No sooner has he arrived than he is swept up in local politics conservatives are attempting to assassinate the heir to the throne, Prince Mianning (the future Daoguang Emperor), using Western decoys as their catspaws. However, Laurence applies himself willingly to the diplomatic mission at hand: he, an honorary son of the Jiaqing Emperor, is to visit Peking in hopes of forming an alliance between China and the United Kingdom. Though the two quickly renew their friendship, the other captains remain stilted in Laurence's company, talking around subjects which would potentially cause him discomfort. Through a series of misadventures involving timber for Potentate's repairs, ongoing dragon surveillance and a lot of Western posturing, Laurence and Temeraire eventually reunite, but Temeraire is dismayed to learn that Laurence has no memory of him, and Laurence dismayed to learn that, in the eight years lost from his memory, he became a member of the Aerial Corps. Temeraire feels additionally slowed by concern for Iskierka, who, after their mating in the previous novel, has produced an egg which must be cared for. However, the only word is that Laurence has escaped: as Kaneko broke the law in giving shelter to a foreigner, his young retainer, Junichiro, absconded with Laurence to protect his master's honor. They receive assistance in this matter from a friendly American dragon, John Wampanoag, a merchant captain attempting to expand his business into Japan. Having made the ship seaworthy again, they set sail for Nagasaki, where diplomat Arthur Hammond wishes to make some overtures and to locate Laurence. Temeraire, meanwhile, works with the other dragons of his formation to put to rights the Potentate, their dragon transport, which has run aground on a reef during a storm. He is brought before the local magistrate, Kaneko Hiromasa, and kept in genteel imprisonment for straying outside Nagasaki, the sole port currently open to European traders. He finds himself in great confusion: afflicted with retrograde amnesia, he remembers nothing of how he came to know Chinese nor how he arrived on these shores. William Laurence awakens on the shores of Japan. This installment features the adventures of William Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, in Japan, China, and Russia, as they attempt to muster up new allies in the year 1812. It was first published by Voyager Books in August 2013. Blood of Tyrants is the eighth novel in the Temeraire alternate history/ fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik.

Temeraire series