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The Passing of the Dragons
ANOTHER UNIVERSE BEYOND TIE RIM OF THE IMAGINATION...
...where monstrous thresher-cities scour a ruined Earth in search of food, where humans and dolphins drift through silent streets beneath the sea. .where one man defies an Empire to sail the globe-circling canals of a lost civilization, and the gentle golden dragons of Epsilon Cygnus celebrate the rape of their planet with a bizarre ritual of death.
...where monstrous thresher-cities scour a ruined Earth in search of food, where humans and dolphins drift through silent streets beneath the sea. .where one man defies an Empire to sail the globe-circling canals of a lost civilization, and the gentle golden dragons of Epsilon Cygnus celebrate the rape of their planet with a bizarre ritual of death.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
307 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1977
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 6, 2025
I first came across Keith Roberts in the early 90s, when I read a review of Pavane in one of the "100 Best" books (not sure if it was 100 Best Fantasy or 100 Best SF). I read Pavane at that time and found it to be one of the few famous genre novels that lived up to its hype. I immediately bought a copy of The Furies, which disappointed me, and The Chalk Giants, which I didn't finish.
Fast forward about thirty years, when I acquired a copy of Heroic Visions II. The lead story in that collection was "The Inn at the World's End" by Keith Roberts. This turned out to be the best story in the anthology, and it quietly became one of my favorite fantasy stories of all time; I've since read it three times. (Incidentally, "Inn" is not collected anywhere else, as far as I can determine.) So, on the strength of that story, I purchased a copy of Winterwood and Other Hauntings. None of those stories were home runs for me, but the writing was strong enough that I decided to try again. Which brings me to The Passing of the Dragons. As it turned out, this was the anthology I'd been hoping for when I bought Winterwood. There are at least two great stories here, and a couple others that are nearly as good. (As an aside, the physical characteristics of my Berkley Medallion paperback suck; apparently to save paper, the publishers used a small typeface which is hard on the eyes; they also decided to go without cover art, so the book has a cheesy, cheap look. All of which shouldn't interfere too much with the contents, though.)
"The Deeps" 3/5 stars. Humanity colonizes the ocean due to population pressure. This idea has been used a few times, as in Roger Zelazny's "The Eve of RUMOKO."
"Therapy 2000" 2/5 stars. A man in a future dystopian world characterized by noise pollution imagines or hallucinates a beautiful love interest whom he can only contact when its really quiet. Another tragic romance, characteristic of many of Roberts' stories.
"Boulter's Canaries" 2/5 stars. Roberts was a versatile writer, who used both first person and third person narration. I find his first person stories far less interesting, for some reason.
"Synth" 2/5 stars. A clever story about a scandalous trial involving an android and her owners.
"Manscarer" 1/5 stars. An artists' colony builds giant mobile sculptures. Early on, one of them goes haywire and accidentally kills one of the creators. The theme of an industrial accident is used several times in this collection.
"Coranda" 3/5 stars. OK, so here it starts to get good. This is apparently a futuristic story. I would have preferred Roberts to have made this a fantasy story, as the occasional references to present-day technology (nylon rope, for example), are jarring. Still, an intriguing tale of a frozen world and a deadly contest between suitors of the titular character.
"The Grain Kings" 5/5 stars. The setting is a giant crop harvester the size of an ocean liner. This machine has multiple decks with restaurants, bars, guest quarters, etc., as well as a large crew of engineers and hospitality staff. The viewpoint character is a down-on-his-luck reporter, which of course provides opportunities for him to tour the machinery and interview the major players. I found the entire thing fascinating. Roberts' favorite themes of failed romance and industrial accidents are in evidence here.
"The White Boat" No rating. This story is part of the novel Pavane.
"The Passing of the Dragons" 3/5 stars. I didn't like this most of the way through, but there is a twist ending which perhaps changes things; I may have to re-read this one. Anyway, it's about dragon-like aliens committing racial suicide after their planet is exploited by human colonists.
"The Lake of Tuonela" 4/5 stars. One of the better stories, in which a man tours a defunct alien canal system. Here we have yet another tragic romance and another fatal accident. But it's all quite well done.
"I Lose Medea" 1/5 stars. I admit that I don't understand this story about a very weird camping trip. It's told in the first person, so it could be a story about a man with schizophrenia, or he's taken some kind of hallucinogen. Or it could be intended to be a surrealist fantasy? No idea.
"Weihnachtsabend" 5/5 stars. Simply the best story in the collection and a great story by any standard. Britain has merged with Nazi Germany to form the Two Empires, in which the German seems to be ascendant. Our viewpoint character is the victim of opposing conspiracies perpetrated by his own Germanized government, and by a British resistance movement. Of course, there is a tragic romance here. Roberts does multiple things here, and does all of them well.
So much for the stories. Keith Roberts, besides being an acclaimed writer, was a skilled illustrator, as well. He was also known for being "difficult." Dave Langford, in soliciting commentary for Roberts' obituary, got this quote from Michael Moorcock: "Never knew a bloke so determined to destroy himself. I expected this earlier, frankly. I think it's a mercy someone so miserable is dead. Put that in your newspaper, Mr. Langford!" From a publisher: "A man who at his best was a brilliant writer, but sadly also the most difficult human being I've ever had to work with." Robert Holdstock had a considerably more charitable take...and then destroyed his own credibility (at least IMO) by admitting that he didn't know Roberts very well. Well, despite all this, Roberts left a lasting SF legacy. Pavane and the best of his short fiction will be around forever.
