Essential Peter S. Beagle, Volume 2: Oakland Dragon Blues and Other Stories

(Hardback)

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The essential second volume of bestselling author Peter S. Beagle's (The Last Unicorn) short stories, including one previously unpublished and four uncollected stories, shows again that Beagle is one of America's most influential fantasists. With his celebrated versatility, humor, and grace, Beagle is at home in a dazzling variety of subgenres. Evoking comparison to such iconic authors as Twain, Tolkien, Carroll, L'Engle, and Vonnegut, this career retrospective celebrates Beagle's mastery of the short-story form. "Peter S. Beagle is one of my favorite authors." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind A dilapidated dragon, a frustrated cop, and an unapologetic author square off over a dangerously abandoned narrative. The seemingly perfect addition to a weekly card game hides a dark secret from everyone but her teammate. A deeply respected judge meets his match in Snow Ermine, a gorgeous pickpocket. From heartbreaking to humorous, these carefully curated stories by Peter S. Beagle show the depth and power of his incomparable prose and storytelling. Featuring a newly published story, "The Mantichora," an original introduction from Meg Elison (Find Layla), and gorgeous illustrations from Stephanie Pui-Mun Law (Shadowscapes), this elegant collection is a must-have for any fan of classic fantasy.

Reviews

[STARRED REVIEW] "This installment, introduced by SF and horror writer Meg Elison, draws more directly from Beagle's past, featuring multiple stories purportedly chronicling otherworldly encounters experienced by Beagle and his friends in their youth. Two other tales attribute unearthly abilities to Beagle's dear friend Avram Davidson, the late (and somewhat quirky) writer. Some of the stories draw from others' literary works, including a Tarzan/John Carter crossover that also serves as a not-so-subtle criticism of creator Edgar Rice Burroughs' bigotry and a gripping Patricia Highsmith-inspired story of a meek housewife summoning previously unknown inner strength when confronted by a new member of her bridge club who views her as prey. Two stories have something of a Twilight Zone resonance about them (which isn't intended as a criticism of these two powerful tales): 'Sleight of Hand, ' involving a woman mourning the recent death of her husband and child who's granted an impossible second chance, and 'Vanishing, ' about an unhappy man forced to confront his dark memories serving as a young American soldier monitoring the Berlin Wall. Of course, there are two tales of dragons invading California (one a work of metafiction and the other a buddy-cop story) and a chronicle of werewolf revenge that draws from an entirely different cultural tradition than the first volume's 'Lila the Werewolf.' There are perhaps many readers who know Beagle only from his classic novel, The Last Unicorn (1968), unaware of his considerable body of long and short fiction; others are longtime fans already familiar with such gems as A Fine and Private Place (1960), The Folk of the Air (1986), and The Innkeeper's Song (1993), among others. This two-volume collection is a must-have for all of them. Yes, essential, for whomever you are."
--Kirkus

"Gleaming gold, these two volumes of glorious stories remind us of what is true, though it might not be real, and of when the world was solid as a Spalding rubber ball and shadowy soft as a cat's fur, though that time might never have happened, and may not happen again. (But it was, his tales insist. But it will be.) We are fortunate to live in a world where his work exists; if we didn't, we ourselves might not exist. Such is Beagle's magic."
--E. Lily Yu, author of On Fragile Waves

"Master enchanter Peter S. Beagle is best known for his novel The Last Unicorn, a book which has charmed generations of readers. But the briefer enchantments collected in these two volumes also brim with the deepest and truest of his magical powers: with laughter, with wisdom, and with the ineffable pleasure of the imaginary memories he shares. From the gradually refined focus of 'Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros' to 'Vanishing''s crankily slipped-and-skewed perspective, these are visions of an inner world all of us need to visit again and again. Each tale is a spell welcoming our hearts to their real home: wonder."
--Nisi Shawl, author of Everfair

"Stepping into a Peter Beagle story is like stepping out your front door into an alternate, but entirely logical, world: your girlfriend seems to be a werewolf, the evening news is anchored by the Angel of Death, dreadful poetry is a lethal weapon, and a Berkeley traffic cop has to negotiate a depressed dragon out of an intersection. But then, what else to expect from a wizard of mischief like Beagle Two perfect volumes that should come with a warning: When you try and go back inside your house, all its rooms will have changed."
--Laurie R. King, author of The Beekeeper's Apprentice

