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Tales of Scales
Dragons come in all shapes and sizes, this is of course, a given. In this collection of 10 short stories, dragons and their scaled relatives abound! Build a union with kobolds, take a trip to the stars in search of loved ones, remember for a moment the ache of new loves, hold close the joy of sharing your hoard with others, frolic with spirits in a secret wood on the edge of existence, and keep those wits sharp, for dragons are always eager to surprise.
214 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2025
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Michael Miele
1 book17 followersMichael Miele is a dragon, at least on the internet. During the day he wrangles computers with strange runes and magic to support his hoard of to-read books. He writes science-fiction, fantasy, and slice of life themed short stories.
His debut book, Tales of Scales, is a collection of 10 short stories that all have to do with a dragon in some way. He finds dragons and talking animals in general endlessly fascinating. When he's not writing you can find him playing volleyball, painting, or playing board games with friends.
From a cozy room nestled deep within an impossible castle, comes a voice that'd like to say "Curl up with a good book and be kind to yourself."
His debut book, Tales of Scales, is a collection of 10 short stories that all have to do with a dragon in some way. He finds dragons and talking animals in general endlessly fascinating. When he's not writing you can find him playing volleyball, painting, or playing board games with friends.
From a cozy room nestled deep within an impossible castle, comes a voice that'd like to say "Curl up with a good book and be kind to yourself."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 17, 2025
You might like this book if you:
-Are a fan of dragons (duh)
-Are looking for quality PG-rated writing
-Enjoy a lot of variety in your anthology stories
-Love magic and whimsy
-Support the right to organized labor
Tales of Scales is a dragon-themed short story anthology with nine whimsical short stories and one novelette. The stories, of course, all revolve around dragons and are creatively very distinct--a cyborg dragon builds a spaceship to find his lost mentor, a dragon hunter falls in love with the dragon he’s pursuing, a horde of kobolds unionizes against unfair working conditions. The anthology is even suitable for all ages, making this a treat for fans of dragons everywhere.
For me the real highlight of the book is how it explores a variety of dragon types, showing how versatile dragons are both as characters and worldbuilding elements. In one story a dragon might be hyperactive, friendly, and live in watery caves. In another, the dragon might be more like a magical animal feeding a furnace with its heat. There are also a few traditional intelligent dragons for good measure, particularly in stories focused on non-dragon main characters, such as kobolds. It showcases how fun dragons can be in storytelling. As someone who reads a lot of straight-faced literature, it was refreshing to read something with this level of lighthearted magic and whimsy.
I must highlight the novelette in this anthology in case you want to read it specifically for that. The Unionization of Kobolds follows such a clever concept—that Kobolds, tired of being neglected and treated unfairly by their dragons, would form a labor union for better pay and working conditions. Even just hearing the concept made me smile and want to read this anthology as soon as possible. It’s just so endearing. The story also features a great cast of characters and a surprising amount of worldbuilding to show how the kobolds function as a workforce and the challenges they come up against. I will say I wasn’t expecting the story to be an adventure. I thought it would focus primarily on the unions promised by the title, but it only did so in the last eighth or so of the story. So, tailor your expectations a bit so you aren’t thrown off like I was.
Fans of other stories about benevolent dragons such as Dragonheart and Axinstone will certainly enjoy this anthology. It’s a must read for dragon fans everywhere.
-Are a fan of dragons (duh)
-Are looking for quality PG-rated writing
-Enjoy a lot of variety in your anthology stories
-Love magic and whimsy
-Support the right to organized labor
Tales of Scales is a dragon-themed short story anthology with nine whimsical short stories and one novelette. The stories, of course, all revolve around dragons and are creatively very distinct--a cyborg dragon builds a spaceship to find his lost mentor, a dragon hunter falls in love with the dragon he’s pursuing, a horde of kobolds unionizes against unfair working conditions. The anthology is even suitable for all ages, making this a treat for fans of dragons everywhere.
For me the real highlight of the book is how it explores a variety of dragon types, showing how versatile dragons are both as characters and worldbuilding elements. In one story a dragon might be hyperactive, friendly, and live in watery caves. In another, the dragon might be more like a magical animal feeding a furnace with its heat. There are also a few traditional intelligent dragons for good measure, particularly in stories focused on non-dragon main characters, such as kobolds. It showcases how fun dragons can be in storytelling. As someone who reads a lot of straight-faced literature, it was refreshing to read something with this level of lighthearted magic and whimsy.
