Tongues of Serpents cover art

Tongues of Serpents

The Temeraire Series, Book 6

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Tongues of Serpents

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

Naomi Novik’s stunning series of novels follow the global adventures of Captain William Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire as they are thrown together to fight for Britain during the turbulent time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Convicted of treason and stripped of rank and standing, Temeraire and Lawrence are transported to the prison colony at New South Wales. With them travel three dragon eggs destined to be handed over to second-rate officers willing to accept so remote an assignment – including one former acquaintance, Captain Rankin, whose cruelty once cost a dragon its life.

They arrive at a young Australian colony in turmoil after the overthrow of the military governor, William Bligh – formerly Captain Bligh, late of HMS Bounty. Eager to escape the political quagmire, Laurence and Temeraire accept a mission to pioneer a route through the forbidding Blue Mountains and into the interior of Australia. But when one of the dragon eggs is stolen, the surveying expedition becomes a desperate race to recover it before the dragonet hatches – a race that leads to a shocking discovery and a dangerous new obstacle in the global war between Britain and France.

©2019 Naomi Novik (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Fantasy Fiction Historical Science Fiction Dragons Military

Critic Reviews

"These are beautifully written novels, not only fresh, original and fast-paced, but full of wonderful characters with real heart." (Peter Jackson)

"Novik won me over with her first novel...the combination of military history, sympathetic characters, and engaging style makes this series great, intelligent fun." (The Times)

"Plenty of intrigue, swordplay, exotic locations, plausible invention. In short a treat." (The Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant  
... she definitely knows how to write about my country. And, as always, a brilliantly entertaining story.

I don't know if Novik has visited Australia but...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Found guilty of treason, man and dragon have been deported to Australia to start a new life - not sure why I loved this book so much - the series is entirely enjoyable but something about this book resonated with me. Might be the move to Australia for a new life part. Fine heroes here brought low and facing danger at every turn. I certainly would not want to be lost in the outback and yet at the same time you have to acknowledge the beauty of it all - I thought Novik captured that particularly well. I think my expectations were not great with this book and perhaps because of that or the fact it was close to home- I ended up loving it

low expectations but I loved it in the end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story setting in late 1700's Australia makes sense in this universe the author has created. But as an Australian of English ancestors,+ a modern Aussie who is deeply ashamed of the arrogant injustice + massacres of the frontier wars that have been purposely erased from our education system for centuries, it was a struggle to continue to think of the main characters as heroes of this tale. Clearly, there was a far better understanding+ respect for rich cultures of our first nations by the Maccasan + Chinese than the belligerent and supremely arrogant English in continuing to claim this vast continent obviously peopled as Terra Nullius when it was never so.

the obscenity of nationalistic colonists

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had really been enjoying The Temeraire Series up until this point. Until the story line went to Australia and started to piece together a clumsy, boring plot and uninteresting adversaries. The plot was not particularly engaging (unlike the other earlier books) and the villain(s) superficial. Even though this is a fantasy of the times, as an Australian, it was ludicrous to hear the references made by the author to New South Wales and Australia in general. The visualizations were just all wrong from start to end. It felt like someone describing the country after reading a travel brochure. Unfortunately I put the book down and never finished it as it was just too frustrating to listen to.

I gave up on this book and series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.