• Temeraire

  • By: Naomi Novik
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

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Temeraire  By  cover art

Temeraire

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's summary

Naomi Novik’s stunning series of novels follow the adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon, Temeraire, as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.

As Napoleon's tenacious infantry rampages across Europe and his armada lies in wait for Nelson's smaller fleet, the war does not rage on land and water alone. Squadrons of aviators swarm the skies - a deadly shield for the cumbersome canon-firing vessels. Raining fire and acid upon their enemies, they engage in a swift, violent combat with flying tooth and claw...for these aviators ride dragons.

Captain Laurence is a satisfied man with a respectable commission aboard the ship Reliant. His career is born from a love for the sea, and he takes his duty very seriously.

Months before the battle of Trafalgar, on patrol in the Atlantic, the Reliant takes a small French frigate, storm damaged and possessing a fierce crew unwilling to surrender as easily as they should. On board Laurence finds a dragon egg - a great prize, as England is in sore need.

Having spent months on a slow journey from Asia, the egg hatches. A sinewy newborn emerges from the fragmented shell, ignores his harness bearer, approaches Laurence and changes his life.

Hatchling dragons must be put in a harness immediately, otherwise the dragon young become hard to control - fit only for the breeding colonies. The person chosen to first harness the beast must be an aviator, for the dragon will accept no other captain. The life of an aviator is not a desirable one; reviled by fashionable society, they live hard, lonely lives bound to duty, and they frequently die young. Laurence must now join them; duty demands it, though his heart is broken.

But, more astonishing than the dragonet - named Temeraire by Laurence - are the documents found with him, documents addressed to Napoleon from the greatest, most skilled dragon breeders in the world: the Chinese.

The dragon Temeraire was meant for the Emperor Napoleon himself and promises to grow into no ordinary creature.

©2006 Naomi Novik (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"I took a jaundiced view of dragon books until Novik won me over with her first novel. the combination of military history, sympathetic characters, and engaging style makes this series great, intelligent fun." (The Times)

"Plenty of intrigue, swordplay, exotic locations, plausible invention. In short a treat." (The Telegraph)

"These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart." (Peter Jackson)

What listeners say about Temeraire

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Great book and great voice

I have always loved this series of books and having them as audiobooks really helps me as I don't have time to read them.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantasticly real

After the french revolution, in the british colonial empiere, wiith dragons.
A very real story, despite the fantasy elements.
The only other story about dragons as good as this series is the dragonkepper series by Carole Wilkinson.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Great story, good performance

I enjoyed other works of the author more, but this one is still great. I am looking forward to the next book of the series. The performance was not bad at all but I didn't enjoy the different voices much, especially the one of Temeraire and I had a big problem with the women's voices.

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