I must highlight the novelette in this anthology in case you want to read it specifically for that. The Unionization of Kobolds follows such a clever concept—that Kobolds, tired of being neglected and treated unfairly by their dragons, would form a labor union for better pay and working conditions. Even just hearing the concept made me smile and want to read this anthology as soon as possible. It’s just so endearing. The story also features a great cast of characters and a surprising amount of worldbuilding to show how the kobolds function as a workforce and the challenges they come up against. I will say I wasn’t expecting the story to be an adventure. I thought it would focus primarily on the unions promised by the title, but it only did so in the last eighth or so of the story. So, tailor your expectations a bit so you aren’t thrown off like I was.
Fans of other stories about benevolent dragons such as Dragonheart and Axinstone will certainly enjoy this anthology. It’s a must read for dragon fans everywhere.
June 29, 2025
I originally picked up this book to enjoy a collection of short stories at my own leisure. However, once I started reading I couldn't put it down. There are several stories that brought me to tears because of how strongly they resonated with my personal experiences. Themes of tenderness, caring, isolation, companionship, and fleeting time all excellently crafted in a way that is whimsical and relevant for everyone.
September 6, 2025
Tales of Scales by Michael Miele
According to the book's synopsis, "Dragons come in all shapes and sizes", which is an accurate description of the sheer variety packed into Tales of Scales' ten stories! Each narrative is wildly different from the last, featuring different settings, tones, and lengths, but all are united by their wildly varying depictions of dragons! There really is something for every dragon-lover here!
Out of it's ten stories, my favourites were:
* Distress Signal in which a cyborg dragon builds a rocket ship to rescue his stranded mentor in outer space...
* At Sunset She Flew, in which a dragon gets stranded on a small island in the open ocean inhabited by hostile humans, and must survive by waiting until nightfall to hunt, while painting her cave to pass time during the days...
* Brunhilda In which a pair of kids investigate a train rumored to be haunted only to find something much more special...
* My Greatest Treasure In which a crow thief takes on a dragon's challenge to find a precious treasure...
* Letters From Nathaniel Hedgeworthy Addressed With Great Longing and Adoration to Symon the Dragon, in which a monster hunter finds beauty in the dragon he is tasked with killing...
And the longest story by far- The Unionization of the Kobolds! It follows an ensemble cast of Kobolds who, fed up with being overworked and suspicious about recent behaviours of their dragon leaders, journey into a mountain to investigate and demand better working conditions. Each kobold has their own special talent which matches their name, and they must combine their abilities in creative ways to overcome the obstacles on their path!
While not every story has a happy ending, the book maintained a whimsical, cozy feel throughout! And as somebody who mostly reads more adult books these days, it felt refreshing to experience something more laid-back!
Overall, if you love dragons, and want something fairly tame/ "PG rated" in terms of content, I'd highly recommend reading Tales of Scales. I'd say it's also a great option for the younger dragon fans in your life, too. As somebody who was obsessed with dragons growing up, and loved reading, I know I would have loved this book as a kid! And with themes such as environmentalism, forging unlikely friendships, standing up to oppression, and making the most of our short time on Earth, these stories certainly have plenty of good lessons for impressionable readers!
According to the book's synopsis, "Dragons come in all shapes and sizes", which is an accurate description of the sheer variety packed into Tales of Scales' ten stories! Each narrative is wildly different from the last, featuring different settings, tones, and lengths, but all are united by their wildly varying depictions of dragons! There really is something for every dragon-lover here!
Out of it's ten stories, my favourites were:
* Distress Signal in which a cyborg dragon builds a rocket ship to rescue his stranded mentor in outer space...
* At Sunset She Flew, in which a dragon gets stranded on a small island in the open ocean inhabited by hostile humans, and must survive by waiting until nightfall to hunt, while painting her cave to pass time during the days...
* Brunhilda In which a pair of kids investigate a train rumored to be haunted only to find something much more special...
* My Greatest Treasure In which a crow thief takes on a dragon's challenge to find a precious treasure...
* Letters From Nathaniel Hedgeworthy Addressed With Great Longing and Adoration to Symon the Dragon, in which a monster hunter finds beauty in the dragon he is tasked with killing...
And the longest story by far- The Unionization of the Kobolds! It follows an ensemble cast of Kobolds who, fed up with being overworked and suspicious about recent behaviours of their dragon leaders, journey into a mountain to investigate and demand better working conditions. Each kobold has their own special talent which matches their name, and they must combine their abilities in creative ways to overcome the obstacles on their path!
