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melodypowers65's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a mixture of really good stories and some which I thought were too long, especially given this was a *short* story collection. However, overall, it was a very enjoyable read.
butterbee's review against another edition
3.0
Fun anthology - especially enjoyed the stories by Cecelia Holland, Naomi Novik, Kage Baker, Peter Beagle, Diana Wynne JonesBruce Coville, Tanith Lee, Tamora Pierce, Mary Rosenblum and Andy Duncan.
lizthedragon's review against another edition
3.0
Some good stories. Some that had pieces I liked but had drawbacks. Some I didn't finish reading.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
4.0
Dragon's Deep - Cecelia Holland - Four of five stars
A good start to an anthology. Didn't want to put it down and had a stable ending that didn't feel too quick or too slow.
Vici - Naomi Novik - Three of five stars
Amusing but not very memorable. Decently written. Problem is, I'm writing the review a week after reading and it didn't really stick in my mind.
Bob Choi's Last Job - Jonathan Stroud - Three of five stars
Took me ages to finish, but then I wished it were longer.
Are You Afflicted with Dragons? - Kage Baker - Four of Five Stars
Very good. Cute ending - would have preferred something stronger, but the ending was still good :)
The Tsar's Dragons - Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple - Two of Five Stars
Wasn't able to finish this, as the characters weren't easy to keep straight and it jumped around a lot. A pity, because I loved studying him in school.
The Dragon of Direfell - Liz Williams - Four of Five stars
Very enjoyable to read. Slight twist ending which makes you want to read it again :)
Oakland Dragon Blues - Peter S. Beagle - Five of Five Stars
Utterly awesome. You could really see this happening in the TV Show "Castle". I think a writer always loves stories tht slightly break the fourth wall, especially when it involves another writer.
Humane Killer - Diana Gabaldon and Samuel Sykes - Two of Five Stars
As soon as this one switched to the different POV I lost interest, sadly enough. I enjoyed the beginning but couldn't finish it.
Stop! - Garth Nix - Three of Five Stars
Quite interesting, an enjoyable read.
Ungentle Fire - Sean Williams
Saving this one until last - so I haven't read it yet - as he's the reason I bought this :)
Okay, now I've read it and as always, Sean never fails to impress. I can't wait to read more of his books :)
A Stark and wormy Knight - Tad Williams - Five of Five Stars
It's not often someone can write accents and do it well, adding to the story. Tad managed this fantastically. I can't wait to read more by him.
None So Blind - Harry Turtledove - One of Five stars
Couldn't get into this at all :(
JoBoy - Diana Wynne Jones - Four of Five Stars
Very enjoyable. Liked this one quite a bit.
Puz_le - Gregory Maguire - Three of Five Stars
Good enough, but lacked the zing my other favourites in this so far.
After the Third Kiss - Bruce Coville - Five of Five Stars
Really very good, lovely ending, couldn't put it down.
The War that Winter Is - Tanith Lee - Two of Five Stars
Couldn't get into this one either.
The Dragon's Tale - Tamora Pierce - Three of Five Stars
I think my problem was that I read her when I was younger, so I was expecting too much. There's nothing wrong with this short story, but it also didn't interest me as much as I thought it would/should.
Dragon Storm - Mary Rosenblum - Two of Five Stars
Couldn't get into it.
The Dragaman's Bride - Andy Duncan - Two of Five Stars
Couldn't get into it.
A good start to an anthology. Didn't want to put it down and had a stable ending that didn't feel too quick or too slow.
Vici - Naomi Novik - Three of five stars
Amusing but not very memorable. Decently written. Problem is, I'm writing the review a week after reading and it didn't really stick in my mind.
Bob Choi's Last Job - Jonathan Stroud - Three of five stars
Took me ages to finish, but then I wished it were longer.
Are You Afflicted with Dragons? - Kage Baker - Four of Five Stars
Very good. Cute ending - would have preferred something stronger, but the ending was still good :)
The Tsar's Dragons - Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple - Two of Five Stars
Wasn't able to finish this, as the characters weren't easy to keep straight and it jumped around a lot. A pity, because I loved studying him in school.
The Dragon of Direfell - Liz Williams - Four of Five stars
Very enjoyable to read. Slight twist ending which makes you want to read it again :)
Oakland Dragon Blues - Peter S. Beagle - Five of Five Stars
Utterly awesome. You could really see this happening in the TV Show "Castle". I think a writer always loves stories tht slightly break the fourth wall, especially when it involves another writer.
Humane Killer - Diana Gabaldon and Samuel Sykes - Two of Five Stars
As soon as this one switched to the different POV I lost interest, sadly enough. I enjoyed the beginning but couldn't finish it.
Stop! - Garth Nix - Three of Five Stars
Quite interesting, an enjoyable read.
Ungentle Fire - Sean Williams
Saving this one until last - so I haven't read it yet - as he's the reason I bought this :)
Okay, now I've read it and as always, Sean never fails to impress. I can't wait to read more of his books :)
A Stark and wormy Knight - Tad Williams - Five of Five Stars
It's not often someone can write accents and do it well, adding to the story. Tad managed this fantastically. I can't wait to read more by him.
None So Blind - Harry Turtledove - One of Five stars
Couldn't get into this at all :(
JoBoy - Diana Wynne Jones - Four of Five Stars
Very enjoyable. Liked this one quite a bit.
Puz_le - Gregory Maguire - Three of Five Stars
Good enough, but lacked the zing my other favourites in this so far.
