Where to Start with Naomi Novik
- Best entry point → Spinning Silver
- Best standalone → Uprooted
- Start The Scholomance series → A Deadly Education
- What fans keep coming back to → His Majesty's Dragon
- Best narrator for Naomi Novik → Throne of Jade
- Highest rated by listeners → Victory of Eagles (Temeraire #5)
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Spinning Silver
The Mortal Instruments
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Lisa Flanagan
★ 4.41 ABR Score (163.3K ratings)★ 4.18 Goodreads (154.1K) ★ 4.68 Audible (9.2K)17h 56m listening time • Released 2018 -
A Deadly Education
The Scholomance • Book 1
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Anisha Dadia
★ 4.31 ABR Score (231.1K ratings)★ 3.93 Goodreads (224.7K) ★ 4.55 Audible (6.4K)10h 59m listening time • Released 2020 -
Victory of Eagles
Temeraire • Book 5
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 4.27 ABR Score (31.5K ratings)★ 4.08 Goodreads (29.0K) ★ 4.69 Audible (2.5K)10h 27m listening time • Released 2008Simon Vance elevates this sprawling military fantasy with vocal precision that makes each dragon's personality unmistakable—essential when you're tracking aerial combat across an invaded England.
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His Majesty's Dragon
Temeraire • Book 1
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 4.24 ABR Score (118.8K ratings)★ 4.07 Goodreads (112.8K) ★ 4.57 Audible (6.0K)9h 57m listening time • Released 2007Novik's Napoleonic Wars with dragons is irresistible — the bond between Captain Laurence and Temeraire is one of fantasy's most touching relationships.
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Empire of Ivory
Temeraire • Book 4
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 4.22 ABR Score (36.7K ratings)★ 3.99 Goodreads (34.1K) ★ 4.66 Audible (2.6K)11h 6m listening time • Released 2007Simon Vance transforms this dragon-plague thriller into something genuinely urgent and immersive, making the high stakes feel personal rather than just epic spectacle.
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Black Powder War
Temeraire • Book 3
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 4.16 ABR Score (46.7K ratings)★ 3.91 Goodreads (43.8K) ★ 4.61 Audible (2.9K)10h 22m listening time • Released 2007Simon Vance transforms this globe-trotting dragon war into pure immersion—his vocal range captures everything from Laurence's rigid propriety to Temeraire's indignant charm, making the aerial battles and political intrigue feel urgent and lived-in.
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Throne of Jade
Temeraire • Book 2
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 4.14 ABR Score (59.9K ratings)★ 3.9 Goodreads (56.3K) ★ 4.58 Audible (3.6K)11h 43m listening time • Released 2007Simon Vance transforms a sprawling political intrigue into pure listening gold—his voice work across dozens of characters makes the Chinese court sequences genuinely riveting.
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Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Julia Emelin
★ 4.05 ABR Score (275.7K ratings)★ 4.02 Goodreads (266.7K) ★ 4.31 Audible (9.0K)17h 44m listening time • Released 2015 -
Crucible of Gold
Temeraire • Book 7
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 3.92 ABR Score (19.3K ratings)★ 3.99 Goodreads (19.3K) ★ 4.64 Audible (11)10h 4m listening time • Released 2025Simon Vance captures the political intrigue and dragon-fueled action of this series entry with surgical precision, making Laurence's moral isolation feel genuinely unbearable.
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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
Narrated by Simon Vance, Anne Flosnik
★ 3.88 ABR Score (23.4K ratings)★ 4.39 Goodreads (22.7K) ★ 3.96 Audible (736)21h 21m listening time • Released 2010 -
Tongues of Serpents
Temeraire • Book 6
by Naomi Novik
Narrated by Simon Vance
★ 3.87 ABR Score (24.1K ratings)★ 3.77 Goodreads (24.1K) ★ 4.48 Audible (31)10h 38m listening time • Released 2025Simon Vance transforms this exile-and-adventure installment into something grander than the plot itself—his vocal range captures the tension between Laurence's rigid honor and Temeraire's revolutionary spirit so perfectly you'll forget you're listening to a book.
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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
Narrated by Khristine Hvam, Natasha Soudek, Mark Bramhall, Michael Page, Vikas Adam, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Andrew Wincott, Luke Daniels, Brian Nishii
★ 3.85 ABR Score (779 ratings)★ 3.98 Goodreads (571) ★ 4.37 Audible (208)27h 36m listening time • Released 2019 -
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
Narrated by Sarah Coomes, Michael Kramer, Emily Woo Zeller, Nick Podehl, Erin Mallon, Tim Gerard Reynolds
★ 3.78 ABR Score (1.5K ratings)★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.1K) ★ 4.25 Audible (340)20h 17m listening time • Released 2017
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How We Rank Audiobooks
Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.
Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.
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