Dragon's Teeth

Dragon Teeth (2013) is a SF/Fantasy omnibus. It contains [[ASIN:0671878662 Fiddler Fair]], [[ASIN:0671578057 Werehunter]] and five additional stories.

PART I - Previous Collections

Fiddler Fair (1998) is a SF/Fantasy collection of shorter works.

- "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" Mercedes Lackey is an introduction to writing and this collection.

- "Aliens Ate My Pickup" (original) tells of an ugly thang left by a flying saucer. This story has elements in common with [[ASIN:1451638914 The Star Beast]].

- "Small Print" (Deals with the Devil, 1994) warns of the fine print in contracts with the Devil.

- "Last Rights" (Dinosaur Fantastic, 1993) follows three animal activists into dinosaur pens. Apparently they had not seen [[ASIN:B00004WIDQ Jurassic Park]]

- "Dumb Feast" (Christmas Ghosts, 1993) compels a 19th century husband into a dinner with his dead wife.

- "Dance Track" (Alternate Heroes, 1989) depicts Isadora Duncan as a mechanic and James Dean as a driver for the Bugatti race team after WWII. It also features Paul Newman as a visitor with a pit pass.

- "Jihad" (Alternate Warriors, 1993) puts Lawrence of Arabia through an enlightening experience on the road of Damascus.

- "Balance" (Bardic Voices, 1988) sends Martis out on a mission with a new guard.

- "Dragon's Teeth" (Bardic Voices, 1988) leads Martis and Lyran to a renegade mage through a witch storm.

- "The Cup and the Cauldron" (Grails, 1992) brings two young women from different religions together with a single purpose.

- "Once and Future" (Excalibur, 1993) selects an Irishman as the reincarnation of Arthur.

- "Fiddler Fair" (Magic in Ithkar, 1989) enters a young woman in the Bard Guild talent competition. This story was later altered slightly into the basis of the Bardic Voices tales.

- "The Enemy of My Enemy" (Friends of the Horseclans, 1989) allies a Rom kompania with a Horseclan against the heir of a local king.

- "Bibliography" lists the author's books to date.

Werehunter (1999) is a SF/Fantasy collection. It contains fourteen stories and an introduction.
Werehunter (1999) is a SF/Fantasy collection. It contains fourteen stories and an introduction.

- "Introduction" is about raptors and rehabbing.

- "Werehunter" (Tales of the Witch World, 1989) brings a young women to the Witch World through a gate. There she becomes very angry and turns into a leopard.

- "SKitty" (Catfantastic, 1991) takes a shipscat to a new world that has a vermin problem.

- "A Tail of Two SKitties" (Catfantastic, 1994) delivers another gengineered cat to the planet along with a stowaway.

- "SCat" (Catfantastic, 1996) leads the Designated Shipscat Handler to search the BioTech records for the identity of the stowaway.

- "A Better Mousetrap" (original) exposes another nation on the planet that worships the vermin being slaughtered by the shipscats.

- "The Last of the Season" (American Fantasy, 1987) concerns the abduction of a little girl and her teddy bear.

- "Satanic, Versus..." (MZB Fantasy, 1990) is a Diana Tregarde tale. It has a whoopie romance writer invoking a tall, dark and handsome stranger at a gathering.

- "Nightside" (MZB Fantasy, 1991) was the first appearance of Diane Tregarde. Di becomes bait for a dark moon ripper.

- "Wet Wings" (Sisters of Fantasy, 1995) warns of the evils of enforced equality as opposed to equal enforcement.

- "Stolen Silver" (Horse Fantastic, 1991) is the first Valdemar short story. It reveals how Alberich gained a Companion and escaped from Karse.

- "Roadkill" (MZB Fantasy, 1990) drives a programmer to challenge a shapeshifter.

- "Operation Desert Fox" (Bolos, 1993) unites a Bolo named Rommel with an army programmer who has a hobby of military history. The ending is a great one-liner.

- "Gray" (Pet Bird, 1997) is a tale in the Elemental Masters series. Nan accepts leftover bread from Sarah at the back gate of the school.

- "Gray's Ghost" (original) is also a tale in the Elemental Masters series. Nan and Sarah go to a seance.

