You never know what unexpected byways may lead you suddenly to the
completion of a quest. I was looking for a red book about dragons that I used
to own (not Dragonology; this one was full of classic art and
illustrations, as much about art history as it was about dragons), when I ran
across The Truth About Dragons: An Anti-Romance, by Hazard Adams. I read
it one summer, from the Seguin Public Library, but could never remember the
title, and have been looking to pin it down for years. It takes place in
California in the early Seventies.
“What's
a dragon doing in the hills above Santa Barbara in the 1970's? In the prime of
life at 606 years old, Firedrake is keeping the dragon faith, even as the
modern world encroaches upon his lair. He's following dragon traditions of many
millennia: gathering and guarding a treasure trove, having a troublesome
relationship with a very pretty young woman, and of course encountering a
dragon slayer or two. Firedrake's a traditionalist, sure, but not a hidebound
one. When he happens on a working cassette tape recorder he's delighted, as he
loves telling a tale, almost as much as he loves collecting everything from
magical balms to old bottles. Thanks to modern technology (well, modern by
dragon standards) a dragon has finally gotten the chance to tell the world the
dragon side of things. So forget the myths and lies propounded by misguided
humans You have in your hands a transcript of actual dragon diaries, full of
wonderful dragon lore, that puts you front row center to a modern dragon saga,
complete with heroes and damsels, treachery and honor, and of course, a little
bit of enchantment. The real story only a dragon could tell.” - Amazon.
Hazard Adams was born in
1926 and is apparently still alive (at least I can find no notice of his
death). An academic, literary critic, and poet, he has written many other
books, especially about Blake, Yeats, and the subject of poetry.
I don’t think The Truth About Dragons is available
in the library anymore, but it seems to have had a reprinting in the Twenty
Teens and is obtainable on Amazon – if I should want to renew my acquaintance
with it. In the meantime, I have pulled together a gathering of dragons from
the Niche in celebration of finally putting that nagging memory to rest. Not
including, of course, all the books that have a dragon or feature one on
the cover. But a sampling.
And I still haven’t found the
red book that inspired the discovery.
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