Dragon Fantastic

Rating:
Summary: 16 stories featuring dragons great and small
Review: Berman, Ruth: "The Dragon's Skin" was the armor of the legendary hunter Nimrod (see book of Genesis), but the lady-knight Bradamant defeated its current incumbent once before - although she no longer has the enchanted weapon that previously tipped the balance. Some unrealistic elements, along the lines of Malory's Table knights running into kings casually.

Delaplace, Barbara: James' abuse of Sarah (drawn from her point of view) is either bringing out "The Hidden Dragon" in her - or pushing her over sanity's edge.

Foster, Alan Dean: "Lethal Perspective" is also in Foster's collection _Impossible Places_. The dragons have met upon the Roof of the World - the environs of Everest - to compare the disasters they've secretly inflicted upon mankind, determining who has displayed supremely effective skill.

Forrest, Elizabeth: All Alben and Rain got from their encounter with a dragon was a lungful of smoke and the death of their horse - and Rain's illness from using blackthorn elixir to augment her powers during the fight. But the shaman in the nearest village sets a steep price for help; they must finish the job, since the moss needed to treat blackthorn fever grows at the "Cold Stone Barrow" where the dragons bide their time.

Friesner, Esther M.: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" The wizard who summoned the dragon (who talks like a genie) has trouble explaining why he's to eat one of the Mets. "A bitter man is not a pretty sight, but one who has had his innate bitterness refined by long years of backing the Cubs is about as ugly as a Gorgon with PMS." (Particularly given why he has a dependable source of virgin's blood for the spell.)

Gunderson, Kimberly: When a grubby kid knocks Jud's wineskin into the street just after he's come off guard duty, Jud searches the kid to find "The Stolen Dragon" - a statue spelled to torment the possessor until returned to its rightful owner.

Haber, Karen: After suffering 3 robberies, Christine arranges for a virtual-reality dragon as "Home Security", even though the dragon was built for a gaming rather than a security system.

Huff, Tanya: 17-year-old Donna received the talisman of "Shing Li-Ung" at her grandmother's deathbed, but only gradually learns that the dragon on the cheap-looking brooch must protect the talisman's bearer. Unfortunately, her younger brother is the one who needs protecting, but her parents see no need to curb him - even after he's given probation for gang involvement. After all, he gave his *word*. (Good folk, I hasten to add, but with blind spots.)

Kreighbaum, Mark A. and McKiernan, Dennis L.: Smael is young and lazy; although married and expecting his first offspring, he's still living in his father's cave, and his chore this morning is to extract an overdue gold tithe from the local villagers. Smael's allergic to burning thatch, and gold attracts pests in chainmail, so he's interested in an ugly little man's proposition of "Straw into Gold: Part II". :)

Lindskold, Jane M.: Whatever the cause - a shooting star landing in the garden, an Italian tomato plant "Between Tomatoes and Snapdragons" - the odd speckled flower on Jinny's tomato plant has burgeoned into an egg - and in bright light, the lizardlike shape within is clearly visible. Regardless of the egg's fate, just being there injects some much-needed wonder into Jinny's exhausting daily round.

Malzberg, Barry N.: "Concerto Accademico" is dedicated to Sir Adrian Boult, the conductor to whom Ralph Vaughn Williams dedicated 2 of his symphonies - though not the 9th, which the Tarrytown Symphony is rehearsing when a dragon wanders into the auditorium. The conductor, of course, is the one person who can't see what's distracting his musicians, since he's facing the wrong way. :)

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: Once a decade, "The Champion of Dragons" is chosen to seek and slay the dragon, although the dragon long ago ceased to bother the village. Although none of the previous 13 champions ever came home, Miura Usashibo has fought hard for the honor, sacrificing everything toward his quest for perfection save his love for his wife Rumiko - but he's now demonstrating his priorities.

Resnick, Laura: Esther, the narrator, comes home after a *long* day of unsuccessful auditions to be buttonholed by her annoying neighbour, with a tale of a dragon in the basement - although "Fluff the Tragic Dragon" didn't even break her stride in going grocery shopping. As Esther says, "What's *wrong* with you people who keep investigating strange noises? You *deserve* to be eaten by a dragon!" Guess who gets nominated to check out the story.

Resnick, Mike: "The Trials and Tribulations of Myron Blumberg, Dragon", the narrator, who's begun changing into a dragon - but although gradual, the change makes quite a contrast with Stephen Donaldson's "Mythological Beast" (_Daughter of Regals and Other Stories_). Morton's nagging wife Sylvia sends him to a dermatologist, to begin with. :) And provided you're a *healthy* dragon, there's a limit to how far your unemployment benefits will stretch...

Schimel, Lawrence: "Phobiac" The only piece in Fennwick's (an antique shop on Museum Mile in New York) that the owner refuses to sell or discuss is a tenth-century suit of armor. (Short but good story).

Sherman, Josepha: "Dragon's Destiny" has a Russian folktale setting. While dragons per se may not exist, there *are* dragon-sorcerers, such as Gorynich, who barely remembers life as a human. He's concerned with the knight Dobrynya only because a scrying indicated that Dobrynya would be his destiny or death; as a kidnapped princess later points out, while Gorynich is hungry for "power", he doesn't *do* anything. A bigger problem is that the first encounter between knight and dragon is inconclusive for reasons that don't seem consistent with later events; fixing this would require cutting the story drastically, or lengthening it to build up the second encounter properly.

Rating:
Summary: Dragons! Dragons! Dragons! and more Dragons!
Review: I love dragons, so when I found this book I had to get it. Now, I'm very gald that I did. I found this book to be entertaining and I'm sure you would too, even if you're not big on dragons. So, I suggest you get it now, you won't regret it

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Dragon Lovers!
Review: I read this book several years ago and it still sticks in my mind. Matter of fact, I think I'll go read it again now. Smoking-who knew one of them was the cause of human ruin?