• 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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His Majesty's Dragon

I do not like stories of war. I get enough just reading the daily newspaper. However, the dragon makes this audio book a pleasure. Its intelligent yet naive personality makes it well worth the read. So much so that I have just purchased the second audio book in the series. Not for children, but certainly for youngsters13 and over. A jolly good read.

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delightfully British from people to dragons

great narrator with an intriguing amount of worldbuilding. nice ending that would transition cleanly into the next book without using a cliffhanger.

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love it!

love it completely. An amazing historical teling with the complemet of an amazing airforce by dragon. could not put it down

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  • Ar
  • 07-12-21

Not your average Dragon book! An absolute joy from beginning to end!

Normally I tend to avoid dragon books because I have zero interest in them, but seeing the amount of positive ratings and the fact that it was read by Simon Vance (one of the all time greats) I gave it a shot on a whim.
I was nearly knocked over by how absurdly charming it was from the very beginning. The concept and structure are almost YA or formulaic but in execution it is anything but.

For example (Some minor Spoilers):
Normally a main character would be a young boy or girl who somehow obtains a dragon egg, or is chosen by a dragon to be it’s rider. We would follow this boy through his training and his general “fish out of water” story of becoming a great dragon rider and hero.

Instead, our main character is actually a middle aged man! And since it’s a historical fiction, the “fish out of water” element isn’t him being a boy and going through adolescence amongst others his age. Oh no, our protagonist is a staunch Navy man who is picked by a dragon and somewhat forced into the life off dragon rider.

It is hard to explain just how wonderfully charming and heart warming this book is as Lawrence gets to know his dragon and how their relationship changes him for the better, and how his staunch military upbringing helps (or hurts) those around him.

I haven’t been this pleasantly surprised by a book in probably over a year, thank you Naomi Novik. I am beyond eager to ravenously consume the rest of this series!

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Takes you on a magic ride

Naomi Nevik is a wonderful author. When the series first came out, I read every single book as it was released. Now I have every single audible. Simon Vance brings to life the words that had jumped off the pages and has forever changed the way I hear Captain Lawrence's voice and conduct. I have started playing this series in the background as my children as they play and rest and they love pretending to be the characters.

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Don't Hesitate, Absolutely Wonderful!

I don't understand the negative reviews on this, unless they are from people who just expected something much different when the word "dragon" is used. This is a story about duty, honor, love, and friendship, all with a pitch perfect Regency-era tone and several laugh-out-loud moments as both Lawrence and Temeraire grow and adjust to their roles. The narrator is wonderful, with just enough versatility to distinguish characters without being over-acted. I will be binging the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected pleasure!

Tall Ships and Nepoleonic battles are not my usual cup of tea but this book was a pleasure to listen to and has me hooked on the series.

The concept and characters are great and I immediately felt the connection that will keep me coming back for more. The narration was excellent as well.

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very likeable characters

Would you recommend His Majesty's Dragon to your friends? Why or why not?

yes. it was recommended to me by a friend. the story concept didnt seem that interesting, but as I read I found that the true enjoyment comes from the lead character and his dragon and their friendship, not some much the historical-fantasy setting.

superb dialogue.

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Fantastic Book

I picked up this book as a means of alleviating my post-Aubrey Maturin series depression and I was hooked immediately. Absolutely fantastic plot and story, I'll be continuing the series to the bitter end!

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great everything really

listened on way to work, finished quickly. very addictive. different from regular fantasy stories. you too should join the aviators.

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