Skip to main content
Listen-and-Read x-book®
The Tainted Khan by Taran Matharu x-book

Listen to a sample

00:00
00:00

The Tainted Khan

The Soulbound Saga (Related to this series)

Narrator
Tom Babbage
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Publish Date
24 April 2025
Run Time
21 hours 31 minutes
Format
x-book®

Not available in your country

We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.

What to expect

The epic sequel to Taran Matharu’s instant Sunday Times bestseller, Dragon Rider, in which empires fall and dragons soar…

‘A dazzlingly epic and richly complex world of dragons, magic, and rebellion’ Amélie Wen Zhao on Dragon Rider

Jai dreams of being a dragon rider. He dreams of freedom from the Sabine Empire and a world in which he can lead his people, the Kidara, to freedom. But even though he has his dragon, Winter, she is still growing, just as he’s still growing in his own power. And the road to victory is even more fraught than he had hoped…

Because even when he finds a tribe on the Great Steppe, they are not his people. They are the outcasts, the Tainted, and he finds that he knows little of the political intricacies that take place in these vast grasslands. He is a stranger amongst his own kind, for Jai’s uncle rules, and is loath to cede power to his nephew.

But the legionaries and Gryphon Guard of the Sabine Empire are wreaking havoc against the other tribes of the Great Steppe, and Jai is forced to learn a lifetime’s worth of knowledge in a matter of months. From levelling up his magic, to becoming a true warrior, saving the woman he loves, and strengthening his bond with Winter, Jai is a dragon rider with a massive weight on his young shoulders. And his greatest hope is that the shoulders of Winter will soon be strong enough to help carry him.

READ THE EPIC FANTASY SERIES WITH SCORCHING FIVE-STAR READER REVIEWS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

'Dragons with depth… Taran Matharu masterfully layers the history, politics and soulful magic of his world with page-turning ease, all the while delivering shocks, bloodshed and a splash of slow-burn spice' Cari Thomas, Sunday Times bestselling author of Threadneedle

'Eragon and Sapphira, Laurence and Temeraire, and now Jai and Winter. A brilliant beginning!' Michael R. Miller, bestselling author of the Songs of Chaos series

‘Bloody, glorious, and irresistibly compelling, Dragon Rider is a riveting epic that is at once sweepingly vast and heart-wrenchingly personal’ Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Bone Maker

‘Brutal politics, intricate worldbuilding, and edge-of-the-seat battles’ Prashanth Srivatsa, author of The Spice Gate

‘A classic fantasy adventure that reminds me of the novels I loved growing up, but with a flair of cultivation from the novels I love now’ Will Wight, New York Times bestselling author of the Cradle series

Critics Review

  • Praise for DRAGON RIDER:

    ‘A classic fantasy adventure that reminds me of the novels I loved growing up, but with a flair of cultivation from the novels I love now’ Will Wight, New York Times bestselling author of the Cradle series

    ‘Bloody, glorious, and irresistibly compelling, Dragon Rider is a riveting epic that is at once sweepingly vast and heart-wrenchingly personal’ Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Bone Maker

    ‘An excellent addition to the collection of any fantasy reader!’ Dakota Krout, bestselling author of The Completionist Chronicles

    ‘Dragons soar, kingdoms clash, and a unlikely hero discovers his inner strength and forges his own destiny’ Jennifer Estep, New York Times bestselling author of the Crown of Shards series

User Reviews

No reviews yet.

Details

Author
Taran Matharu
Narrator
Tom Babbage
Duration
21 hours 31 minutes
Release Date
24 April 2025
ISBN
9780008517717
Format
x-book®
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Genre
Epic fantasy / high fantasy, Myths and Legends / Mythic fiction, Fantasy romance / Romantic fantasy, Historical fantasy, Historical adventure fiction, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration

Synopsis

The epic sequel to Taran Matharu’s instant Sunday Times bestseller, Dragon Rider, in which empires fall and dragons soar… ‘A dazzlingly epic and richly complex world of dragons, magic, and rebellion’ Amélie Wen Zhao on Dragon Rider Jai dreams of being a dragon rider. He dreams of freedom from the Sabine Empire and a world in which he can lead his people, the Kidara, to freedom. But even though he has his dragon, Winter, she is still growing, just as he’s still growing in his own power. And the road to victory is even more fraught than he had hoped… Because even when he finds a tribe on the Great Steppe, they are not his people. They are the outcasts, the Tainted, and he finds that he knows little of the political intricacies that take place in these vast grasslands. He is a stranger amongst his own kind, for Jai’s uncle rules, and is loath to cede power to his nephew. But the legionaries and Gryphon Guard of the Sabine Empire are wreaking havoc against the other tribes of the Great Steppe, and Jai is forced to learn a lifetime’s worth of knowledge in a matter of months. From levelling up his magic, to becoming a true warrior, saving the woman he loves, and strengthening his bond with Winter, Jai is a dragon rider with a massive weight on his young shoulders. And his greatest hope is that the shoulders of Winter will soon be strong enough to help carry him. READ THE EPIC FANTASY SERIES WITH SCORCHING FIVE-STAR READER REVIEWS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 'Dragons with depth… Taran Matharu masterfully layers the history, politics and soulful magic of his world with page-turning ease, all the while delivering shocks, bloodshed and a splash of slow-burn spice' Cari Thomas, Sunday Times bestselling author of Threadneedle 'Eragon and Sapphira, Laurence and Temeraire, and now Jai and Winter. A brilliant beginning!' Michael R. Miller, bestselling author of the Songs of Chaos series ‘Bloody, glorious, and irresistibly compelling, Dragon Rider is a riveting epic that is at once sweepingly vast and heart-wrenchingly personal’ Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Bone Maker ‘Brutal politics, intricate worldbuilding, and edge-of-the-seat battles’ Prashanth Srivatsa, author of The Spice Gate ‘A classic fantasy adventure that reminds me of the novels I loved growing up, but with a flair of cultivation from the novels I love now’ Will Wight, New York Times bestselling author of the Cradle series

About xigxag and the x-book®

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

Our x-book® format is the only fully integrated listen-and-read experience available. See the text on screen as you listen, look up words, take notes, search within the book, and share quotes. It is especially useful for accessibility, language learning, and getting more from non-fiction. Look for the purple x-book® ribbon on the cover, or filter your search by "x-book" to find them.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.