While not every story has a happy ending, the book maintained a whimsical, cozy feel throughout! And as somebody who mostly reads more adult books these days, it felt refreshing to experience something more laid-back!
Overall, if you love dragons, and want something fairly tame/ "PG rated" in terms of content, I'd highly recommend reading Tales of Scales. I'd say it's also a great option for the younger dragon fans in your life, too. As somebody who was obsessed with dragons growing up, and loved reading, I know I would have loved this book as a kid! And with themes such as environmentalism, forging unlikely friendships, standing up to oppression, and making the most of our short time on Earth, these stories certainly have plenty of good lessons for impressionable readers!
August 14, 2025
Some of these stories deserve 4 or 5 stars for being well-written, unique, and delightfully wholesome. I don't normally read YA, but overall this is a book I'd recommend to YA fans and parents who read to their children. I even got Ray Bradbury vibes from one particular sci-fi tale, and the final story shone as a bright send off.
Some stories, however, remind me of family-friendly My Little Pony fanfiction (minus ponies, plus dragons, which is infinitely better imo). I say this because, in those particular stories, there didn't seem to be any reason for the characters to be dragons as opposed to humans or mice or dwarves. This left me wondering if these stories were intended to take place in the same world (sometimes it made sense, other times it glaringly did not), and I found that distracting. Unfortunately, this included the longest tale in this collection. For example, humans were mentioned in this tale, but there was never any explanation about how the humans, dragons, and kobolds coexisted. Humans never even appeared in a scene. But in an earlier story, humans were threatening a dragon (who did not 'have' a kobold). And in the very first story, a kobold gets a job from a dragon, but evidently has worked for many other dragons in the past. In this first story, I don't think humans are mentioned at all.
TLDR: There was enough marvelousness in this collection that I'm looking forward to reading more by the author, but not so much marvelousness that I enjoyed every page or would recommend it to everyone.
Some stories, however, remind me of family-friendly My Little Pony fanfiction (minus ponies, plus dragons, which is infinitely better imo). I say this because, in those particular stories, there didn't seem to be any reason for the characters to be dragons as opposed to humans or mice or dwarves. This left me wondering if these stories were intended to take place in the same world (sometimes it made sense, other times it glaringly did not), and I found that distracting. Unfortunately, this included the longest tale in this collection. For example, humans were mentioned in this tale, but there was never any explanation about how the humans, dragons, and kobolds coexisted. Humans never even appeared in a scene. But in an earlier story, humans were threatening a dragon (who did not 'have' a kobold). And in the very first story, a kobold gets a job from a dragon, but evidently has worked for many other dragons in the past. In this first story, I don't think humans are mentioned at all.
TLDR: There was enough marvelousness in this collection that I'm looking forward to reading more by the author, but not so much marvelousness that I enjoyed every page or would recommend it to everyone.
Read
July 27, 2025Tales of Scales is a cozy fantasy short story collection featuring various adventures featuring dragon characters. There's so much creativity in each story, with such unique ideas as cybernetic dragons, fleeting fox spirits, and kobold unions in pursuit of better working conditions. The characters are brimming with personality, easy to root for and laugh along with no matter what situation they're in. Each story felt so warm, as if they're asking to be told over the fire with a warm drink in hand, and you know they're all going to have a happy ending. I particularly enjoyed the themes of grief, the dangers of capitalism, friendship, and love tackled in this collection. This book made for a delightful read, one full of fun characters and heartwarming stories, and I'm glad for the chance to have read it.
[Out of fairness, I do not give ratings to books written by those with whom I have personal relations.]
[Out of fairness, I do not give ratings to books written by those with whom I have personal relations.]
September 19, 2025
A book of short stories.
Imaginative, descriptive, with a positive spin.
Imaginative, descriptive, with a positive spin.
September 19, 2025
Delightful tales of beautiful scales.
I really enjoyed this book. I had read several of the stories before and enjoyed them, and the 5 new stories were just as delightful as the ones I had already known and loved. My personal favourite in the collection is "Letters From Nathaniel Hedgeworthy Addressed with Great Longing and Adoration to Symon the Dragon," which was a delight from the title itself!
I really enjoyed this book. I had read several of the stories before and enjoyed them, and the 5 new stories were just as delightful as the ones I had already known and loved. My personal favourite in the collection is "Letters From Nathaniel Hedgeworthy Addressed with Great Longing and Adoration to Symon the Dragon," which was a delight from the title itself!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews