A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic

Pern (Chronological Order)

by Margaret Weis (Editor / Contributor), David Drake (Contributor), Mike Resnick (Contributor)

Dragons are monsters, mages, heroes, horrors. Dragons thrill our dreams and haunt our legends. Now Margaret Weis, coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Dragonlance and Death Gate series, author of the Star of the Guardians series, and one of the world's leading dragonists and dracophiles, gathers the greatest classic dragon stories of our time, written by the winners of every award in the fields of fantasy and science fiction. Book jacket.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Dragons, Anthologies, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Romance

421 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Margaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any short story collection, some of these are great, some are terrible, some are okay. But you say "dragon" and I say here's my money . . . Got this back in high school.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and varied collection of dragon stories. Only one story didn't have any "real" dragons in it.

[M— · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm disappointed to find this edition was abridged from the original and all the more interesting, less frequently anthologized stories seem not to have been included here.

This edition contains:
Weyr Search [Dragonriders of Pern] (1967) by Anne McCaffrey — I was madly in love with the Pern books as a teen, but the more I read the original Pern story that McCaffrey later expanded, the more I really dislike it. Reading it here again was like having everything I enjoyed about the world of Pern sucked out of the story.

Two Yards of Dragon [Incorporated Knight] (1976) by L. Sprague de Camp — Quest for dragonhide by which to win fair lady is a comedy of misadventures. Nothing special. de Camp is an author quite renown, but I found this story bland and boring.

The Ice Dragon (1980) by George R. R. Martin — Girl makes friends with deadly dragon, causes it to kill itself. Stupid girl.

St. Dragon and the George (1957) by Gordon R. Dickson — Another story originally short and later expanded into a better known and more popular novel. Frankly, the movie version of this tale (Flight of Dragons) is the best version available; this short can be skipped utterly.

Saint Willibald's Dragon (1990) by Esther M. Friesner — I have forgotten this story completely.

The Ever-After (1989) by Rosemary Edghill [as by Eluki bes Shahar] — I have forgotten this story completely.

The George Business (1980) by Roger Zelazny — I have forgotten this story completely.

The Dragonbone Flute (1992) by Lois Tilton — I have forgotten this story completely.

A Drama of Dragons [The Ebenezum Trilogy] (1980) by Craig Shaw Gardner — I have forgotten this story completely.

A Plague of Butterflies (1981) by Orson Scott Card — I have forgotten this story completely.

The stories that had been omitted (from ISBN 0727847783):
Introduction (A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic) • essay by Margaret Weis
Cockfight (1980) by Jane Yolen
The Storm King (1980) by Joan D. Vinge
The Fellowship of the Dragon (1992) by Patricia A. McKillip
The Champion of Dragons (1992) by Mickey Zucker Reichert
The George Business (1980) by Roger Zelazny
The Hidden Dragon (1992) by Barbara Delaplace
Last Dragon (1987) by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Wizard's Boy (1986) by Nancy Varian Berberick
A Hiss of Dragon (1978) by Gregory Benford and Marc Laidlaw
Dragons' Teeth (1975) by David Drake
The Trials and Tribulations of Myron Blumberg, Dragon (1992) by Mike Resnick

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read all the stories, just the ones by the authors I've never read before. I discovered a few new authors that I'd like to try more of, like L. Sprague de Camp, Esther Friesner, and Eluki Bes Shahar. I've always had a fondness for dragons, so all these dragon-centered stories really hit the spot.

[theStorykeeper · Rating 2 out of 5]

For something called "A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic," there was a severe lack of dragons, and of the stories that did contain dragons, most of them were the bad guys. I don't know what dragon-lover wants to read stories about them getting murdered left and right. False advertising.

