His Majesty's Dragon

Temeraire, Book 1

By: Naomi Novik

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain's defense by taking to the skies - not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo - an unhatched dragon egg - fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature.

Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France's own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte's boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into a baptism of fire.

Don't miss the rest of the Temeraire series: Book 2: Throne of Jade and Book 3: Black Powder War.

©2006 Naomi Novik (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

2007, New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

Worthwhile

This series of books are by far my favorite of all time. If you haven't read them i highly recommend that you do.

a great start. I really enjoy they storyline

a really fun storyline with the introduction of Fantasy Dragons into the backdrop of the history Napoleonic Wars. Simon Vance was of course a great selection as narrator having a voice that seems to encompass the British sound of this era having done many other books that I've listened to of a similar time period.

Exceptionally well done first novel

This might be the first novel written by this author, but you would never know it. The tale itself is gripping enough, but when combined with the relationships between riders and their dragons as well as subtle topics like 'duty', the book becomes exceptional.

The perfect self indulgent read.

After too many heavy non fictions this book was the perfect remedy. A great page turner flush with enough reality to feel believable and enough fantasy to keep your inner Sci-Fi child smiling.

Simply Wonderful

What did you love best about His Majesty's Dragon?

Well, certainly if you like alternative histories you want the history part to be factual enough to be believable before it veers off into the fiction part. As far as that goes, Novik did a superlative job.

But, for me, His Majesty's Dragon boils down to the relationship between Lawrence and Temeraire. It's a joy to watch the changes in the ever-so-proper Lawrence brought on by the youthfully exuberant (and innocent) Temeraire.

Who was your favorite character and why?

No question, it's Temeraire. And Vance does such an amazing job of giving voice to him from the time he's fresh out of the shell through the equivalent of his childhood/adolescence that you could almost, maybe imagine that dragons are real.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I actually bought this book in paper when it was first released and tried several times to get into with no success. Everything about the book should have been catnip to me, but it just didn't work for some reason. Then, last year, I decided to give the audiobook a shot and yowza! Simon Vance totally brought it to life for me. He did a great job with the various characters (the women were a bit of a stretch, but no more than expected) and accents, but he really shone with the two main characters. He presented Lawrence as the quintessential British naval officer with his crisp tones, and gave a remarkably nuanced performance as Temeraire. I loved how he imbued so much meaning to Temeraire's "oh's" with just the slightest difference in inflection. (I confess that I've adopted some of those "oh's" for my own use. Haha.)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Napoleonic Wars. . . with Dragons!

Any additional comments?

A few thoughts about the series: After listening to this book, I immediately glommed the rest of the audiobooks in the series. I had a tense wait until the final book was released a few weeks ago but was very satisfied when I finally finished it. I know that some readers/listeners found the quality of the books in the series to be uneven, to the point where some of them bailed. While I would definitely rate some of the books much higher than others, I can't say that I was disappointed in any of them and I think that may be due, in part, to Simon Vance's mesmerizing narration. I was so sad when I reached the end of the last book, heard "Audible hopes you enjoyed this book," and had to say goodbye to Temeraire . . . but I can't wait to start it all over again with this book someday soon.

excellent story and presentation!

i love this series of Temeraire! excellently written and read. Great alternate reality of dragons were apart of our military.

Unexpected Love

I listened to this book on a suggestion from my cousin. I've loved dragons since I was young so naturally he suggested it to me. I was wary at first because of the old fashioned language used in the book. However, I absolutely fell in love with the main character's relationship with his dragon as well as the way the story progressed. If the book had been all battles and review of the world's history it would have lost me at the beginning, but instead since the characters were being developed. So I found myself going "aww", laughing out loud, frowning deeply with the MC, and actually caring about the battles. If you don't care for long battle plans but like dragons I would say give this book a chance.

The beginning of a series you will never forget!

Would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, travel, military novels. I would also recommend to anyone reading the second to last entry in the series to reread / listen to all the prior entries before Part 3 (you will understand why when you take up that book and read about Lawrence's latest "condition")

Temeraire

I enjoyed listening to this book. It's smart and entertaining. Simon Vance is a great narrator.

My favorite book

I own all the books, but I find that if it is read to me, it brings it more to life