The Hands of the Emperor: Audiobook
Book 1 of the Lays of the Hearth-Fire series
According to The Books Insider's catalog data, The Hands of the Emperor runs 31.5 hours as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Grant Cartwright (about 21 hours at 1.5× playback speed).
The instrument When will you finish it?
Based on 31.5 hours of listening.
| Your pace | You'll finish in |
|---|---|
| 30 min / day | 63 days |
| 1 hour / day | 32 days |
| 2 hours / day | 16 days |
| 1 hour / day at 1.5× | 21 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 31.5 hours, it runs longer than 100% of the 7,781 Romantasy (Romance) audiobooks in our catalog.
Catching up on Lays of the Hearth-Fire
This is book 1. Books 1 to 2 run 69.5 hours in all.
| Book | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hands of the Emperor | 31.5 hrs |
| 2 | At the Feet of the Sun | 38 hrs |
More narrated by Grant Cartwright
Grant Cartwright narrates 75 unabridged audiobooks in our catalog, 702 hours in all.
About as long, on the Romantasy (Romance) shelf
32 Romantasy (Romance) audiobooks in our catalog run within 10% of this length. The most popular on the store:
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 Hands of the Emperor is book 1 of Victoria Goddard's Lays of the Hearth-Fire series: a 31.5-hour unabridged recording, read by Grant Cartwright, released June 29, 2026, on the Romantasy (Romance) and Epic Fantasy shelves.
The listen at a glance
- Length
- 31.5 hrs
- Narrated by
- Grant Cartwright
- Released
- June 29, 2026
- Format
- Unabridged audiobook
- Language
- English
- Store shelves
- Romantasy (Romance), Epic Fantasy, Historical (Science Fiction & Fantasy)
- Series
- Lays of the Hearth-Fire #1
- ISBN
- 9798318519260
How to listen to The Hands of the Emperor 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 Hands of the Emperor as an audiobook?
The Hands of the Emperor runs 31.5 hours unabridged. At 1.5× speed that drops to roughly 21 hours.
Is The Hands of the Emperor free as an audiobook?
Yes, for new listeners: the trial starts you with three free audiobooks.
Who narrates The Hands of the Emperor?
The Hands of the Emperor is narrated by Grant Cartwright.
Is The Hands of the Emperor worth listening to at 1.5× speed?
At 1.5× you'd finish in about 21 hours, saving 10.5 hours.