Dragons slay ‘Rings’ director

“Temeraire,” a historical fantasy book series that sees squadrons of dragons fighting in the Napoleonic wars, has captured the imagination of Peter Jackson, the “Lord of the Rings” director, who plans to turn it into at least one movie and a computer game franchise.

The plot centers on British naval captain Will Laurence, who seizes a French ship and discovers an unhatched dragon egg -- a gift from the emperor of China to Napoleon. When the egg hatches, he is forced to become the dragon’s keeper. The monster is called Temeraire (meaning “Daring” in French).

“ ‘Temeraire’ is a terrific meld of two genres that I particularly love -- fantasy and historical epic,” Jackson told the Hollywood Reporter. “These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart.”

The book series was written by Naomi Novik, who says she never took the idea of a film seriously until the film rights agent said “ ‘Peter wants the book.’ ” Said Novik, “There was a lot of screaming in my household when I first got the call.”