Best Naomi Novik Books
Naomi Novik has a gift for taking familiar fairy tale bones and rebuilding them into something stranger and more emotionally honest than the originals. Uprooted and Spinning Silver are the clearest examples — both draw on Eastern European folklore but twist the logic of magic and sacrifice until they feel genuinely surprising, not just atmospheric. Her Scholomance trilogy brings that same sensibility to a dark academia setting: the worldbuilding is mechanically clever, the humor is bone-dry, and the protagonist is prickly and difficult in ways that feel earned rather than quirky. Her earlier Temeraire series — Napoleonic war fiction with dragons fully integrated into military strategy — shows a different register entirely, patient and historically textured. Novik writes for readers who want magic to have real weight and consequences. If you like fairy tale retellings that trust you to keep up, she's essential.
Where to Start with Naomi Novik
- Best entry point → Spinning Silver
- Best standalone → Uprooted
- Start the BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY series → The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- What readers keep coming back to → His Majesty's Dragon
- Highest rated by readers → Victory of Eagles (Temeraire #5)
Best Naomi Novik Books
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The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
by John Joseph Adams, Stephen King, Robert J. Sawyer, Michael Moorcock, Sharyn McCrumb, Stephen Baxter, Anne Perry, Barbara Hambly, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Rob Rogers, Naomi Novik, Anthony Burgess, Dominic Green, Laurie R. King, Barbara Roden, Tim Lebbon, Peter Tremayne, Bradley H. Sinor, Edward D. Hoch, Vonda N. McIntyre, Darrell Schweitzer, Mary Robinette Kowal, H. Paul Jeffers, Geoffrey A. Landis, Amy Myers, Chris Roden, Tony Pi, Chris Roberson, Mark Valentine
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Holmes ventures beyond Victorian London into horror, science fiction, and fantasy realms crafted by modern masters like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. Each story tests the detective's methods against supernatural and futuristic mysteries.
★ 4.39 Goodreads (22.7K ratings) - 2
Spinning Silver
The Mortal Instruments
by Naomi Novik
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Miryem's boast about turning silver to gold attracts the dangerous Staryk king in Novik's intricate fairy tale of three women wielding unexpected power.
★ 4.18 Goodreads (154.1K ratings) - 3
Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
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Novik reimagines Beauty and the Beast through Slavic folklore, where Agnieszka's raw, chaotic magic clashes with her mentor's refined techniques as they battle a sentient, malevolent wood.
★ 4.02 Goodreads (266.7K ratings) - 4
His Majesty's Dragon
Temeraire • Book 1
by Naomi Novik
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Novik reimagines the Napoleonic Wars with dragons as military weapons, following Captain Laurence's unexpected partnership with Temeraire after capturing a French dragon egg changes his entire life.
★ 4.07 Goodreads (112.8K ratings) - 5
Victory of Eagles
Temeraire • Book 5
by Naomi Novik
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Following their controversial African mission, dragon Temeraire and Captain Laurence return home in disgrace during the Napoleonic Wars. Novik's fifth installment deepens the alternate history where dragons serve as military partners.
★ 4.08 Goodreads (29.0K ratings) - 6
Empire of Ivory
Temeraire • Book 4
by Naomi Novik
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While Napoleon threatens England, a devastating epidemic strikes the Aerial Corps' dragons, forcing desperate expeditions to Africa's interior for an impossible cure.
★ 3.99 Goodreads (34.1K ratings) - 7
Crucible of Gold
Temeraire • Book 7
by Naomi Novik
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Exiled to Australia for suspected treason, Captain Laurence and his dragon Temeraire find themselves pulled back into the Napoleonic Wars despite their official disgrace.
★ 3.99 Goodreads (19.3K ratings) - 8
Throne of Jade
Temeraire • Book 2
by Naomi Novik
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Captain Laurence and his dragon Temeraire face Chinese court politics when the Celestial Empire demands their prized dragon's return in this Napoleonic War fantasy sequel.
★ 3.90 Goodreads (56.3K ratings) - 9
Black Powder War
Temeraire • Book 3
by Naomi Novik
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Ordered to transport dragon eggs from Istanbul to England, Laurence and Temeraire cross deserts and mountains before joining Prussia's desperate fight against Napoleon.
★ 3.91 Goodreads (43.8K ratings) - 10
Tongues of Serpents
Temeraire • Book 6
by Naomi Novik
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Exiled to Australia for treason, Laurence and Temeraire discover dragon breeding programs and Aboriginal aerial forces that complicate their understanding of the global war.
★ 3.77 Goodreads (24.1K ratings) - 11
Unfettered III: New Tales
The Chathrand Voyage #Thasha's cure for cabin fever • Book 3
by Shawn Speakman, Tad Williams, Naomi Novik, Megan Lindholm, John Gwynne, David Anthony Durham, Callie Bates, Jason Denzel, Carrie Vaughn, Deborah A. Wolf, Anna Stephens, Patrick Swenson, Ramon Terrell, Peter Orullian, Terry Brooks, Lev Grossman, Seanan McGuire, Delilah S. Dawson, Mark Lawrence, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Todd Lockwood, Cat Rambo, Robert V.S. Redick, Ken Scholes, Scott Sigler, Anna Smith Spark, Marc Turner
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Benefits medical debt relief while showcasing original tales from Brandon Sanderson, Naomi Novik, Terry Brooks, and other genre luminaries.
★ 3.98 Goodreads (571 ratings) - 12
Unfettered II: New Tales
Gunnie Rose #0.0 - The Gunnie
by Shawn Speakman, Naomi Novik, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Michael J. Sullivan, Janny Wurts, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Mark Lawrence, Seanan McGuire, Peter Orullian, Aidan Moher, Erin Lindsey, John A. Pitts, Anthony Ryan, Scott Sigler, Django Wexler, Rachel Caine, Sarah Beth Durst, David Farland, Terry Brooks
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Fantasy's biggest names—Sanderson, Butcher, Brooks—donate original stories for charity, resulting in an anthology that reads like a who's who of modern genre fiction.
★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.1K ratings)