effective resistance. With the entirety of its action confined to England (in contrast to the globetrotting of the previous three books), Victory of Eagles builds its narrative with great deliberation, though the story is never lacking for solid action. For most of its length, Novik keeps the focus of the plot squarely on Laurence and Temeraire — the former weighing his feelings of guilt against his implacable notions of honor and duty, and the latter's own regret once he learns just what Laurence has lost, and his dismay at being unable to break through the defensive line of Laurence's sullen and grave demeanor. The bond between captain and dragon can never be broken. But there are some crises that Laurence has to work through himself, where Temeraire simply cannot help.Enveloping all this are the richly developed supporting characters fans of the series have come to love, and the textured and believable alternate-history world Novik has established for them. Again we meet such colorful figures as the childish and impetuous little fire-breather Iskierka, her long-suffering captain Granby, the enigmatic traveler Tharkay. Laurence reunites with some members of his family, only to realize painfully that they are brazenly being used by the French to emphasize their "gratitude" for his crimes and, in effect, tie his noose tighter (as French raiding parties strip the English countryside of livestock and provisions, Laurence's father's estate is ostentatiously left untouched). And if much of the emotional turmoil that darkens the lives of our heroes seems a bit too heavy, Novik's gift for showmanship saves the day, climaxing the novel with perhaps the most electrifying battle scene this side of the ending of Martin's A Clash of Kings or the middle of Erikson's Memories of Ice. Naomi Novik has not sounded a wrong note yet in this sweeping, lustrous saga, and with at least one more volume to go, it doesn't appear as if she'll be starting soon. Still a glorious series whose future status as a genre classic is now assured, this exciting fifth installment proves it will take a lot more than ruthless war, disease, a hostile government at home, and a megalomaniacal tyrant over the horizon to put Will Laurence and his valiant Temeraire down.

216
Bon...Cette fois, c'est notre camarade Pat qui vient de le terminer ! :)
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist a écrit :I was really looking forward to the fifth Temeraire book, Victory of Eagles. Using the Napoleonic Wars as a backdrop for her series, Naomi Novik injected some new life into the oldest cliché of the fantasy genre -- the dragons. Temeraire/His Majesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, and Black Powder War earned the author the coveted John W. Campbell Award. Writing with unmistakable flair, Novik created something truly special. And though expectations were high, Empire of Ivory was everything it needed to be, and Novik set the bar even higher for what was to come.Following the events at the end of Empire of Ivory, Will Laurence has been jailed for treason. For his part, Temeraire has been consigned to the breeding grounds in Wales. Having consolidated his stranglehold on the rest of Europe, Napoleon is now ready to begin his invasion of Great Britain. When the time finally comes, no one can stop the French forces from crossing the English Channel and planting the eagle standard on British soil. While Admiral Nelson and his ships are away to deal with Copenhagen, it appears that nothing can stop Napoleon from conquering England. Laurence's prison ship is sunk during the initial attack, and he washes ashore in the vicinity of Dover. A traitor and a fugitive, he'll begin a desperate search for his dragon companion. Unhappy with the dreadfully boring life of the breeding grounds while a war is being fought, Temeraire will rally a disparate band of dragons to fend off the invaders. Once reunited with his dragon, Laurence is given the chance to die in battle, or else be hung if he somehow manages to survive. But Temeraire has other plans for his captain. . .Similar to each new season of Survivor, it appears that Naomi Novik means to visit different locales in every Temeraire installment. In Victory of Eagles the author takes us to Wales, Scotland, and all over the English countryside. I found it very ingenious how Novik tackles the logistics involved in having dragons around.As was the case with its predecessors, Victory of Eagles builds on various existing storylines. We begin to see how Temeraire's time in China has influenced his way of thinking, and it has surprising repercussions in this book. On the downside, the novel doesn't echo with as much depth as Empire of Ivory. I felt that the fourth volume took the series up a notch or two, but in some regards Victory of Eagles doesn't follow through with as much panache.Although Novik's latest is as fun and entertaining as the previous four Temeraire novels, there seems to be a few hints that the series might be losing a little steam. To say that Victory of Eagles is disappointing would be a lie. And yet, with Novik "graduating" to hardcover in North America, I must conceded that I was expecting more. After five volumes, the originality which so took the genre by storm a while back is starting to wear off a bit. Hence, I feel that the author must really kick it into gear and bring the series to a new level. Otherwise, for all its originality, I'm afraid that these books could become more or less formulaic and episodic in style and tone, which is a concern I've had from the start. In addition, the short length of each novel might become an issue now that they will henceforth be published in hardback.Now, Naomi Novik has demonstrated time and again that she has quite a few surprises up her sleeve. So I'm convinced that she can up her game in the next volume. In all honesty, though, I feel that the sixth installment could make or break the series. Oh, most of us are hooked, and we'll keep on reading regardless. But the next one should tell us if we're looking forward to a proliferation of sequels whose pertinence could be put into question, or if Laurence and Temeraire will remain the most interesting, if unlikely, duo in fantasy.Victory of Eagles is another good read, but it doesn't quite live up to the expectations generated by Empire of Ivory.

217
Oui, j'ai lu ça ce matin aussi, et il semble trouver que la série s'essouffle légèrement ; espérons que Novik saura se renouveler. :)Quand à moi, faut vraiment que j'arrive à me trouver un peu de temps pour lire cette saga, ça me tente beaucoup. :)

218
Bon, je l'ai lu en diagonale en tachant d'éviter de me faire trop spoiler. La qualité générale semble être un cran en dessous des précédents, même si la critique est très loin d'être négative. Il en faudra plus pour me décourager. Et ce que Pat dit du quatrième volume ne fait qu'accroître mon impatience. Et toujours aucune date pour le 4 en VF…

220
Merci pour le l'info :). Je l'espérais pour cette période là, vu le rythme du Pré aux Clercs. Hier, je n'avais pas trouvé de date, tu as vraiment des antennes partout ! Vivement septembre alors…