"Having all these Peter Beagle stories collected together is pure joy. His writing has amazed me my whole life. You think I'd be used to it by now, but the amazement is ongoing."
--Carrie Vaughn, author of the Kitty Norville series

"The Essential Peter S. Beagle Volumes 1 & 2 are everything I hoped for and wanted them to be. Beagle's clever and utterly whimsical storytelling is evident in every story, and I love jumping from tale to tale and exploring the facets of his mind. The writing is fun and explores the unique while keeping one foot in the familiar, making it perfect for readers of all ages. I highly recommend these charming volumes!"
--Charlie N. Holmberg, author of Keeper of Enchanted Rooms

"This was an amazing collection, and I cannot recommend it enough for existing fans of Mr. Beagle or fans of fantasy shorts or cozy fantasy."
--All Booked Up

"Peter S. Beagle's short stories tap into the sweetest sap of the soul and leave their mark forever. He always makes me cry in the most wonderful and necessary way."
--Delilah S. Dawson, author of Wicked As They Come

Praise for Peter S. Beagle

"One of my favorite writers." --Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time

"Peter S. Beagle illuminates with his own particular magic such commonplace matters as ghosts, unicorns, and werewolves. For years a loving readership has consulted him as an expert on those hearts' reasons that reason does not know." --Ursula K. Le Guin, author of A Wizard of Earthsea

"Peter S. Beagle has both opulence of imagination and mastery of style." --New York Times Book Review

"At his best, Peter S. Beagle outshines the moon, the sun, the stars, the entire galaxy." --Seattle Times

"Peter Beagle deserves a seat at the table with the great masters of fantasy." --Christopher Moore, author of Lamb and The Serpent of Venice

"Not only one of our greatest fantasists, but one of our greatest writers, a magic realist worthy of consideration with such writers as Marquez, Allende, and even Borges." --The American Culture

"We all have something to learn--about writing, about humanity, about hope--from Peter Beagle." --Seanan McGuire author of Rosemary and Rue

"Peter S. Beagle is (in no particular order) a wonderful writer, a fine human being, and a bandit prince out to steal readers' hearts." --Tad Williams, author of Tailchaser's Song

"Peter S. Beagle is a master of the magical." --Kurt Busiek, author of The Avengers

"[Beagle] has been compared, not unreasonably, with Lewis Carroll and J. R. R. Tolkien, but he stands squarely and triumphantly on his own feet." --Saturday Review

"Not only one of our greatest fantasists, but one of our greatest writers, a magic realist worthy of consideration with such writers as Marquez, Allende, and even Borges." --The American Culture

"One of the all-time greats." --The Guardian

Author Bio

Peter Soyer Beagle is the internationally bestselling and much-beloved author of numerous classic fantasy novels and collections, including The Last Unicorn, Tamsin, The Line Between, Sleight of Hand, Summerlong, In Calabria, and The Overneath. He is the editor of The Secret History of Fantasy and the co-editor of The Urban Fantasy Anthology. Beagle published his first novel, A Fine and Private Place, at nineteen, while still completing his degree in creative writing. Beagle's follow-up, The Last Unicorn, is widely considered one of the great works of fantasy. He has written widely for both stage and screen, including the screenplay adaptations for The Last Unicorn, the animated film of The Lord of the Rings, and the well-known "Sarek" episode of Star Trek. As one of the fantasy genre's most-lauded authors, Beagle has received the Hugo, Nebula, Mythopoeic, and Locus Awards as well as the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire. He has also been honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award and the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award. In 2017, he was named 34th Damon Knight Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association for his contributions to fantasy and science fiction. Beagle lives in Richmond, California.

Jane Yolen's (Owl Moon, The Midnight Circus, the How Do Dinosaursseries) books and stories have won three World Fantasy, two Nebula, two Golden Kite, and three Mythopoeic Awards, two Christopher Medals, and a Caldecott Medal, as well as many other honors. Yolen lives in Western Massachusetts and St Andrews, Scotland.

Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's work is an exploration of mythology mixed with her personal symbolism. In her early career, she worked with various fantasy game, magazine, and book publishers as an illustrator. She created the Shadowscapes Tarot and is the author of the watercolor technique book series Dreamscapes. Law lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.