Tongues of Serpents

Book Six of Temeraire

De: Naomi Novik

Narrado por: Simon Vance

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education comes the sixth volume of the Temeraire series, as Will Laurence and Temeraire are exiled to Australia in the ever expanding war between Napoleon and Britain.

“Temeraire and his fellow dragons are surely Novik’s finest accomplishment.”—BookPage

Convicted of treason despite their heroic defense against Napoleon’s invasion of England, Temeraire and Captain Will Laurence have been transported to a prison colony in distant Australia—and into a hornet’s nest of fresh complications. The colony is in turmoil after the overthrow of military governor William Bligh—aka Captain Bligh, late of HMS Bounty. And when Bligh tries to enlist them in his bid to regain office, the dragon and his captain are caught in the middle of a political power struggle. Their only chance to escape the fray is accepting a mission to blaze a route through the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia.

But the theft of a precious dragon egg turns their expedition into a desperate recovery operation—leading to a shocking discovery and a dangerous new complication in the global war between Britain and Napoleon.

Don’t miss any of Naomi Novik’s magical Temeraire series
HIS MAJESTY’S DRAGON • THRONE OF JADE • BLACK POWDER WAR • EMPIRE OF IVORY • VICTORY OF EAGLES • TONGUES OF SERPENTS • CRUCIBLE OF GOLD • BLOOD OF TYRANTS • LEAGUE OF DRAGONS

Reseñas de la Crítica

Praise for His Majesty’s Dragon and the Temeraire series

“These are beautifully written novels—not only fresh, original, and fast paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart. [The Temeraire series] is a terrific meld of two genres that I particularly love—fantasy and historical epic.”—Peter Jackson

“A terrifically entertaining fantasy novel . . . Is it hard to imagine a cross between Susanna Clarke, of Norrell and Strange fame, and the late Patrick O’Brian? Not if you’ve read this wonderful, arresting novel.”—Stephen King

“A splendid series . . . Not only is it a new way to utilize dragons, it’s a very clever one and fits neatly into the historical niche this author has used.”—Anne McCaffrey

“Just when you think you’ve seen every variation possible on the dragon story, along comes Naomi Novik. Her wonderful Temeraire is a dragon for the ages.”—Terry Brooks

“Enthralling reading—it’s like Jane Austen playing Dungeons & Dragons with Eragon’s Christopher Paolini.”—Time

“A completely authentic tale, brimming with all the detail and richness one looks for . . . as well as the impossible wonder of gilded fantasy.”—Entertainment Weekly (Editor’s Choice, Grade: A)

“Novik has accomplished something singular with her Temeraire series. . . . At its heart, it’s a story about friendship that transcends not only time and class, but species.”—NPR

“[Naomi Novik] is soaring on the wings of a dragon.”—The New York Times

“A thrilling fantasy . . . All hail Naomi Novik.”—The Washington Post Book World

“An amazing performance . . . [I] was immediately hooked by the writing, the research and the sheer courage of the whole enterprise.”—Chicago Tribune

“Novik’s influences run the gamut from Jane Austen to Patrick O’Brian, with a side trip through Anne McCaffrey. Her books are completely involving and probably addictive, their central conceit explored in clever detail with a great deal of wit and historical insight.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Something new and quite wonderful . . . The Temeraire trilogy could well be this year’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.”—BookPage

“A superbly written, character-driven series . . . What keeps one turning the pages is the urge to find out what happens next to Captain Laurence and Temeraire, characters who win one’s heart from the beginning. Bravo!”—Booklist (starred review)

Not the best, not bad

This isn’t my favorite of the Temeraire books but it’s not my least favorite either. The narrator’s voice is really alarmingly different and rough through the first half, but it does get better.

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Still of course an excellent story, but the drastic changes Simon made to the characters voices is quite jarring after finishing Victory of Eagles. Everyone sounds the same and he’s also not bothered to correct saying Demane’s name correctly where as in previous books there wasn’t an issue. Overall this re-recording is a bit pointless. Stick with the original

Solid Story but Narration Significantly Worse

I appreciate how well the story depicts Australia and it's vastness through the lens of people (and dragons) experiencing it for the first times during the nascent years of its colonization. It is a solid addition to the Temeraire series.
That said, the narration in the newly recorded 2025 version is significantly worse. The narrator is the same as who did the original, but now the narrative vs dialogue sound almost the same and the voice of each character is much less distinct, especially with the dragons. I've listened to the original several times so when I first heard this new version, I had to stop after Iskierka and Temeraire started speaking and immediately went to find the original audiobook at the library. I ended up keeping this version because 1) Audible doesnt sell the original anymore and 2) whenever the narrator is reading Iskierka and Temeraire dialogue, I re-imagine in realtime what is being said in what I remember of their "true" voice. If you can, I highly recommend finding the original audiobook at your local library. I think others must feel similar to me though, because the waitlist for Tongue of Serpents has gotten a lot longer so you might want to put it on hold while you are still on Empire of Ivory.

Bait and switch - terrible audio version

I originally listened to this audio book several years, which was recorded by Simon Vance in 2010. This is NOT that recording. The 15 year gap is obvious and none of the voices sound the same. Incredibly disappointing and Audible should be ashamed to sell something of such inferior quality. These are some of my favorite books and the original Simon Vance performance is outstanding. I don’t know what happened to the original recording, but do not buy this version.

Beyond Disappointed

I listen to this series ALL the time. But Vance’s voice has gotten old and this version sounds TERRIBLE! Please stop creating new versions which actually sound so much worse than the original.