Empire Of Ivory by Naomi Novik

In an alternate Napoleonic era where dragons are military assets, a seasoned captain and his highly intelligent dragon travel to southern Africa on a mission that draws them into imperial rivalries, a scramble for draconic resources, and the brutal realities of the slave trade. Faced with clashes between duty, politics, and conscience, they must make hard choices about how far they will go to protect dragonkind and oppose human oppression.

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