• His Majesty's Dragon

  • Temeraire, Book 1
  • By: Naomi Novik
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (5,741 ratings)

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His Majesty's Dragon  By  cover art

His Majesty's Dragon

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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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

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What listeners say about His Majesty's Dragon

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lots of fun for fans of dragons

Where does His Majesty's Dragon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was audiobook junk food. Ranks pretty low, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a fun book to listen to. It's a bit like "Master and Commander" meets "How to Train your Dragon" lots of Navy and Military jargon, with talking dragons that range from goofy to regal. You won't find philosophical discussion or educational monologue in this. Just dragons and soldiers.

If you’ve listened to books by Naomi Novik before, how does this one compare?

Haven't heard any others.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Temeraire himself. Something about the way Simon Vance voiced him, I was imagining an almost cat-like appearance to the dragon. An air of confident curiosity oozed from Temeraire that none of the other characters had.

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

"Master and Commander - with dragons."

Any additional comments?

I was actually surprised with how much 'science' there actually was put into the dragons. Early on I expected it to just be a fantasy element to the story, but they went through efforts to explain the genetics of the dragons, the hollow bones, the gas bladders, and the breeding programs. I was surprised that the human 'riders' also had to follow breeding programs so the much longer lived dragons wouldn't reject their riders' children.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very moving, didn't want to stop.

didn't want to stop reading this book. A great one to pass on to the younger ones to get them into reading .thank you for the gift.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

One of My Favorites

An original dragon story! I have read this one many times. The narrator does a pretty good job reading it though his Will Laurence voice isn't as strong as I'd imagined it. This is the best so far of the series, very clever.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 02-07-18

very good book

the action scenes are very well told and great interaction between 2 main characters. look forward to rest of series

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Readable! Entertainment, without annoyance.

A good reader, and a well done story. A good alternate history, though not very "deep" in its details, it lacks any annoying inaccuracies. I bought this in the 1st chapter sale, and it was well worth the price. I am buying more books in the series, based on the first book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It's a weird mix of military history and fantasy

I don't quite understand how this works, but it does. Give it a read if you enjoy napoleanic warfare, classism, and/or dragons.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

hard to stop listening

expensive on audible but really enjoyable. can't wait for next free book next month.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

how many times?

how many times can i reread this book? i don't know, I'm on my 6th and started it over give this one a listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Potent world building and a perfect narration

It's like Master and Commander, but with dragons. I mean that in the best way possible. The book is a delightful mix of historic fiction and fantasy, but not drenched in magic.

The world Novik creates is fascinating, and while some may find the social encounters tedious I loved seeing the ways in which adding dragons changed society.

The narration is spot on and makes this a highly enjoyable story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of my all time favorites- I revisit this book once a year at least!

The Temeraire series is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, and His Majesty’s Dragon is a book I reread at least once a year, if not more! The characters are charming and full of life, the dialogue is witty and natural, and the action is written so well I can visualize it with ease. The relationship between Laurence, the main character, and his dragon, Temeraire, blossoms from one of fate and duty to that of a true, dear friendship which is sweet to read/listen to. The narrator does a very good job, switching accents with ease (even for the dragons, which he makes slightly more nasal). Looking forward to listening to the rest of the books!

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