I have read a lot of books about dragons- see my entire "dragon books" goodreads shelf- but this one has some delightful elements I've never read before. It begins with an English's Navy ship's capture of a French vessel during the Napoleonic Wars. Captain William Laurence is at first delighted when he learns that the captured ship was carrying a prized dragon egg; then he is dismayed, when he learns how near it is to hatching. To be considered "tame" a dragon must be named and harnessed by a human before it's first feeding; the human who does this will be paired with the dragon for life, and during war-time serve in the Air Corp of his majesty's army. Laurence has no desire to upend his successful Navy life for an entirely new (and less respected) branch of the military- but he is the one chosen by the dragonet, who he names Temeraire. This is the beginning of a growing friendship, a coming of age, and a deepening education for them both. They are eventually assigned to re-training at a distant Scottish dragon covet. I loved the scenes of their practices and maneuvers, and the fact that a military dragon in this world is staffed by an entire crew. Aside from the captain, each dragon has a signal-flagger, a medic, bombers, gunmen, runners, a team of harnessers and more. These dragon fights are more like high-speed tall-ship battles in the air than like two eagles clawing at each other. Well researched and very engaging, with the emotional relationship of humans and dragons at it's heart. Laurence would not have chosen Temeraire, but once Temeraire has chosen him, his life is changed forever.