THE BOOK OF DRAGONS
edited by Jonathan Strahan
Including 29 original short stories and poems, Strahan’s stellar anthology of dragon-powered narratives features works by a veritable murderer’s row of genre fiction luminaries, including Peter S. Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, Scott Lynch, Ken Liu, Kate Elliott, and Todd McCaffrey, among others.
Complemented by subtle illustrations throughout, the power of this gem-filled anthology is not only in the consistent quality of stories, but the impressive diversity of plotlines. Many selections derive inspiration from various folkloric tales and myths while others envision dragons in wildly untraditional—and at times metaphorical—ways. Seanan McGuire’s heartfelt “Hoard” chronicles a single woman who lovingly takes in foster children and helps them flourish. The system, however, sees her as something different. McCaffrey’s “Small Bird’s Plea” blends elements of science fiction and fantasy to create a story about a young girl on a quest to save her village, which she believes is being attacked by demons. Brooke Bolander’s “Where the River Turns to Concrete” follows a hulking amnesiac who, after being found naked in a parking garage by a local crime boss and hired on as muscle, finds something unexpected on his brutal journey of self-discovery. Beagle’s “Except on Saturdays” reimagines the French myth of Melusine with the story of a California high school history teacher who, after meeting a wheelchair-using woman on a bus, realizes that she is much more than she seems. In K.J. Parker’s “Habitat,” a local hero is tasked by a prince to catch and deliver him a living dragon. The hero delivers—with karmic results. There are no weak links in this anthology, and every selection is noteworthy in some way, but arguably the most memorable story is Ann Leckie and Rachel Swirsky’s “We Continue,” set on a planet where human colonists struggle to survive while dragons thrive in hivelike communities that regenerate with the birth of a new queen.
A heaping hoard of literary gems that fans of dragon-powered stories will surely treasure.