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Temeraire #1.5

Feast or Famine

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Breakfast in Dover, with complications.

Set between the events of His Majesty’s Dragon and Throne of Jade.

7 pages, ebook

First published June 6, 2006

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About the author

Naomi Novik

94 books36.9k followers
An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers. Her website is at naominovik.com

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Community Reviews

5 stars
231 (25%)
4 stars
360 (38%)
3 stars
296 (32%)
2 stars
28 (3%)
1 star
9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
Profile Image for YouKneeK.
666 reviews95 followers
June 10, 2017
This was a light-hearted and fun short story that the author says takes place between books 1 and 2 of the Temeraire series. Temeraire and Maximus want breakfast, but the people who feed them haven’t come to work yet and they don’t want to wake up their tired crews so they try to get it themselves. Minor chaos ensues.

I doubt this would be very entertaining if one isn’t already familiar with the characters, but I enjoyed it. It can be read for free here.
Profile Image for Fani.
182 reviews24 followers
August 1, 2016
“It cannot be very difficult,” Temeraire said thoughtfully. “It takes them hardly the work of a moment to get it open.”

You might think that such a short story about dragons having their breakfast will not be interesting, but the author even in this small story has managed to provide entertainment.

Apparently, when dragons are left alone even for a while, they can definitely make a mess.
Profile Image for Sarah.
19 reviews104 followers
September 28, 2017
An amusing, fun, short story between His Majesty's Dragon and Throne of Jade.
Short story shorter, Temeraire and Maximus get into some trouble involving a gate, an animal pen, some sheep and some cows.
Could also be called: Temeraire and Maximus Just Wanted Breakfast
It is very short so it is well worth the few minutes it takes to read it.
Profile Image for Book Haunt.
194 reviews41 followers
April 4, 2017
Blurb: Breakfast in Dover, with complications.

Dragons can be very clever when they’re hungry!

Set between the events of His Majesty’s Dragon and Throne of Jade, Feast or Famine is an amusing side jaunt along the way. Mention of the happenings in this story are made in Throne of Jade so if you don’t read it going in you will want to on the way out.

You can find this short story at naominovik.com
Profile Image for Manisha.
516 reviews101 followers
October 26, 2017
When the riders are away... The dragons logically contemplate the best way to have breakfast without bothering anyone.

This was a short, sweet moment between Temeraire and Maximus as they try to get their own food. It doesn't sound like much, but because I have a soft spot for these two dragons, I found it entertaining.
Profile Image for As You Wish.
825 reviews28 followers
March 7, 2023
Short & sweet glimpse into just how brilliant Temeraire is, learning to open the gate to the sheep pen when no one's around to help him to breakfast. I like his utter consternation that opening the gate isn't enough as all animals escape, and then how the old veteran knows how to handle it and rallies his wing to herd them all back.
Profile Image for Siobhan.
290 reviews59 followers
October 15, 2017
Funny! A great expansion of an event mentioned in Throne of Jade.
Those dragons are so darned cute...! :)
Profile Image for Ewa.
536 reviews34 followers
Read
November 26, 2025
to były dosłownie cztery strony treści. Może i zabawne, ale nie rozumiem dlaczego dostały swój oddzielny tom... nie oceniam
Profile Image for Jon.
447 reviews5 followers
August 26, 2013
This short story, freely available on the web, is a cute little slice-of-life tale of Temeraire in the covert. I was skeptical that Novik could pack much into fewer than 2000 words, but it was enough to bring a smile to my face.

No humans appear in the story, which made me think about how throughout the series, Novik has done such a good job of providing the dragon point of view that I forgot how much I usually hate reading things from the viewpoint of non-humanoids.
Profile Image for Anna.
217 reviews72 followers
December 14, 2014
Very funny and amusing story, even though it is really, really short. It features Temeraire and Maximus as they try to get their breakfast without smashing down cattle shed and everything around it. It's especially interesting to see their attempts to understand mechanics of human contructions, gates in particular.
Profile Image for Emma Rose.
1,417 reviews71 followers
August 7, 2013
Very amusing and heartwarming (though not so much for the sheep and cows!) short story, I really loved this. It's easily available on the author's website. She can really capture Temeraire's voice in just a few words.
Profile Image for DayDreamer.
529 reviews70 followers
November 14, 2015
Still, he would not for the world distress Laurence by behaving badly. As always, the thought of his captain woke a secret glow of deep, proprietary satisfaction; he spared a moment to rub his nose over the great pearl-and-sapphire pendant which he wore, Laurence’s gift.
Profile Image for Christina Tihala.
53 reviews108 followers
March 9, 2014
This is a pretty funny and heartwarming story! I love it when Novik writes from Temeraire’s point of view!
1,646 reviews54 followers
September 13, 2021
Free to read here.

A cute extra, set after the events of His Majesty's Dragon. It's too short to count as an actual book, but I'm glad it was catalogued here, so I would know it existed. It's a nice little story from Temeraire's point of view - a morning misadventure where he and another hungry dragon accidentally set loose the herd of cows and sheep that serve as their meals.

I don't know if any of the books in this series have sections told from the dragon's perspective, but I would like to see a bit more of that - the little glimpses of his thoughts about Laurence were quite nice, and it'd be great to explore that further.
Profile Image for Robert Negut.
245 reviews10 followers
August 18, 2017
This is such a short story that it feels odd to even rate, not to mention write something as well, but since it ended up on Goodreads and it actually does involve the characters from the Temeraire series, I guess I might as well.
One particularly nice thing about it is that it only involves dragons, so the human filth otherwise marring the series doesn't get in the way here. Other than that, pretty funny while definitely staying in character and making sense, so it could have simply been a short scene in one of the books. That's pretty much all I can say.
Profile Image for V.
99 reviews
April 11, 2024
It was extraordinary how far cows could run in only a short time.

This was a delightful short story featuring the mischief of hungry dragons. I loved getting a glimpse of Temeraire’s POV, especially his cleverness and how he fretted over explaining his misdeeds to Laurence.

Still, he would not for the world distress Laurence by behaving badly. As always, the thought of his captain woke a secret glow of deep, proprietary satisfaction; he spared a moment to rub his nose over the great pearl-and-sapphire pendant which he wore, Laurence’s gift.
Profile Image for Mayank Agarwal.
872 reviews42 followers
January 4, 2018
Nothing fun, amusing or interesting happened to justify the making of this short story. No fan service or character growth or world building offered. Strictly meant for those who have already read His Majesty’s Dragon and even for them it’s not entertaining. Well, it's only 3 page long and for free so no real loss.
Profile Image for Marc Lucke.
311 reviews2 followers
August 28, 2023

This is a whimsical, fun little interlude which highlights Temeraire's childlike approach to the world and his relationships with other dragons. We rarely get much insight into the dragon's thoughts so it was refreshing change of perspective. I'd love to see more of this gentle, wry humour in the main books.

Profile Image for L.
118 reviews
November 16, 2019
A little snippet that was actually mentioned in passing in Throne Of Jade. It’s not up to the usual polish of the books and I now prefer not to know this version since it’s quite humorous in the novel.
Profile Image for Coyote.
82 reviews39 followers
August 23, 2017
Funny story, related later in Throne of Jade.
Temeraire's point of view
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews