The Desert and the Blade: Audiobook
Book 12 of the Emberverse series
According to The Books Insider's catalog data, The Desert and the Blade runs 26.2 hours as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Tom McClaren (about 17.5 hours at 1.5× playback speed).
The instrument When will you finish it?
Based on 26.2 hours of listening.
| Your pace | You'll finish in |
|---|---|
| 30 min / day | 53 days |
| 1 hour / day | 27 days |
| 2 hours / day | 14 days |
| 1 hour / day at 1.5× | 18 days |
You'll finish in – by –
Part of The Audiobook Finish-Time Calculator: the same instrument for any audiobook we measure.
What our data says
- At 26.2 hours, it runs longer than 98% of the 13,269 Science Fiction audiobooks in our catalog.
Catching up on Emberverse
This is book 12. Books 1 to 11 run 212.9 hours before it; books 1 to 14 run 268.5 hours in all.
| Book | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dies the Fire | 22 hrs |
| 2 | The Protector's War | 22.5 hrs |
| 3 | A Meeting at Corvallis | 23.5 hrs |
| 4 | The Sunrise Lands | 19 hrs |
| 5 | The Scourge of God | 19 hrs |
| 6 | The Sword of the Lady | 21.5 hrs |
| 7 | The High King of Montival | 16.3 hrs |
| 8 | The Tears of the Sun | 23 hrs |
| 9 | Lord of Mountains | 12.9 hrs |
| 10 | The Given Sacrifice | 14.9 hrs |
| 11 | The Golden Princess | 18.4 hrs |
| 12 | The Desert and the Blade | 26.2 hrs |
About as long, on the Science Fiction shelf
170 Science Fiction audiobooks in our catalog run within 10% of this length. The most popular on the store:
- The Tommyknockers
- The Skull Throne
- Red Mars
- The Daylight War
- Dune: The Butlerian Jihad: Book One of the Legends of Dune Trilogy
Computed from 409,794 English-language unabridged audiobooks in The Books Insider catalog (store data read November 3, 2026). Lengths are the store's own running times. Methodology.
About this listen
The Desert and the Blade is book 12 of S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series: a 26.2-hour unabridged recording, read by Tom McClaren, released September 1, 2015, on the Apocalyptic & Dystopian and Science Fiction shelves.
The listen at a glance
- Length
- 26.2 hrs
- Narrated by
- Tom McClaren
- Released
- September 1, 2015
- Format
- Unabridged audiobook
- Language
- English
- Store shelves
- Apocalyptic & Dystopian, Science Fiction
- Series
- Emberverse #12
- ISBN
- 9781490673868
How to listen to The Desert and the Blade free
New members at audiobooks.com get three free audiobooks with the trial.
Separately, the store's catalog carries more than 10,000 audiobooks that are always free to stream.
Start listening freeQuestions listeners ask
How long is The Desert and the Blade as an audiobook?
The Desert and the Blade runs 26.2 hours unabridged. At 1.5× speed that drops to roughly 17.5 hours.
Is The Desert and the Blade free as an audiobook?
Yes, for new listeners: the trial starts you with three free audiobooks.
Who narrates The Desert and the Blade?
The Desert and the Blade is narrated by Tom McClaren.
Is The Desert and the Blade worth listening to at 1.5× speed?
At 1.5× you'd finish in about 17.5 hours, saving 8.7 hours.