Dragon Scales and Other Tales

by Eric Tanafon

New twists on folklore older than the hills. Romances natural. artificial, and supernatural. Dragons and ghosts. Unicorns of more than one sort. Enchanted forests and disenchanted princesses. Fourteen stories, a fortnight of new worlds; and just possibly, a touch of the eternal fire that some say will end all the worlds, real or imagined.

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Eric Tanafon writes software by day and fantasy fiction by the light of the moon. He lives in New Hampshire with his lovely wife and children in an old house, which unfortunately isn't haunted.

Reviews

[Michael Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed with variety, Dragon Scales and Other Tales is a fantasy feast paying homage to myths, legends and fairy tales. There are modern riffs on familiar tales and new twists on old ones. There’s comedy, drama, tragedy, romance and even verse.

As a collection, you can enjoy it all at once or over time in smaller portions - which I did. After the first few stories, I wanted a chance to digest each offering before starting the next.

The middle of the book, which is typically a lull as the beginning transitions to the end, contained the two gems of the collection for this reader: the very witty The Forest Ever After and the haunting Land of Light. If they weren’t in the same book, I could believe they were written by different authors. Both are excellent in their own right.

Highly recommended.

[Kathleen Garlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speed dating with the Gods. A foolish Giant talking in his sleep. The haunting of an Irish pub by a very Norse ghost. A magical forest filled with danger and enchantment. And a dangerous hunt on the cold northern sea for the elusive sea unicorn using a captive virgin as bait.

These are just a few of the tales told by Eric Tanafon in his delightful short story collection entitled Dragon Scales and Other Tales.

Variety is the spice of life, or so they say, and there should be something for every taste in this anthology. Some of my favorites were those with a Norse flavor. The Cinder-lad and the Luck of the Hunt were especially good. I’m not Scandinavian, but I’ve lived all my life in a place filled with Norse culture. (Skol, Vikings!) These two stories felt very true, very immersive. I could feel the cold wind pierce my clothing, the icy sea spray numb my cheeks; my nerves thrummed with the characters’ anxiety and desperation, and my spirits plummeted then soared with their sorrow and triumph. So well done.

Other favorites were The Forest Ever After; Jack and the EPA Man; and the funny and charming Dragon Scales. Several of the stories are variations of old tales: She’d her Apron Wrapped Around her was one of these. Moody and melancholy, it was a story I’d never read before, but I enjoyed this version very much.

Of course, as in any collection, there were tales that appealed less to me than others, but that is a matter of personal preference. I prefer some spices be left on the shelf. Curry, for example. Not a fan.

But I am a fan of Eric Tanafon’s writing. I hope you will be too. Pick up a copy of Dragon Scales and Other Tales and see which story tickles your taste buds.

[Ian Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess that usually I find short stories to be of little interest. Only too often they are written more with a view to show the author has some sort of writing technique and really has not appreciated there is a real skill to writing them. However, Tanafon is not one of those authors. These are gems of short stories. Most of them have a twist at the end that throws a whole new light on what they were about, and that to me is a sign that Tanafon really knows how to write short stories. Of course, I cannot elaborate because that would spoil. Some of the stories could be considered as new fairy stories, such as one in which a magic forest springs up in someone's back yard. Others are more mythical, such as the one with the dragon. However, for me one of the most interesting was one called "Moths". This is a really short short story, and it really contains two stories, except one is there only by hints. You, the reader have to use some imagination. One piece of advice, though. Authors tend to have a structural style, and unfortunately in a collection of short stories, this shows up more rapidly. I found that towards the end there was a sort of sameness about them that means I tended to see what was coming before it did, which loses the freshness. This is a good collection, and well worth reading, but I suggest that these stories should be read spaced out over an extended time rather than over a short period.