[Adrian Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dracophiles should purchase it immediately, if they haven't yet; otherfolks should probably just borrow it.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked out the eBook of this from the library because I'd thought Gordon R. Dickson's "St. Dragon and the George" sounded interesting. I didn't realize at the time that the story was later expanded into a novel, so I might well check that out later; it was a pretty enjoyable tale about an assistant to a history professor being transported into a dragon's body. I can't remember all the other stories that well, but there were some that I quite liked. The styles vary a bit, not all being high fantasy, but also some science fiction and comedy. Not all of them really focused on dragons, but they all involved them in some way. Quite a few others were also later expanded into longer yarns. Anne McCaffrey's "Weyr Search" became part of her first Pern novel, and while I know that's a famous series, I have to say this excerpt didn't grab me. "Two Yards of Dragon," by L. Sprague de Camp, has elements of parody, with a guy who slays a dragon being arrested for breaking the game laws, and his partner being defrauded by a wizardly con-artist. Another comic one, Craig Shaw Gardner's "A Drama of Dragons," has a wizard who's allergic to magic and his apprentice charged by a very minor duke with fighting a dragon, only to have the dragon and the woman he supposedly kidnapped ending up doing a song-and-dance act. Roger Zelazny's "The George Business" involved a man and a dragon staging fights in order to attract mates. "The Dragonbone Flute" is a sad one, as is George R.R. Martin's "The Ice Dragon," which isn't intended to be connected to A Song of Ice and Fire. Barbara Delaplace's "The Hidden Dragon" is rather dark, being the story of a woman in an abusive relationship who finds out she's able to control a dragon. Gregory Benford and Marc Laidlaw's "A Hiss of Dragon" involves genetically engineered dragons that eat fruit. Mike Resnick's "The Trials and Tribulations of Myron Blumberg, Dragon" is about involves a typical guy who suddenly turns into a dragon, much to the annoyance of his shrewish wife. It's sort of a jokier take on the premise of Kafka's Metamorphosis.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When is a legend a legend?" , pg. 1 (Weyr Search, Anne McCaffrey)

This was a really good anthology; on the whole, I found it included good stories far more than bad ones, and for the most part, the bad ones were really just subpar and not truly bad at all. These are some of the stories that I liked the most:

Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey was really good! I always love the atmosphere that she manages to create with her writing. Having read some of her other books that featured Lessa, Ramoth, and F'lar as minor background characters, it was cool to read a story centered around them for a change.

Cockfight by Jane Yolen was a little predictable and gave me a similar vibe to McCaffrey's Weyr Search, but it too was really well-done. Jakkin is sympathetic, and I found myself wanting him to succeed throughout the story.

The Fellowship of the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillip was a different take on the typical medieval quest story, and it was well-written. I thought all the characters were well done and I found myself mourning for each girl who was lost along the way, and McKillip did a good job with building her world up over the course of the story.

The Champion of Dragons by Mickey Zucker Reichert was absolutely fantastic. Rumiko and Usahibo are A+ characters, and I love them so much. The ending to this was really done, and the premise is awesome. I am out of superlative adjectives to describe how much I loved this story, but I adored it. Again, another really cool take on the whole quest-destiny story.

The Dragonbone Flute by Lois Tilton blew me away. I cried. This was an emotional ride and I am heart-broken. 12/10, well-written and built up in all the best ways possible. I can't recommend this story enough.

Last Dragon by Steve Rasnic Tem was also really sad and heart-breaking. This is probably the one that I remembered the most from when I read this as a kid. Poor Alec.

The Ever-After by Eluki Bes Shahar probably competes with The Dragonbone Flute for my favorite story out of this anthology. I loved Ruana's energy and just the energy of the story overall; it was in some ways another subversion on the quest-destiny trope, and it was rather heart-wrenching at times. Really well-written, in every way.

St. Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson may not be perfect, but I really enjoyed this story. It was great how all the dragons called humans 'georges'!. Where I thought some of the humor in the other stories fell a little flat or didn't hit right, I liked all the jokes in this, and I think its message was a great way to end the anthology. Jim is an A+ main character.

The Hidden Dragon by Barbara Delaplace and The Storm King by Joan D. Vinge were both really well-done. I think I enjoyed reading them a little less than all the ones above, but they were still great works of fiction featuring dragons.

As for the rest of them, I thought they were well done, but left me with less of an emotional takeway than the ones listed above, or they just weren't as good (either too trippy, bland, or far too long for their own good).

I found A Plague of Butterflies by Orson Scott Card was intensely trippy and I am altogether unsure of what I was supposed to take out of it. It wasn't bad; it just made me think it came from a very intense fever dream. It made me laugh, but I'm not sure if it was supposed to. St. Willibald's Dragon by Esther M. Friesner was also a little strange, but more of the eyebrow-raising variety.

George R. R. Martin's The Ice Dragon wasn't objectively bad, but I did find the main character a little flat and boring. I personally find it meehh, but it wasn't necessarily bad. I thought the world it took place in was far more interesting than the actual plot of the story.

Two Yards of Dragon by L. Sprague de Camp was funny, if a little hard to read, and not all the jokes worked all the time. By the time it ended, I was a little winded and ready to move on to the next one.

Dragons' Teeth by David Drake wasn't a bad story, but it was kind of boring and dragons only actually became a thing in the last page? So? Maybe not the best for this anthology.

The Trials and Tribulations of Myron Blumberg, Dragon by Mike Resnick was supposed to be a humor piece, but I didn't find it very funny.

The Wizard's Boy by Nancy Varian Berberick, A Drama of Dragons by Craig Shaw Gardner, and A Hiss of Dragon by Gregory Benford and Mare Laidlaw were actually really good; I just didn't connect as much with them. I thought Benford and Laidlaw's world-building to be really unique, and I liked the humor in Gardner's story. Berberick's wasn't bad at all (and I did enjoy reading it!), but it was a little predictable.

Definitely check this anthology out if you're interested in dragons! It was interesting to see all the different ways that dragons can be written about, and how differently each author viewed dragons. Sometimes they were sentient and intelligent, while other times they were a mysterious creature, whose main purpose was not so much 'character' as metaphor and/or motivator for the main man or woman. Other times they were simply wild and untamed, or barely a separate entity from the untamed part of a person.

These stories are all tightly linked together by one thing- 'dragon', but they are also bound by humanity; how we evolve and are affected by the fantastic and powerful around us, regardless of the severity of the situation or the person involved.

"What I found out was not, not to be scared. It was that scared or not doesn't matter; because you just go ahead anyway."- pg. 421 (St. Dragon and the George, Gordon R. Dickson)

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read three of the short stories:
“The George Business” by Roger Zelazny: Similar story to the film, “Dragonheart” but goofier, and honestly, shallow. Also, the dragon and knight unsuccessfully try to be each other’s wingman.
“The Trials and Tribulations of Myron Glumberg, Dragon” by Mike Resnick: If Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” was about a man randomly turning into a dragon instead of a bug, the only family was a shewish wife, and there were no serious consequences... so really, not much at all like Kafka’s.
The only reason to pick up this story collection: “The Dragonbone Flute” by Luis Tilton: A bittersweet story of magic, loss, rebirth, and death. Enough said.

[Morgan Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this compilation of stories. While not all of them were my favorites I really loved the diverse writing styles and the very diverse representation of dragons; from obvious to very subtle imagery and metaphors.

[Winterdragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The George Business was my favourite.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read one story in this collection - "Weyr Search" by Anne McCaffrey. I enjoyed it.

[Valentine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice anthology. Some great stories, some cheesy, fun to read stories. Definitely not for everyone, but a nice quick summer read.

[Maryjane Coons · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one is going to like every story.
I did enjoy 90% of this book 📖.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good choices of writhers and stories

[Adi Greif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed as a child, few memories.

[Sandra]

I read most of the stories in this collection first in Dragons of Darkness & Dragons of Light. The new stories in this anthology were not outstanding; I’ll pass this collection along.

[Jessica Lerbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read most of them before, and only really liked a couple. Just being a completionist for my McCaffrey collection...

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be enjoyable, but I didn't like a few of the stories.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second dragon anthology I've read in the past couple of years. I don't have any particular fascination for me compared to other fantasy creatures, although I do like them. In the case of the earlier anthology, I picked it out because of the authors who were included; A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic was something my mother picked up for me at a garage sale.

Unsurprisingly, there was a little overlap between the two collections: namely, the entries in this collection by Anne McCaffrey, George R. R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, and Gordon R. Dickson. Martin's "The Ice Dragon" is as haunting as ever, and I continue to find Dickson's "St. Dragon and the George" amusing. Until I read Margaret Weis's introduction, I was unaware how important McCaffery's "Weyr Search" was to modern dragon literature. I had tried to read it when I encountered it in the other anthology, but got bogged down by all the crazy hyphenated names and history. It's still not my favorite of the stories collected here, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. I very much liked Gemma and regretted her fate. The ending, and the promise it held, excited me and made me almost want to search out McCaffery's Pern novels.

Aside from Dickson's story, I didn't like many of the humor pieces, but I was pleasantly surprised with the science fiction entries. Weis says in the introduction that dragons are among the most human of mythical creatures, which I'm not sure I agree with, something I'm not sure I agree with, and I'm not sure Steve Rasnic Tem would either. There is an exquisite moment of purely physical communication between the dying protagonist of his story "Last Dragon" and the titular, extraterrestrial dragon, the last of his species, but the focus is generally on the dragon as Other. Even better is Gregory Benford and Marc Laidlaw's "A Hiss of Dragon," which features some truly marvelous worldbuilding. In this story, dragons were created and genetically engineered by humans to harvest fruit, but have become more dangerous than intended. The conflict, however, is mostly between different factions of engineers and harvesters—quite an exciting and action-packed tale!

I was excited to see two of my favorite authors, Patricia McKillip and Jane Yolen, included here, but only Yolen's story impressed. "Cockfight," like several of her short stories about King Arthur, later became a novel: Dragon's Blood. Having read the story, I'm definitely interested in trying the book out. McKillip's "The Fellowship of the Dragon" features a large-ish cast of female warriors for a story its length, and I didn't think she did a good enough job making them distinctive. Plus, the ending was disappointing.

After Benford and Laidlaw's, I found Joan D. Vinge's "Storm King" to be the most original of the dragons, a creature more of lightning rather than fire. In this story, the dragon is an important thematic element, but the focus is more on the antihero's obsession with power, and what it costs him. Great tale. Another story where the dragon is secondary in importance is Nancy Varian Berberick's "The Wizard's Boy." I loved the mythology of wizardry, and the relationship between the wizard and his thief-turned-apprentice.

"The Dragonbone Flute" joins Martin's story in the "haunting" category. Tilton's story is a marvelous examination of what grieving looks like, and her dragons are quite a bit better at it than the human shepherd who befriends them.

As for Orson Scott Card's "A Plague of Butterflies" ... it's basically one big "WTF?" moment. There are dragons, of course, but also butterflies, angels (I think), tree spirits, and God only knows what else. I was never sure which was which and yes, a dragon does get the ugly-beautiful-fat queen pregnant. I don't even.

All in all, a good anthology, and one I'll be hanging on to.

[Anna Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weyr Search (Anne McCaffrey) was awesome.
The Ice Dragon (George R.R. Martin) was superb. (Maybe I should read GOT?)
The Ever-After (Eluki bes Shahar) started meh, but turned out pretty good.
The George Business (Roger Zelazny) was amusing.
The Dragonbone Flute (Lois Tilton) was poignant.

And that's half the stories.

A Drama of Dragons (Craig Shaw Gardner) and St Dragon and the George (Gordon R. Dickson) were okay, though there were a bit too many St George & the Dragon spoofs/rewrites. I never quite got A Plague of Butterflies (Orson Scott Card), so no exception on re-reading it here.

The other two were meh.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and captivating book. I liked most of the stories and some not so much. There were a lot that captured me and had me turning until the end without realizing it. I liked all the different stories and the interpretations of dragons. Although some of the stories weren't based around a dragon (just happened to have one there for a minute) I liked them. A couple weren't gripping but weren't to hard to read and a lot of them were definitely interesting if not 'happy'. I liked the scope of the settings too. From historical to sci-fi,the past, present, and future, this book contains dragons from other planets, mythical histories, and different cultures. This is something I wouldn't mind reading again. The beginning and ending stories were great and the last one left a smile on my face. Definitely worth the time it took to read. Enjoy!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously not every story in this compilation gets four stars. Some don't even deserve one. In fact the one story in here by Orson Scott Card (probably my favorite author) is lousy.
But there are several stories here that are excellent. George Martin fans will find an great tale about a girl and a dragon. No it's not related to TSOIAF but it's great nonetheless.
This book is great for those times when you don't have time to get involved in an entire novel, but you still crave reading something good.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it turns out, this was an abridged version. I don't know that I'll seek out the book to read the rest of the stories, but it was fun.
_____

Listening to this on the walk to/from work. So far ok; as with all anthologies, some stories are better than others.

So far the Jane Yolen story was simple but nice; Orson Scott Card story was kind of whacked (dragons impregnating women? ewww); the Zelazny story was great (and led to a movie--Dragonheart); the McKillip story is slow but that's just how she writes so no surprise (not a criticism--I like how she writes!).

[Valcadash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truthfully I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would! Dragons are amazing (fantasy) creatures. However, many stories didn't convey this feeling . I can't dismiss though the good stories that were in this book. Therefore, if you love dragons you will eventually come to like this book- or at least a part of it..

[Mollie *scoutrmom* · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dragonriders of Pern story seems to be made up of parts of the first book in the series rescued from the editor's trash. Well done and complete in itself, but not the something different I'd hoped for.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun collection of short stories. Some were better than others.

My two favorite were converting Dragons to Christianity (hilarious) and a short story about an evil sword trying to corrupt a hero...awesome.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, first two stories had my thinking, "Hmm, not fond of this so far but I'll stick it out." Third story was just bloody ridiculous.

[Teresa Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave it three stars because there were some stories I really liked and some stories I will never read again and wish I never read in the first place.