The Dragon Quintet (Hardcover)

~ Orson Scott Card (Author), Mercedes Lackey (Author), Elizabeth Moon (Author), Michael Swanwick (Author), Tanith Lee (Author), Marvin Kaye (Editor) "Mix one oddly endearing family with one oddly unsettling old house and add something unspoken with wings, and you have the elements of this, our..." (more)
Key Phrases: Granna Sofi, Sergeant Bombast, Hag Applemere (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There be dragons of all spots and stripes in this solid anthology from editor Kaye (The Vampire Sextette), showcasing original fantasy novellas by five of the biggest names in the genre. In Orson Scott Card's uneven "In the Dragon's House," a Bradburyesque gingerbread gothic, a lonely orphan named Michael discovers a magical but somewhat sinister "dragon" in the old mansion he lives in with other disenfranchised children. Elizabeth Moon's "Judgment" is a wise, Tolkien-toned piece, complete with dwarves and stolen eggs that contain powerful "pretties" capable of turning villagers into dragons. Tanith Lee's gorgeous "Love in a Time of Dragons," the volume's single erotic entry, tells the tale of an abused servant who falls in love with a dragon ring. The most satisfying of the lot is Mercedes Lackey's "Joust," which she later expanded to a novel by the same name. The determination of Vetch, Lackey's serf turned dragon-boy, to escape from a war-torn land echoes the theme of Michael Swanwick's more sophisticated but extremely dark "King Dragon." Swanwick delivers the most chilling dragon, a warship with a monster's mind who tries to enslave Will, another boy transformed by revolution. Kaye obligingly recommends a range of dragon-related novels, films and Web sites in his afterword.
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From Booklist

Kaye, editor of many notable anthologies, presents five dazzling new long stories by well-known fantasy authors. In Orson Scott Card's gothic "In the Dragon's House," an old dragon with its own mysterious agenda nurtures a lonely boy. In "Judgment" by Elizabeth Moon, a dragon sits in judgment on a boy shunned by his village and on those who would abuse or use him. Tanith Lee's "Love in a Time of Dragons" is a sensual fable about an ill-used tavern wench, who, through sheer determination and a murder, becomes a dragonwife. Mercedes Lackey's "Joust," about a serf requisitioned to become a dragon boy, is the basis of her fine novel Joust [BKL Mr 15 03] and its recent sequel, Alta [BKL Mr 15 04]. Rounding out the book is "King Dragon," Michael Swanwick's grim tale of a sinister bionic dragon that takes over a small village and its inhabitants. None of the stories ever falters, and each puts forth a very different, entirely compelling view of dragons. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076531035X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765310354
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #376,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but flawed, anthology, July 1, 2004

By	Barb Caffrey "writer-for-hire" (In a Midwest State (of mind), USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Dragon Quintet" is an odd mix of stories only slightly linked by one thing: all feature a dragon, or at least a dragon-like, creature, and most of these stories are dark to out and out black-spirited.

The sole uplifting story of the lot, "Joust" by Mercedes Lackey, is good, interesting, and very representative of Ms. Lackey's style. However, I'd already read the novel version of "Joust," which oddly beat this collection to the press by at least a year. Four stars for that.

The next best story was by Elizabeth Moon, and is in her "Paksenarrion" universe but does not feature paladins or elves. Instead, this features dwarves, a dragon, and two very put upon villagers. I liked the villagers very much, and appreciated a return to this universe, one of my all-time favorites. Still, it's a rather dark tale, and I'd rather have had a happier ending. Three and a half stars.

The third best story was by Michael Swanwick. I liked the story up until the end, where Mr. Swanwick basically ruined it by tossing off a fable-type ending that didn't make a goodly amount of sense. In addition, this story only had two likable characters in it, and both were more or less abused throughout the story, something I really did not care for. Granted, this is dark fantasy, and Mr. Swanwick definitely made me hate all his hatable characters. But I'd have liked to have love his likable ones, and I didn't. Three stars.

The remaining stories seemed, to me at least, to be incomplete. Orson Scott Card's story was a sort of urban fantasy about a resident dragon and a boy, and as far as it went, up until the end, I liked it. But once again, a lousy ending ruined it. In addition, the information given by the editor led me to believe that Mr. Card is planning to turn this story into a novel. I really hope that doesn't happen, as this has to be the most downbeat story I've ever read by Mr. Card (not even excepting the last book about Andrew "Ender" Wiggin), and that's not what I've grown to expect from him. Two stars for that.

