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The final book in the Fever Crumb Trilogy tries to gather the messy threads of its predecessors into a coherent plot, but doesn't manage to pull it off at all. Worse, the audiobook version has a truly atrocious reader that makes listening to the repetitive and laborious plot an absolute chore.

This book finally gives us more of Temeraire's own perspectives on life and the world, and showcases a strong bout of character development that had been previously somewhat slower to evolve. Likewise with Laurence, who must finally confront the inherent conflict between his inner morality and the damning ethics of his country. At the same time, there are deeper moral and ethical questions at work alongside a rather thrilling series of battles. All backed by the repugnance of the British Lords and commanders. Even in those moments where I became a little annoyed with the story, I found myself quickly turned around by strong plot choices and a balance of action and consequence.

The first portion of this book is a bit muddled, but the story flows well from hooks planted two books earlier. Again, we get another major culture and their treatment of dragons, and we finally address one of the most glaring problems of the story's timeline: the slave trade out of Africa. There's a lot to like here, even if some of the story goes a bit slow, and other moments feel a little too contrived.

The sense of movement in the plot is greatly aided by the vast range of landscapes through which the characters pass in the third Temeraire novel. We finally get some major land combat, and the story further highlights the differences between how the various cultures treat their dragon populations (it's no surprise that China continues to come out ahead). We also get our first true taste of the French, which is nice as they've been a relatively distant foe thus far. While this story is heavily action-focused, it maintains a powerful consideration of social norms, power dynamics, and the inhernet stupidity of human beings.

The second book in the Temeraire series brings us to China, with an excellent juxtaposition of Chinese culture and custom to the unhappy state of affairs in England. Lawrence is able to develop more as a character, and we finally start to see Temeraire himself have a stronger personality. Excellent subtle philosophy and political analysis at work behind the scenes, and far better action-sequences overall than what were presented in the first book. If the central battle is somewhat over-the-top, it is to be at least forgiven for its sense of unending ruthlessness.

The second entry in the Fever Crumb Trilogy is a reasonable offering, though it tries to do too much with too little. There's a steady flow of adventure, and while Fever remains a relatively uninteresting character, she gets herself into enough interesting situations that it's all okay. A bit of a mixed plate with her relationship arc, which didn't commit strongly enough to any of the options the writer had available (and which the relationship of book three doesn't nearly come close to sorting out).

Overall, a fair read if you're a fan of the original series.

While nowhere near as strong as the original series, the brevity of the book works in its favor, offering a shorter form tale for what is a much thinner plot. It's worth a read for fans of the main series.

The second book in this quartet, Predator's Gold continues the tale of Hester Shaw and Tom Natsworthy, as they find themselves traveling to the far north of the world where a half-dead city trundles its way toward an uncertain future. The story is just as snappy and gripping as the first, but manages to offer even more character depth, intensity, fun, and heart-wrenching twists.

There are plenty of far-future stories set long after the demise of the world we know, but few as delightful, provocative, stirring, and clever as Mortal Engines. Centered on two young people, one gripped by a desire for revenge, the other swept up in her wake, the tale takes place in a fantastical landscape of moving cities that is somehow completely believable and easy to imagine. There's adventure, terror, joy, and woe: and the tale always moves in the most unexpected of ways.

Tina Fey's a huge personality and one of those social icons almost everyone has at least heard of, so diving into her perception of herself, and the world she inhabits, is fascinating in the extreme. She's led an interesting life in the arts, interacting with intersections of bizarre and brilliant people, as well as terrible and polished people. She highlights moments from her life with scathing, witty humor that speaks to her experience as a professional SNL comedian, but her wit is frequently turned inwards, and this ability to poke fun at herself makes her at-once relatable and likable. I don't always agree with her views in life, but I sure appreciate her opinions.