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altheaann

altheaann

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A Creature of Moonlight
Rebecca Hahn
Saffron And Brimstone: Strange Stories
Elizabeth Hand
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Lois McMaster Bujold
Snow in May: Stories
Kseniya Melnik
A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic - Anne McCaffrey, Patricia A. McKillip, Joan D. Vinge, Orson Scott Card, L. Sprague de Camp, Roger Zelazny, Mike Resnick, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Jane Yolen, Ciruelo Cabral, David Drake, Esther M. Friesner, Barbara Delaplace, Gregory Benford, Nancy Varian Berberick, Craig This book is pretty much exactly as advertised - if you're in the mood for some dragons, and you're a fan of fantasy fiction, there are stories here for you.
They're not all excellent stories - but my rating gets raised up to 4 stars because it does have some true classics here - Anne McCaffrey's gloriously un-PC 'Weyr Search' (the one that started it all!) and George R.R. Martin's 'Ice Dragon,' for example.

The Jane Yolen story is an excerpt from her 'Pit Dragon' trilogy, which is still my favorite of her works.
The Joan Vinge selection is a wonderfully complex fairy tale, and one I hadn't read before, as a bonus.
I had read the McKillip before; it's a nice feminist take on a quest story.
Mickey Zucker Reichert - eh, I found the Japanese setting unconvincing.
L. Sprague de Camp - not a fan. You might be, but it's just not my style of humor. If you like this, you'll probably also like Gordon R. Dickson's piece, which finishes up the book, and maybe even the rather crass Craig Shaw Gardner one. I just didn't think the Mike Resnick piece was funny at all.
Roger Zelazny's 'The George Business' is also humorous - but I liked it much better.
Lois Tilton's 'Dragonbone Flute' is similar in setting, but beautiful and poignant.
Esther Friesner's Viking-flavored tale was quite entertaining - pleasantly so, after I quite disliked the book I read by her recently.
Barbara Delaplace's story of an abused wife is well-intentioned but clunky.
Steve Rasnic Tem's sci fi/horror take on a dragon story is interesting, but not my favorite thing I've read by the author. The Greg Benford/Marc Laidlaw entry is also sci-fi... but, maybe because I just read it recently, it suffered in comparison to the similar 'Override' by George R.R. Martin.
Nancy Berberick - seems like it would be a good intro to a typical fantasy novel. Maybe it is - she's written several 'Dragonlance' books. The David Drake; I also found to be kind of unmemorable.
Orson Scott Card - much as I'd like to dislike Card's writing, I don't. 'A Plague of Butterflies' is weird, disturbing, creepy and beautiful.
eluki bes shahar - A response to Moorcock's Elric/Eternal Champion stories? A woman hero deals with her dangerously magical sword...


Contents:

Introduction by Margaret Weis
Weyr Search [Pern] by Anne McCaffrey
Cockfight by Jane Yolen
The Storm King by Joan D. Vinge
The Fellowship of the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillip
The Champion of Dragons by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Two Yards of Dragon [Eudoric Dambertson] by L. Sprague de Camp
Saint Willibald’s Dragon by Esther M. Friesner
A Drama of Dragons [Ebenezum] by Craig Shaw Gardner
The George Business by Roger Zelazny
The Dragonbone Flute by Lois Tilton
The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin
The Hidden Dragon by Barbara Delaplace
Last Dragon by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Wizard’s Boy by Nancy Varian Berberick
A Hiss of Dragon by Gregory Benford & Marc Laidlaw
A Plague of Butterflies by Orson Scott Card
The Ever-After by eluki bes shahar
Dragons’ Teeth [Dama (& Vettius)] by David Drake
The Trials and Tribulations of Myron Blumberg, Dragon by Mike Resnick
St. Dragon and the George [Jim Eckert] by Gordon R. Dickson