Naomi Novik received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer at the 2007 World Science Fiction Convention. Along with the three novels in this collection, she is the acclaimed author of Empire of Ivory and Victory of Eagles, the fourth and fifth volumes in the Temeraire series, which has been optioned by Peter Jackson, the Academy Award-winning director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. A history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era, Novik studied English literature at Brown University, then did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide. Novik lives in New York City with her husband and six computers.