Fire : Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson... Master storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson, the team behind Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits, collaborate again to create five captivating tales incorporating the element of fire. In McKinley?s ?First Flight,? a boy and his pet foogit unexpectedly take a dangerous ride on a dragon, and her ?Hellhound? stars a mysterious dog as a key player in an eerie graveyard showdown. Dickinson introduces a young man who must defeat the creature threatening his clan in ?Fireworm,? a slave who saves his village with a fiery magic spell in ?Salamander Man,? and a girl whose new friend, the guardian of a mystical bird, is much older than he appears in ?Phoenix.? With time periods ranging from prehistoric to present day, and settings as varied as a graveyard, a medieval marketplace and a dragon academy, these stories are sure to intrigue and delight the authors? longtime fans and newcomers alike. Detailed item info Synopsis Master storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson, the team behind Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits, collaborate again to create five captivating tales incorporating the element of fire. In McKinley's ?First Flight,? a boy and his pet foogit unexpectedly take a dangerous ride on a dragon, and her ?Hellhound? stars a mysterious dog as a key player in an eerie graveyard showdown. Dickinson introduces a young man who must defeat the creature threatening his clan in ?Fireworm,? a slave who saves his village with a fiery magic spell in ?Salamander Man,? and a girl whose new friend, the guardian of a mystical bird, is much older than he appears in ?Phoenix.' With time periods ranging from prehistoric to present day, and settings as varied as a graveyard, a medieval marketplace and a dragon academy, these stories are sure to intrigue and delight the authors? longtime fans and newcomers alike. Product Identifiers ISBN-10 0399252894 ISBN-13 9780399252891 Key Details Author Peter Dickinson, Robin McKinley Number Of Pages 304 pages Format Hardcover Publication Date 2009-10-29 Language English Publisher Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated Additional Details Copyright Date 2009 Dimensions Weight 17.6 Oz Height 1.1 In. Width 6.3 In. Length 9.3 In. Target Audience Group Young Adult Audience Grade From Seventh Grade Grade To up Age Range 12 - UP Classification Method LCCN 2009-004730 LC Classification Number PZ5.M2335Fir 2009 Dewey Decimal [Fic] Dewey Edition 22 Product Details Age Range: 12 and up Grade Level: 7 and up Lexile Measure: 1020L (What's this?) Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 1 edition (October 29, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0399252894 ISBN-13: 978-0399252891 Product Dimensions: 1 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds Customer Reviews (16) 4.0 out of 5 stars 5 star 5 4 star 8 3 star 1 2 star 2 1 star 0 See all 16 customer reviews See only verified purchase reviews Both authors are excellent writers with enviable imaginations. LibbyD When you feel that any of the characters would have made a better protagonist than the narrator, you know something isn't working for the story. Marysia While there is perhaps a bit too much exposition towards the end of the story, this is still a solid and entertaining tale. ephemeral Most Helpful Customer Reviews 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful Terrific Fantasy Stories By ephemeral VINE VOICE on December 21, 2009 Format: Hardcover It's been the better part of a decade since husband and wife Peter Dickinson and Robin McKinley last teamed up to write Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits. Now they have once again joined forces to produce another collection of short stories, this one focused on fire. Unlike their previous attempt, in which McKinley's efforts clearly outshined Dickinson's, in Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits, both authors put forward amazing fantasy stories that run the gamut from an eerie ghost story to a heartbreakingly bittersweet prehistoric fable, but all of which share the common thread of fire. There are five stories in this collection, three by Dickinson and two substantially longer ones by Mckinley: --Phoenix, by Dickinson, tells the story of an elderly British gamekeeper who discovers a phoenix, and as a result, begins to age backwards. Despite being placed first in the book, and having the best beginning, Phoenix is the weak link of the collection, and has a disappointing and anticlimactic ending. Still, don't get discouraged if you read this tale and find it lacking; the other four stories are significantly better. --McKinley's Hellhound is a nail-biting account of a young woman and her hellhound who find themselves forced into a confrontation in a haunted graveyard. McKinley's love of animals shines in this story, as the bulk of it takes place at a riding stable, and cats, horses, dogs, and birds are practically everywhere. --Dickinson's Fireworm is a prehistoric fable about a group of cavedwellers who must fight off their ancient enemy the fireworm. The line between heroes and monsters is completely wiped away, and midway through it's clear that regardless of the outcome, this is going to end in tragedy. I haven't read all of Dickinson's work, but of what I have read, this is by far the best. --Salamander Man, also by Dickinson, is a nice story about a young man enslaved to a kindly dealer of magical items. When he suddenly finds himself sold to a magician he's never met, his life takes an unexpected turn. While there is perhaps a bit too much exposition towards the end of the story, this is still a solid and entertaining tale. --First Flight is the final and longest (at over 100 pages) story in the book. Here, McKinley writes of unlikely hero Ern, an awkward and clumsy young man who prefers to hide in corners rather than be noticed. But when Ern's brother, in training as a dragonrider, comes home livid that a beloved injured dragon has been assigned a task it can't possibly complete, the local wizard suggests Ern accompany his brother back to the training academy. Certain that there is nothing he can do to help, but unwilling to risk defying the wizard, Ern and his pet Sippy head off to the academy to provide what moral support they can. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in high quality fiction, and especially encourage anyone who enjoys a good fantasy story (or several good fantasy stories) to read this collection. McKinley and Dickinson both shine, and their stories complement each other wonderfully.

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