Harrowing the Dragon

The book collects fifteen novelettes and short stories by the author, all originally published in anthologies.

• "The Harrowing of the Dragon of Hoarsbreath" (from Elsewhere, Vol. II, Nov. 1982) - a young dragon harrower and a girl from a mining village clash over whether the land's long winter is caused by a dragon.
• "A Matter of Music" (from Elsewhere, Vol. III, Apr. 1984)
• "A Troll and Two Roses" (from Faery!, Jan. 1985)
• "Baba Yaga and the Sorcerer's Son" (from Dragons and Dreams: A Collection of New Fantasy and Science Fiction Stories, Apr. 1986)
• "The Fellowship of the Dragon" (from After the King: Stories in Honor of J. R. R. Tolkien, Jan. 1992) - Five young women are tasked by their queen with saving her lover, the court harper.
• "Lady of the Skulls" (from Strange Dreams, Jul. 1993) - a story of personal transformation requiring a knight to look past what meets the eye.
• "The Snow Queen" (from Snow White, Blood Red, Jan. 1993) - retelling the familiar fairy tale in a contemporary setting, highlighting the universality of love, loyalty and desire.
• "Ash, Wood, Fire" (from The Women's Press Book of New Myth and Magic, Nov. 1993) - the story of a cinder-girl who has reduced the people around her to their functions as she sinks into her own essence.
• "The Stranger" (from Temporary Walls: An Anthology of Moral Fantasy, Oct. 1993)
• "Transmutations" (from Xanadu 2, Jan. 1994)
• "The Lion and the Lark" (from The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors, Apr. 1995) - a "beauty and the beast" retelling, in which a young woman loves a shapechanger, loses him, and must prove her love through many tests and trials.
• "The Witches of Junket" (from Sisters in Fantasy II, Apr. 1996)
• "Star-Crossed" (from Shakespearean Whodunnits, Sep. 1997) - the Verona constabulary investigate the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
• "Voyage Into the Heart" (from Voyages: The 25th World Fantasy Convention, Nov. 4, 1999) a heartless hunt to acquire a unicorn's horn.
• "Toad" (from Silver Birch, Blood Moon, Mar. 1999) - a "frog prince" retelling in which the prince is far from innocent.

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly calls the book an "excellent story collection" in which McKillip "take[s] the most common fantasy elements--dragons and bards, sorcerers and shape-shifters--and reshape[s] them in surprising and resonant ways. ... Each of these tales is a gem of story-telling, a rich treasure for both fans and those yet to discover McKillip's deceptively simple magic."[2]

Roland Green, writing in Booklist, finds the collection "a valiant rescue from out-of-print limbo of stories whose high readability demonstrates that McKillip is one of the most distinguished, if least publicized, modern fantasy writers." He notes that it "displays a variety of well-written treatments of other material [from] traditional folklore" and that "[f]antasy collections should assign the book high priority for acquisition.[3]

Jackie Cassada in Library Journal, referring to McKillip as "one of fantasy's most elegant and luminescent writers," rates the book as "highly recommended," describing it as a "lyrical volume" and "a superb choice for adult and YA fantasy collections."[4]

Sandy Freund in School Library Journal calls the collection "outstanding," stating that "McKillip's elegant prose explores the nature of love, friendship, wisdom, and change, often with a touch of humor."[5]

Francisca Goldsmith, also in School Library Journal, lists it among the year's best adult books for high school students. In her brief write-up, she echoes Freund's findings.[6]

Donna Scanlon in Kliatt highlights the volume as an exceptional book and recommends it for senior high school students and for advanced students in adults. She feels "[t]he stories amply reflect [McKillip's] range and depth as an author: some are serious, some lighter, and all express an impressive grasp of the range of human emotions and motivations." She observes that "McKillip often injects a touch of humor to relieve tension and maintain perspective. Her language is always rich and selective but not self-conscious, and her books belong in any library, not only for leisure reading but as outstanding examples of quality writing."[7]

The collection was also reviewed by Christine Mains in SFRA Review no. 274, 2005, and by Faren Miller in Locus no. 538, November 2005.[1]