Review: The Dragon Book

Last word first: A must-have for dragon aficionados and fantasy lovers. (4/5)

Description: Whether portrayed as fire-breathing reptilian beasts at war with humanity or as noble creatures capable of speech and mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. In modern times, they can be found far from their medieval settings in locales as mundane as suburbia or as barren as post-apocalyptic landscapes-and in The Dragon Book, today's greatest fantasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume readers' imaginations. (description from Goodreads)

My thoughts: If you read the listing of authors I've included below, you'll see the first reason I was excited to review this book. What a great collection of names! Some of my favorite fantasy authors are here, as well as a few I've been meaning to try out. My second reason is, well, how can you go wrong with a collection of stories about dragons? They're fantastic!

This collection definitely has a little something for everyone, from grandiose adventures to humorous, character-driven vignettes. There's a medieval maiden who falls in love with a dragon as well as a dragon living in suburbia. My favorite story in is the one by Tamora Pierce. Daine and Numair are back! My very favorite Pierce characters, back in an all new story featuring Kitty, their adopted dragon.

The Dragon Book would make a great Christmas gift for the fantasy lover on your shopping list. I'm also thinking of passing it along to my dad, who has a bit of a dragon obsession. Be careful though, because if you start reading it, you're going to want to keep it for yourself.

Authors: Tamora Pierce, Garth Nix, Cecelia Holland, Peter S. Beagle, Diana Galbandon, Jane Yolen, Tad Williams, Diana Wynne Jones, Gregory Maguire, Jack Dann, Gardner Dozois, Naomi Novik, Jonathan Stroud, Kage Baker, Adam Stemple, Liz Williams, Samuel Sykes, Sean Williams, Harry Turtledove, Bruce Coville, Tanith Lee, Mary Rosenblum and Andy Duncan.