After the Third Kiss - Bruce Coville - Five of Five Stars
Really very good, lovely ending, couldn't put it down.
The War that Winter Is - Tanith Lee - Two of Five Stars
Couldn't get into this one either.
The Dragon's Tale - Tamora Pierce - Three of Five Stars
I think my problem was that I read her when I was younger, so I was expecting too much. There's nothing wrong with this short story, but it also didn't interest me as much as I thought it would/should.
Dragon Storm - Mary Rosenblum - Two of Five Stars
Couldn't get into it.
The Dragaman's Bride - Andy Duncan - Two of Five Stars
Couldn't get into it.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first collection I've read in a long while that is all good or better. There isn't a stinker in the bunch! My favorites were:
Jonathan Stroud's "Bob Choi's Last Job": Bob Choi goes after a dragon who is hiding in human form, eating humans, and stacking their bones neatly in the alley. Dark and really fascinating.
Naomi Novik's "Vici": debauched Roman Antony is charged with murder. His sentence: to slay a full grown dragon by himself (which means certain death). But Antony is sly and clever, and things don't procede precisely as planned. A fun prelude to the Temeraire series (though reading that series is wholly unnecessary to enjoying this tale).
Cecelia Holland's "Dragon's Deep": Perla is a young woman in a medieval fishing village. After the local Duke takes all their supplies, Perla and a few of the bravest fishermen go in search of more fish. But instead, they find a dragon. Perla is the dragon's prisoner for some time, trading stories for fish and her life. At last, she finds people again--but discovers that dragons and humans are not so unalike.Good"
Tad Williams's "A Stark and Wormy Knight": A darkly funny bedtime tale as told by a dragon. Marvelous use of language and kennings.
Andy Duncan's "The Dragaman's Bride": a wizard is traveling through the mountains in Virginia when she comes across a dragon who invites her to dine. At his dinner table, she meets ghostly miners, imps, the devil's son-in-law, and a girl who went missing rather than be forcibly sterilized. The style is unique and took me a couple pages to get used to, but then I loved it. I want more of this world!
Jonathan Stroud's "Bob Choi's Last Job": Bob Choi goes after a dragon who is hiding in human form, eating humans, and stacking their bones neatly in the alley. Dark and really fascinating.
Naomi Novik's "Vici": debauched Roman Antony is charged with murder. His sentence: to slay a full grown dragon by himself (which means certain death). But Antony is sly and clever, and things don't procede precisely as planned. A fun prelude to the Temeraire series (though reading that series is wholly unnecessary to enjoying this tale).
Cecelia Holland's "Dragon's Deep": Perla is a young woman in a medieval fishing village. After the local Duke takes all their supplies, Perla and a few of the bravest fishermen go in search of more fish. But instead, they find a dragon. Perla is the dragon's prisoner for some time, trading stories for fish and her life. At last, she finds people again--but discovers that dragons and humans are not so unalike.Good"
Tad Williams's "A Stark and Wormy Knight": A darkly funny bedtime tale as told by a dragon. Marvelous use of language and kennings.
Andy Duncan's "The Dragaman's Bride": a wizard is traveling through the mountains in Virginia when she comes across a dragon who invites her to dine. At his dinner table, she meets ghostly miners, imps, the devil's son-in-law, and a girl who went missing rather than be forcibly sterilized. The style is unique and took me a couple pages to get used to, but then I loved it. I want more of this world!
urchin's review
3.0
I liked the book as a compilation, some of the stories were better than others, but such is the way of things. I do recommend picking the book up if you enjoy fantasy and the whimsy it provides.
saphirablue's review against another edition
3.0
As always with an anthology - some of these stories I loved, some are okay and some I didn't like at all and skipped.
Among the ones I loved have been the ones by Naomi Novik (backstory/history for Temeraire!), Peter S. Beagle (wonderful and great idea), Tamora Pierce (I freaking love this story with a baby dragon who has magic and an intelligent, mindspeaking horse. I think that this story is set in a 'verse and I really need to find the books for it.), Kage Baker (the idea of dragons as "pests" like, say, doves or rats? Cool.), Garth Nix (Wow, cool concept and mix of Fantasy and SciFi) and Sean Williams (I think this story is also part of a bigger world and I need to check it out.)
I love how the various lores about dragons have been used in all of these stories - true to the lore or changed to something different (like, breathing ice instead of fire for example). I also love that sometimes the dragons have been the "good ones" and sometimes they have been the "bad ones".
All in all a nice read with some exceptional stories.
Among the ones I loved have been the ones by Naomi Novik (backstory/history for Temeraire!), Peter S. Beagle (wonderful and great idea), Tamora Pierce (I freaking love this story with a baby dragon who has magic and an intelligent, mindspeaking horse. I think that this story is set in a 'verse and I really need to find the books for it.), Kage Baker (the idea of dragons as "pests" like, say, doves or rats? Cool.), Garth Nix (Wow, cool concept and mix of Fantasy and SciFi) and Sean Williams (I think this story is also part of a bigger world and I need to check it out.)
I love how the various lores about dragons have been used in all of these stories - true to the lore or changed to something different (like, breathing ice instead of fire for example). I also love that sometimes the dragons have been the "good ones" and sometimes they have been the "bad ones".
All in all a nice read with some exceptional stories.
angielisle's review
3.0
A neat anthology filled with modern-day tales of dragons. I enjoyed most of the stories (about 75%) but there were a few I could've lived without. Those few stories took a while for me to get through; they just failed to capture my attention.