A dazzling blend of military history, high-flying fantasy, and edge-of-your-seat adventure, Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels, set in an alternate Napoleonic era in which intelligent dragons have been harnessed as weapons of war, are more than just perennial bestsellers—they are a worldwide phenomenon. Now, in Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik is back, along with the dragon Temeraire and his rider and friend, Captain Will Laurence. Convicted of treason despite their heroic defense against Napoleon's invasion of England, Temeraire and Laurence—stripped of rank and standing—have been transported to the prison colony at New South Wales in distant Australia, where, it is hoped, they cannot further corrupt the British Aerial Corps with their dangerous notions of liberty for dragons. Temeraire and Laurence carry with them three dragon eggs intended to help establish a covert in the colony and destined to be handed over to such second-rate, undesirable officers as have been willing to accept so remote an assignment—including one former acquaintance, Captain Rankin, whose cruelty once cost a dragon its life. Nor is this the greatest difficulty that confronts the exiled dragon and rider: Instead of leaving behind all the political entanglements and corruptions of the war, Laurence and Temeraire have instead sailed into a hornet's nest of fresh complications. For the colony at New South Wales has been thrown into turmoil after the overthrow of the military governor, one William Bligh—better known as Captain Bligh, late of HMS Bounty. Bligh wastes no time in attempting to enlist Temeraire and Laurence to restore him to office, while the upstart masters of the colony are equally determined that the new arrivals should not upset a balance of power precariously tipped in their favor. Eager to escape this political quagmire, Laurence and Temeraire take on a mission to find a way through the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia. But when one of the dragon eggs is stolen from Temeraire, the surveying expedition becomes a desperate race to recover it in time—a race that leads to a shocking discovery and a dangerous new obstacle in the global war between Britain and Napoleon. Tongues of Serpents is the sixth entry in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Books one through five are available from Random House Audio.
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"I love her dragons, with all their foibles. I love the little twist she gives to dragons craving a hoard. We had some fun exploring Australia and South America in these two. I like how she fits her AU into our reality. Good stuff" — Mysteryfan (4 out of 5 stars)
"I love her dragons, with all their foibles. I love the little twist she gives to dragons craving a hoard. We had some fun exploring Australia and South America in these two. I like how she fits her AU into our reality. Good stuff"
“The characters are as riveting as ever, the setting is new but convincing, and the plot, with its first-class balancing of Laurence’s and Temeraire’s internal and external struggles, shows Novik’s continued excellence as a novelist.”
“An engaging and well-paced story. As usual, the highlight is the relationship between Will Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire. One of the best things about these books is Novik’s decision to make her dragons as intelligent—or, in some cases, more intelligent—than the humans.”
The characters are as riveting as ever, the setting is new but convincing, and the plot, with its first-class balancing of Laurence's and Temeraire's internal and external struggles, shows Novik's continued excellence as a novelist.
" I have loved this series! I enjoyed it, but was still disapointed by the ending. It could be that I didn't want series to end, but I didn't like how it was finished. I need more awesome dragon stories! "
" I just love Temeraire and the other dragons so much. This book did have less action than some of the others, but seriously, all I need is to hang out with some talking dragons and I am happy. "
" Without the tenseness of the other novels, but imaginative. Bunyips. "
" It seems that at some point authors of series get tired or are forced to write the next book but have no idea what to write about. This is what happened in this book. We are just as tortured in Aussieland as the characters on one hot road trip into the outback & then back again. This book was tedious to say the least and left me wanting to escape, probably just what Temeraire & Will want to do too. "
" Good beginning, good ending, too bad about all those endless pages of sand, water, and bunyips in the middle. Next book please! "
" Must go back to where we can have Jane Roland, please. "
" Disappointing, especially after the fast-paced story of the previous book. It felt as if Ms Novik was stalling for time... until she found a plot? Hopefully the next installment will find its legs again. "
" Read The searies "
" Delightful as always. I like the characters so much that I suspect that I would enjoy a Temeraire novel even if there were no plot. "
" A little sadder than the other books but it's not inappropriate given the plot. I still enjoyed it. I still want to read more. "
" Temeraire continues to be one of the most appealing characters in my experience. His dragon buddies are similarly well-drawn. Tongues of Serpents was well-written, like the rest of the series, but I wanted more MEAT. Hopefully the next books (will there be some) will be more action-packed. "
" These seem to get worse and worse. Absolutely no plot in this one... "
" Not the most exciting of the series. The best thing about Novik's writing is her ability to capture characters. The writing fits the time of her setting so well. In fact, the writing is so good, you can be fascinated with some of the otherwise boring scenes of this book. "
" Yummy read. Wish she'd write faster. Perfect for how I read it- while pinned down by a crabby sick toddler. Excellent historical alternatives- "
" Had to skim. Didn't work for me. "
" Much better than I expected from the lower-rated Amazon reviews. My least favourite of the series prior to this was Black Powder War, and that remains the case. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and look forward to the next. "
" I love this series. Very much anticipating the next one, now that I am all caught up! "
" Pretty much the same stuff as the last books in the series. All the characters are starting to get a bit grating though, I think I like no one in the book all that much anymore. "
Naomi Novik is the New York Times bestselling author of the Scholomance trilogy, the Temeraire series, and the award-winning novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver. She is a founder of the Organization for Transformative Works and the Archive of Our Own.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.
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