And Tanith Lee's story, while engrossing and having some truly unseen plot-twists, didn't totally make sense, either. I enjoyed the basic "women done wrong gets revenge" plotline, but the story was either too long or too short; too long in that it makes little sense in this form (even considering Ms. Lee's normal elliptical plotlines and fairytale-esque endings, dark or bright), too short in that in a novel, it might have worked well. Two stars, barely.

And that's basically it; it's an interesting experiment, but it's flawed, and if you don't like dark fantasy or aren't in the mood for it, don't get this book. It's not advertised as dark fantasy, but in my opinion, that's exactly what it is (with the sole exception of Ms. Lackey's stripped-down version of "Joust").

Three stars.

Barb Caffrey

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars And now for something a little different..., June 16, 2006

By	M. A. Bechaz "bookaholic" (Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dragon Quintet (Mass Market Paperback)

Overall, I thought this was quite a good collection of stories, and I found the majority of it interesting.

Unfortunately, the first story in it, by Orson Scott Card, was a tad dull, and I kept putting it down because it was just not gripping enough to hold my interest. It wasn't really bad, but then it wasn't really great. The dialogue between characters in the story was excellent, though, and I think the author should have featured more of that in the story, rather than some of the dry, uninteresting, even slightly confusing bits. I disliked the ending of the story, too. This made me wonder, would all of the stories in the book be similarly bland and unappealing?

Thank God the second story in the book, by Elizabeth Moon, was so utterly gripping! I could NOT put the book down during this story, it was so wonderful. It [...] me in right from the first paragraph, and I would have to say to any potential readers, buy the book if only to read this story.

Tanith Lee's contribution to the book is unusual but absorbing, and the story has a delightful twist that makes it very intriguing. It is typical of Ms Lee's work: it's edgy, unusual, confronting, and does not mince words. If you like Tanith Lee, you'll like this one.

The fourth story, 'Joust', by Mercedes Lackey, was the DULLEST in the book, but I'm still glad I read it because now I know not to waste my time buying the novel she wrote of the same name, which is an even longer version of this same story. Lackey mostly just rips off storylines from Anne MacCaffrey's dragon books, but with a lot less finesse than the original works. Given how innovative and unusual all of the other stories in this book are, this one really let down the team by being predictable and unoriginal. Blah! But if you like your stories formulaic and [...], not to mention non-confrontational, you'll probably like it.

The fifth of the stories is by Michael Swanwick, and it's the most unusual, so much so that it's hard to describe. It's never a comfortable story -- there's no sugar-coating on this one -- but it's absolutely original, and pushes all the boundaries. I've read nothing quite like it before. It was like one of those trippy dreams you get when you're running a raging fever. It didn't leave me feeling happy inside at the end of it, but I was nonetheless still satisfied, and glad that I read it.

A word of advice: don't give this book to the kiddies to read. These are stories for grown-ups, or at least maturish teens.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A good short story is hard to find, June 5, 2004

By	hrladyship (Las Cruces, NM United States) - See all my reviews

Perhaps because I am older and have read many stories from the Golden Age of SF, or perhaps only because times have changed, I find it more and more difficult to find a good genre short fiction. I frequently pick up anthologies and magazines, but more often find disappointment than satisfaction. I had high hopes for The Dragon Quintet. After all, every author in here is well known and writes "good stuff."

"In the Dragon's House" by Orson Scott Card was slow. Some aspects of the story were intriguing, but it was difficult to finish. "Judgment" by Elizabeth Moon has some fine moments, but there are rules that must be followed, but no one knows the rules except the ones who made them. The characters aren't very likable. Tanith Lee's "Love in the Time of Dragons" is dark and again has no sympathetic characters. Unfortunately, she sometimes has too much brutality against women than I like.

At last, we come to "Joust" by Mercedes Lackey, the best of the lot. This is a story that would stand out in any collection. The characters are sympathetic and the cause and effect are logical and satisfying. Although the end may be a bit too "nice" for some tastes, there is no illogic to it. I liked this one.

The final story, "King Dragon" by Michael Swanwick, is such a mishmash of ideas, names, things and creatures, that I became frustrated with it and barely finished. I know writers and editors are looking for things that are new and different; however, nothing beats a good, well-told story that, at least part of the time, makes sense.