Patricia A. McKillip, Harrowing the Dragon

Harrowing the Dragon

Patricia A. McKillip

Ace, Nov 2005, $23.95

ISBN: 0441013600

This compilation of fifteen fantasies written in the 1980s (4) and 1990s (11) by award-winner Patricia A. McKillip are all delightful tales that showcases a wonderful author who is as comfortable with short stories as she is with novels. Few writers can match Ms. McKillip's skills with taking the standard sub-genre rudiments and turning them into the tools of Od Magic that make her such a terrific fantasist. All are superior entries, but this reviewer especially enjoyed the retelling of fairy tales. Each of the contributions is different, but share in common messages involving freedom to choose. Fans will enjoy this strong enticing anthology with tales like the official crime scene investigators looking into the suspicious deaths of Romeo and Juliet that seem so much like a murder-suicide crime of passion. A terrific imagination makes this a fine reading experience.

Harriet Klausner