Temeraire
#4163.99 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 9 books Status Complete 2006–2016 Reading commitment High Naomi Novik Last reviewed 2026-08-05
Overview
Naomi Novik's Temeraire (2006-2016) retells the Napoleonic Wars in a world where an intelligent-dragon aerial corps supplements every nation's military: British naval captain William Laurence is bonded to the hatchling Temeraire and transferred to the Aerial Corps, a shift that costs him much of his old naval-officer social standing while opening up an entirely new theater of the war. It is a completed nine-novel sequence with an unusual debut cadence: the first three novels, His Majesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, and Black Powder War, were all published in 2006, before the remaining six appeared roughly annually through League of Dragons in 2016. The series moves its campaigns well beyond Europe, into China, Africa, and the Americas, using each dragon breed's distinct culture and abilities to reimagine real Napoleonic-era geopolitics. It is this database's first series-level award registration, the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Series nomination, attached to the series record itself.
Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (9 works) counts toward ranking
Temeraire Naomi Novik
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | His Majesty's Dragon; US first edition (Del Rey, March 2006) precedes the UK edition (August 2006, published as 'Temeraire'), registered under the US first-edition title, with 'Temeraire' recorded as the UK variant title. | 2006 | 1 | core | 4.07 (115,548 ratings) |
 | Throne of Jade | 2006 | 2 | core | 3.90 (57,635 ratings) |
 | Black Powder War | 2006 | 3 | core | 3.91 (44,825 ratings) |
 | Empire of Ivory | 2007 | 4 | core | 3.99 (34,791 ratings) |
 | Victory of Eagles | 2008 | 5 | core | 4.09 (29,658 ratings) |
 | Tongues of Serpents | 2010 | 6 | core | 3.77 (24,680 ratings) |
 | Crucible of Gold | 2012 | 7 | core | 3.99 (19,828 ratings) |
 | Blood of Tyrants | 2013 | 8 | core | 4.00 (16,785 ratings) |
 | League of Dragons | 2016 | 9 | core | 4.17 (14,324 ratings) |
9-novel completed historical-fantasy sequence (2006-2016): the Napoleonic Wars in a world where an intelligent-dragon aerial corps supplements every nation's military. One continuous linear narrative; publication order equals in-story order. Unusual debut cadence: the first three novels were all published in 2006 (Del Rey rapid-succession launch).
Library / Expanded (1 work)
Golden Age and Other Stories (2017) ; Subterranean Press collection of Temeraire short stories each inspired by fan art, plus 26 drabbles. Several pieces are explicitly alternate-universe (e.g. the title story is an AU origin for Laurence and Temeraire; 'Dragons and Decorum' is a Pride & Prejudice crossover), canonically unreliable by design, hence Expanded. Two further uncollected in-world shorts ('In Autumn, a White Dragon Looks Over the Wide River', 2009 omnibus original; 'Vici', 2009 anthology story set in the same world's ancient Rome) are not separately registered pending collection, the same treatment applied to the Dresden Files' own uncollected stories.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Temeraire? Temeraire's Core Canon is 9 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Temeraire? Publication order, starting with His Majesty's Dragon. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Temeraire finished? Complete (2006–2016).
- How much reading does Temeraire take? High reading commitment (estimated from 9 Core Canon books · ~3,314 pages).
- How is Temeraire ranked? #416 in this site's official ranking, based on 358,074 reader ratings across 9 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #416?
Ranked #416 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.99 across 9 core books.
- Backed by 358k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #415, Matthew Swift (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 9 books · Complete · 358k ratings · Ranks #416 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (9 Core Canon books)
- Black Powder War (2006)
- His Majesty's Dragon (2006)
- Throne of Jade (2006)
- Empire of Ivory (2007)
- Victory of Eagles (2008)
- Tongues of Serpents (2010)
- Crucible of Gold (2012)
- Blood of Tyrants (2013)
- League of Dragons (2016)
Documented internal/story order
- His Majesty's Dragon (2006)
- Throne of Jade (2006)
- Black Powder War (2006)
- Empire of Ivory (2007)
- Victory of Eagles (2008)
- Tongues of Serpents (2010)
- Crucible of Gold (2012)
- Blood of Tyrants (2013)
- League of Dragons (2016)
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2007: nominated: His Majesty's Dragon; Lost to Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End.
- Compton Crook Award, 2007: won: His Majesty's Dragon; Baltimore Science Fiction Society award for best first SF/F novel.
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2007: won: His Majesty's Dragon; Locus reader-poll winner (1st place). Some sources credit the omnibus title form 'Temeraire: In Service of the King'; registered under the novel.
- Dragon Award (Best Alternate History Novel), 2016: won: League of Dragons; Inaugural Dragon Awards.
Related universes
- Same author Uprooted: Both by Naomi Novik. Uprooted was flagged as a candidate at Temeraire's admission and confirmed a wholly separate standalone continuity.
- Same author Spinning Silver: Both by Naomi Novik. Spinning Silver was flagged as a candidate at Temeraire's admission and confirmed a wholly separate standalone continuity.
- Same author The Scholomance: Both by Naomi Novik. The Scholomance trilogy was flagged as a candidate at Temeraire's admission and confirmed a wholly separate continuity.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Temeraire and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Elemental Masters Historical fantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Ongoing · High commitment · 3.97
- Crown of Stars Epic fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 3.87
- The Golem and the Jinni Historical fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.13
- Bridei Chronicles Historical fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.12
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.99 across 358,074 ratings on 9 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Temeraire admitted; Core Canon = the 9-novel sequence; Novik's other universes flagged as candidates accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: Core = the 9 novels (2006–2016), one continuous linear narrative; publication order equals in-story order. The lead novel is registered under its US first-edition title, His Majesty's Dragon (Del Rey, March 2006), with the UK variant title 'Temeraire' noted. Expanded = Golden Age and Other Stories (2017, Subterranean), a fanart-inspired collection containing explicitly alternate-universe pieces.