Temeraire!

[tenlittlebullets]

On a more cheerful note than the last post, I'm reading the first Temeraire novel at lightning speed and it is joyously wonderful. The back of the book has some quote from a review claiming it's like "Jane Austen playing Dungeons and Dragons with Christopher Paolini." Now, I realize that those reviews need to refer to authors that the readers will have actually heard of, else they're not going to end up on the back cover to help sell the book, but that comparison makes it sound like chick-lit written by a derivative SF/F hack. So I propose this one instead:

Patrick O'Brian and J.K. Rowling sit down together to collaborate on a novel. JKR is all "I've had enough of this wizard shit, I just want to write about dragons now," and POB still wants to write about the Napoleonic Wars, and so Susanna Clarke pokes her head in the door and says, "You can do both, you know." And so they write an AU of the Napoleonic Wars with an air force of dragons, and JKR does the worldbuilding and POB does the research and writes the actual prose. That is Temeraire.

In other words, everyone reading this post needs to go out and read it NOW.

Comments

[mmebahorel.livejournal.com]

I can't do it right now - does tomorrow work for everyone else? :)

[mmejavert.livejournal.com]

I'll bring you the first four this weekend. :) Not honestly sure I'll finish the fifth, too, by that time.

[bubonicwoodchuk.livejournal.com]

Yes! Temeraire is amazing.

[toi-marguerite.livejournal.com]

Aw, I love Temeraire.

Also, there's a Luftanza flight from Dulles to Paris on the 26th of August. do you want to fly up together?

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Let me check with my parents, but I think that'd work. Is there a deal or discount on the flight?

The 26th would be nice, we'd have a couple extra days to run around Paris being nerdy.

[toi-marguerite.livejournal.com]

Um, it's the cheapest one I found that arrives within three days of when we have to be there. ^^;;;

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, how much is it? I found a British Airways one on studentuniverse.com that leaves from Dulles on the 26th and is $695 with taxes and fees.

[toi-marguerite.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I didn't get any lj notification. >.< Lj, why do you do these things to me?

Is that round trip or one-way? The Luftansa one is $368.96 ($249.86 + $119.10 taxes & fees) one-way. Copy-pasted info:

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Depart: Dulles Intl, Washington, DC, US (IAD) @ 5:29PM
Arrive: Ch. De Gaulle, Paris, FR (CDG) @ 6:55AM
Thursday, August 27, 2009

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

o_O What site did you find your ticket on? I looked at that flight on the Lufthansa website and it told me a one-way ticket was $2025.

[toi-marguerite.livejournal.com]

Wha? I found it on Student Universe.... That's strange....

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Ah-haaaa, I see. I was going through the Lufthansa website. Oh Student Universe, you got me a $1700 discount on plane fare. ♥

I'll check with my parents and such but I think I'll be going on that one. :D Thanks for showing it to me!

[toi-marguerite.livejournal.com]

Um, have you heard back from your parents? Mine want to try and book my tickets this weekend.

[toi-marguerite.livejournal.com]

Actually, problem: the Luftansa flight is now out of tickets. Here's one at the same time, but with United-- United Airlines
Flight 914 Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Depart: Dulles Intl, Washington, DC, US (IAD) @ 5:29PM
Arrive: Ch. De Gaulle, Paris, FR (CDG) @ 6:55AM
Thursday, August 27, 2009

Would this one be ok too?

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Sounds good. It's probably the same flight, actually; I'm guessing UA is codesharing with Lufthansa. In any event, my parents have given the OK and I just bought my ticket.

Should we try to book a room in a hostel or hotel now, for the night of the 27th?

[brittlesmile.livejournal.com]

... Oooh, I think I need to read these. And, fortunately, they have them in my library!