‘These six stories explore ground far from the high fantasy with which dragons are frequently associated. Fans of Shepard’s unusual and often powerful Griaule tales will be delighted to have them all in one place’Publishers Weekly

‘His work is daring and unsettling in the way art should be’Kirkus Reviews

‘A writer with breathtaking ability’Locus

‘One of the finest science fiction writers of all time’Science Fiction Chronicle

Lucius Taylor Shepard was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1947. He travelled extensively in his youth, and has held a wide assortment of occupations in the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America, including rock musician and night club bouncer. He attended the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 1980 and made his first commercial sale a year later. His work covers many areas of fantastic fiction and has recently encompassed non-fiction, as well. For over a decade, he has contributed a regular column on SF cinema for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Lucius Shepard has won numerous prizes for his work, including the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and International Horror Guild awards. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Text copyright © Lucius Shepard 2012Introduction copyright © Graham Sleight 2013The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule copyright © Lucius Shepard 1984The Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter copyright © Lucius Shepard 1988The Father of Stones copyright © Lucius Shepard 1988Liar’s House copyright © Lucius Shepard 2004The Taborin Scale copyright © Lucius Shepard 2010The Skull copyright © Lucius Shepard 2012All rights reserved

ISBN 978 0 575 09009 5www.orionbooks.co.ukwww.gollancz.co.uk