PART II - Tales of the Secret World Chronicles

- "For Those About to Rock" (original) by Mercedes Lackey & Dennis Lee gives Victoria and Red Djinni a chance to argue about magic.

- "Haunt You" (original) by Mercedes Lackey & Cody Martin allows John a little time to talk with Victoria while waiting for his time to arrive.

- "Valse Triste" (original) by Mercedes Lackey presents a Jewish girl an opportunity to play a little Sibelius.

- "White Bird" (original) by Mercedes Lackey confronts a ferry pilot with a Messerschmidt.

- "Sgian Dubh" (original) by Mercedes Lackey drafts a wee body for a rescue mission.

These tales were mostly written for other people's anthologies. Some were written for these collections. The last five are brand new in this volume.

Of course, these are not all the short works by the author. She also edits anthologies and usually includes her own stories. Those tales are not included within this omnibus.

Highly recommended for Lackey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and a touch of romance. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

I'd read some of these short stories before in other collections. Others were new to me. Loved the stories and Lackey's commentary on them. Fantastic book for any Lackey fan.

“My name? It’s Jed, Jed Pryor. I was born an’ raised on this farm outsida Claremore, been here all my life. Well, ‘cept for when I went t’ OU.

"What? Well, heck fire, sure I graduated!

"What? Well, what makes you thank Okies tawk funny?”

This long collection of short fiction is a fairly impressive tribute to the breadth of Mercedes Lackey’s work. It’s also a whole lot of not much new for devoted fans. The first section includes two previously published collections (originally published as Fiddler Fair and Werehunter), and only the last seventy-five pages contains previously unpublished work—five stories set in the world of The Secret World Chronicles series. But it does have everything Lackey-short-stories under one cover.

I didn't have any problems with the repetition because I have never read any of Lackey’s short fiction. I've only really read her Bardic Voices series. I had assumed that the stories, especially those in Fiddler Fair, would include similar high fantasy stories. While there was a little bit of high fantasy, the stories represent a wide range of times, places, and genres (under the science fiction umbrella). Being a recent transplant to Lackey’s home state, I was particularly delighted to see so many stories set in modern Oklahoma. The first story, “Aliens Ate My Pickup,” narrated in full-on Okie, had me rolling. Too disparate for a single sitting (or even several), these stories are, individually, great reads for snippets of time.

Review written for San Francisco Book Review

“My name? It’s Jed, Jed Pryor. I was born an’ raised on this farm outsida Claremore, been here all my life. Well, ‘cept for when I went t’ OU.

"What? Well, heck fire, sure I graduated!

"What? Well, what makes you thank Okies tawk funny?”

This long collection of short fiction is a fairly impressive tribute to the breadth of Mercedes Lackey’s work. It’s also a whole lot of not much new for devoted fans. The first section includes two previously published collections (originally published as Fiddler Fair and Werehunter), and only the last seventy-five pages contains previously unpublished work—five stories set in the world of The Secret World Chronicles series. But it does have everything Lackey-short-stories under one cover.

I didn't have any problems with the repetition because I have never read any of Lackey’s short fiction. I've only really read her Bardic Voices series. I had assumed that the stories, especially those in Fiddler Fair, would include similar high fantasy stories. While there was a little bit of high fantasy, the stories represent a wide range of times, places, and genres (under the science fiction umbrella). Being a recent transplant to Lackey’s home state, I was particularly delighted to see so many stories set in modern Oklahoma. The first story, “Aliens Ate My Pickup,” narrated in full-on Okie, had me rolling. Too disparate for a single sitting (or even several), these stories are, individually, great reads for snippets of time.

Review written for San Francisco Book Review

Always enjoy a tale by Mercedes Lackey. This book has a plethora of stories. Many reminded me to go back and re-read a bunch of her books. I love the twists and turns in mny of the stories.

Excellent collection of short stories by my favorite author, Mercedes Lackey.

Jim

Always adore Mercedes Lackey's work. This was no exception. Highly recommend it for old and new fans.

love it

Several stories rather than 1 plot.Some I've read before and enjoyed revisiting. Some were new and very entertaining.

Very good item and an excellent seller!