• 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 (5,737 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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very good

I've read it before but it's nice to listen to it being read to you by agood narrator
excellent job

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Referred to His Majesty's Dragon, Now I Recommend

A friend recommended this book to me when we discovered another book that we shared interest in. I found that I really enjoyed His Majesty's Dragon and will move on to book 2. The story was great and enjoyable to imagine.

Regarding the performance, I've been spoiled by audible books that have sound tracks and effects, which made this performance slightly lacking in comparison.

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Fantastic!

Naomi Novik has created an exciting world within this book. I was captured from the first chapter and couldn't put the book down! Take the time and read this book! You won't regret it!

Simon Vance did an excellent job narrating!

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Great performance and awesome storyline!

This was another great book by Naomi Novik. It is a great storyline and surprisingly the war and battle parts were good, too. I gemerally don't like such. It is not overly fantastically.

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Love this story and love the narration.

Excellent in all ways. Can’t wait to listen to the next one in the series.

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Yeah, you should definitely read this.

An alt history where dragons are real with a story set during the Napoleonic Wars? Ummmmmm, yes please! Dragon stories can get a bit stale, but changing the setting to something more modern and grounded in reality made all the difference. The world and dragons themselves are fascinating, plus the action is top notch. If learning air combat, then captaining a crew aboard your dragon friend through aerial battles sounds awesome to you, pick this up. If not, why are you here?

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What a fun book

Such an engaging world and characters! I will be challenged to pace myself through this series! How many credits do I have???

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nice light pace, wonderful characterization

The first thing that must be said is how wonderfully the author caught the tone and voice of the world of the late 18th/ early 19th century. The whole book felt appropriately aged but not inaccessible for it.

The characters were also memorable and well fleshed out. There is a palpable kinship between the dragons and their handlers that manages to avoid feeling heavy handed.

The most curious feature of the story is the pace. There really doesn't feel to be any major conflicts until past halfway through the story. A lot seems to just be focused on the transition between two lives. I can understand this not appealing to some, but I feel the author made up for this by maintaining a well-thought out world and characters for us to explore.

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Great book

I read these books years ago. I was very pleased with the audible version. This is a great book

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Great read!

Awesome blend of fiction and reality!
Endearing characters!
Highly recommend! I can not wait to read more!

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