Naomi Novik · 2006 · global

Naomi Novik's nine-book series, begun in 2006, reimagines the Napoleonic Wars fought with an aerial corps of dragons. Captain Will Laurence and his extraordinary dragon Temeraire serve Britain from the Channel to the court of China and the battlefields of Prussia, and across the later novels are carried on to Africa, Australia, South America, Japan and Russia. This route traces the first great arc, the voyage to China and back; the series circles the whole globe.

1. 1
   Dover

   Captain Will Laurence of the Royal Navy captures a dragon's egg, and when it hatches he is bound for life to the brilliant dragon Temeraire and the aerial defence of Britain against Napoleon.

2. 2
   Cape Town

   Ordered to escort Temeraire to China, they round the Cape of Good Hope on the long voyage east, and in later days return to Africa and its own ancient dragons.

3. 3
   Beijing

   To the imperial court at Peking, where Celestial dragons are revered as princes and Temeraire's true heritage is revealed.

4. 4
   Istanbul

   The overland road home across Asia and through Istanbul, gathering dragon eggs and intrigue along the old silk routes.

5. 5
   Danzig

   And into the Napoleonic war in Europe, the catastrophe of Prussia and the siege of Danzig.