Temeraire

Temeraire
Naomi Novik

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.Captain Will Laurence has been at sea since he was just twelve years old; finding a warmer berth in Nelson's navy than any he enjoyed as the youngest, least important son of Lord Allendale. Rising on merit to captain his own vessel, Laurence has earned himself a beautiful fiancée, society's esteem and a golden future. But the war is not going well. It seems Britain can only wait as Napoleon plans to overrun her shores.After a skirmish with a French ship, Laurence finds himself in charge of a rare cargo: a dragon egg bound for the Emperor himself. Dragons are much prized: properly trained, they can mount a fearsome attack from the skies. One of Laurence's men must take the beast in hand and join the aviators' cause, thus relinquishing all hope of a normal life.But when the newly-hatched dragon ignores the young midshipman Laurence chose as its keeper and decides to imprint itself on the horrified captain instead, Laurence's world falls apart. Gone is his golden future: gone his social standing, and soon his beautiful fiancée, as he is consigned to be the constant companion and trainer of the fighting dragon Temeraire…

NAOMI NOVIK

Temeraire

Copyright (#ulink_f6b92fdc-b8bc-590a-bdbf-6faa55b23e33)

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

HarperVoyager An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk).

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2006

Copyright © Temeraire LCC 2006

Naomi Novik asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780007258710

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780007318551

Version: 2017-03-09

Dedication (#ulink_508f8c7b-22fa-5265-baf1-f2135b0ecde7)

for Charles

sine qua non

Contents

Cover (#ua3dd85eb-7f4d-5b1b-bd5c-f07ef4d2513f)

Title Page (#u33554053-4db1-52e5-8d36-76c53279e94a)

Copyright (#ulink_685ad2b8-3ea8-53ec-9e35-cbdf9877adc2)

Dedication (#ulink_61fb5372-99ae-52b8-ba92-1d6a6bbe1854)

Part I

Chapter One (#ulink_4cfb3c98-e1d3-544c-ba83-3d0900b95d9f)

Chapter Two (#ulink_40932ed9-f5a8-5375-9abf-9362d6f34ac9)

Chapter Three (#ulink_29f8091c-3f04-57dc-a5e8-914fe89bc5d0)

Part II

Chapter Four (#ulink_dec41f87-c0c1-5ad2-9203-b9897af69d5e)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Part III

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendix A (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

PART I (#ulink_be9e024b-b77e-571b-a95c-d5a435679573)

Chapter One (#ulink_605be920-5625-5e12-b767-08390ff9c8fa)

The deck of the French ship was slippery with blood, heaving in the choppy sea; a stroke might as easily bring down the man making it as the intended target. Laurence did not have time in the heat of the battle to be surprised at the degree of resistance, but even through the numbing haze of battle fever and the confusion of swords and pistol-smoke, he marked the extreme look of anguish on the French captain’s face as the man shouted encouragement to his men.