Fast forward about thirty years, when I acquired a copy of Heroic Visions II. The lead story in that collection was "The Inn at the World's End" by Keith Roberts. This turned out to be the best story in the anthology, and it quietly became one of my favorite fantasy stories of all time; I've since read it three times. (Incidentally, "Inn" is not collected anywhere else, as far as I can determine.) So, on the strength of that story, I purchased a copy of Winterwood and Other Hauntings. None of those stories were home runs for me, but the writing was strong enough that I decided to try again. Which brings me to The Passing of the Dragons. As it turned out, this was the anthology I'd been hoping for when I bought Winterwood. There are at least two great stories here, and a couple others that are nearly as good. (As an aside, the physical characteristics of my Berkley Medallion paperback suck; apparently to save paper, the publishers used a small typeface which is hard on the eyes; they also decided to go without cover art, so the book has a cheesy, cheap look. All of which shouldn't interfere too much with the contents, though.)
"The Deeps" 3/5 stars. Humanity colonizes the ocean due to population pressure. This idea has been used a few times, as in Roger Zelazny's "The Eve of RUMOKO."
"Therapy 2000" 2/5 stars. A man in a future dystopian world characterized by noise pollution imagines or hallucinates a beautiful love interest whom he can only contact when its really quiet. Another tragic romance, characteristic of many of Roberts' stories.
"Boulter's Canaries" 2/5 stars. Roberts was a versatile writer, who used both first person and third person narration. I find his first person stories far less interesting, for some reason.
"Synth" 2/5 stars. A clever story about a scandalous trial involving an android and her owners.
"Manscarer" 1/5 stars. An artists' colony builds giant mobile sculptures. Early on, one of them goes haywire and accidentally kills one of the creators. The theme of an industrial accident is used several times in this collection.
"Coranda" 3/5 stars. OK, so here it starts to get good. This is apparently a futuristic story. I would have preferred Roberts to have made this a fantasy story, as the occasional references to present-day technology (nylon rope, for example), are jarring. Still, an intriguing tale of a frozen world and a deadly contest between suitors of the titular character.
"The Grain Kings" 5/5 stars. The setting is a giant crop harvester the size of an ocean liner. This machine has multiple decks with restaurants, bars, guest quarters, etc., as well as a large crew of engineers and hospitality staff. The viewpoint character is a down-on-his-luck reporter, which of course provides opportunities for him to tour the machinery and interview the major players. I found the entire thing fascinating. Roberts' favorite themes of failed romance and industrial accidents are in evidence here.
"The White Boat" No rating. This story is part of the novel Pavane.
"The Passing of the Dragons" 3/5 stars. I didn't like this most of the way through, but there is a twist ending which perhaps changes things; I may have to re-read this one. Anyway, it's about dragon-like aliens committing racial suicide after their planet is exploited by human colonists.
"The Lake of Tuonela" 4/5 stars. One of the better stories, in which a man tours a defunct alien canal system. Here we have yet another tragic romance and another fatal accident. But it's all quite well done.
"I Lose Medea" 1/5 stars. I admit that I don't understand this story about a very weird camping trip. It's told in the first person, so it could be a story about a man with schizophrenia, or he's taken some kind of hallucinogen. Or it could be intended to be a surrealist fantasy? No idea.
"Weihnachtsabend" 5/5 stars. Simply the best story in the collection and a great story by any standard. Britain has merged with Nazi Germany to form the Two Empires, in which the German seems to be ascendant. Our viewpoint character is the victim of opposing conspiracies perpetrated by his own Germanized government, and by a British resistance movement. Of course, there is a tragic romance here. Roberts does multiple things here, and does all of them well.
So much for the stories. Keith Roberts, besides being an acclaimed writer, was a skilled illustrator, as well. He was also known for being "difficult." Dave Langford, in soliciting commentary for Roberts' obituary, got this quote from Michael Moorcock: "Never knew a bloke so determined to destroy himself. I expected this earlier, frankly. I think it's a mercy someone so miserable is dead. Put that in your newspaper, Mr. Langford!" From a publisher: "A man who at his best was a brilliant writer, but sadly also the most difficult human being I've ever had to work with." Robert Holdstock had a considerably more charitable take...and then destroyed his own credibility (at least IMO) by admitting that he didn't know Roberts very well. Well, despite all this, Roberts left a lasting SF legacy. Pavane and the best of his short fiction will be around forever.
August 27, 2017
The book is a collection of a dozen short stories originally published between 1965 and 1977. Although identified as science fiction, the individual stories encompass other genres, as well, such as alternate history and adventure. There is a frequent dystopian air to the stories, some alluding to environmental issues, particularly overpopulation, but always something uncertain lurks.
Robert's uses hyper-detail that creates an intense feeling of atmosphere, sometimes creepy and nearly always unsettling. Some of the stories conclude with O'Henry-style novel twists that leave the reader wondering "How did that happen?" An engaging, mind-stretching read.
Robert's uses hyper-detail that creates an intense feeling of atmosphere, sometimes creepy and nearly always unsettling. Some of the stories conclude with O'Henry-style novel twists that leave the reader wondering "How did that happen?" An engaging, mind-stretching read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews