Customer Reviews

Dragons Of Darkness (Ace Science Fiction)

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Although both are long out of print, I enjoyed Card's second anthology more than his first, the companion piece DRAGONS OF LIGHT. Maybe it's because I had more fun reading about scary, man-eating dragons than cute, lovable ones. Maybe it's because the stories in this volume are more dramatic and less comical. Or maybe it's just because a few of these stories tickled my imagination, while none of the others did.

It is still not a great anthology, but three of the fifteen stories are well worth reading.

1. "Alas, My Love, You Do Me Wrong" is a haunting study of a father and son who are unable to relate to each other, and who pay a terrible price.

2. "Negwenya" is a well-crafted piece on racial tensions during apartheid in South Africa.

3. "Plague of Butterflies" is Orson Scott Card's only foray into Latino-style magical realism, with surprisingly good results. (There is a small essay on how this story came to be written in the book "Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card").

Unfortunately, there are also more than a few lighthearted duds like "Middle Woman" (written by Card under a pseudonym), "Lady of the Purple Forest", and "Fear of Fly" (in which a lady knight saves a handsome prince-in-distress from a large dragonfly). Plus, a few adventure sci-fi stories like "Storm King" and "Though All the Mountains Lie Between". I was surprised to see "Thermals of August" included since it features an erotic lesbian scene, and Card is known for his religious stance against homosexuality.

Overall, I would not recommend this. Card has published much better science fiction anthologies, such as MASTERPIECES and FUTURE ON ICE.

Great book .Find a copy if ya can..