Synopses & Reviews
After
Water comes
Fire - five stories from Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson about the necessary yet dangerous element. In these tales, a boy and his dog are unexpected guests on a dragonrider's first flight. A slave saves his village with a fiery magic spell. A girl's new friend, the guardian of a mystical bird, is much older than he appears. A young man walks the spirit world to defeat a fireworm. A mysterious dog is a key player in an eerie graveyard showdown. These five short stories are full of magic, mystery, and wonder.
"This collection of beautifully crafted tales will find a warm welcome from fans of either author, as well as from fantasy readers in general." - School Library Journal
Synopsis
This collection of beautifully crafted tales will find a warm welcome from fans of either author, as well as from fantasy readers in general. -
School Library Journal This collection tells five tales of creatures who live and die by fire, tales of the present day and the prehistoric past. There is a confrontation in a haunted graveyard, of the Firespace where only dragons can survive, of a boy who is claimed by Fire, of a young man who chases the fireworm through dark tunnels of dream, and the long history of the Phoenix. With characters and storylines as enigmatic as fire itself, these five enthralling tales by master storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson are sure to intrigue and delight.
About the Author
Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for
The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for
The Blue Sword. Her other books include
Sunshine; the
New York Times bestseller
Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale
Beauty and the Beast,
Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the
Robin Hood legend,
The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.
In 1927, Peter Dickinson was born in Africa, within earshot of Victoria Falls. When he was seven, his family moved to England, where he graduated from Eton and later Cambridge. After working on the editorial staff of the humor magazine Punch for seventeen years, Peter finally started on his career as a writer, which he knew he was meant for since he was five years old.
His first book was published in 1968, and since then he has written almost fifty novels, for adults and young readers. His children's books have won great acclaim here as well as in Great Britain, where he has received both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award.
Peter lives in Hampshire, England, with his wife, Newbery Medalist Robin McKinley.