The Dragon Waiting
Encyclopedia
The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History is a fantasy
novel
by John M. Ford
, published in 1983
. It won the 1984 World Fantasy Award.
s, the Medicis, and the convoluted English politics surrounding Edward IV
and Richard III
. The book also fictionalizes the fate of the Princes in the Tower
.
Edward IV is on the throne of England, but in this alternate world, medieval Europe is dominated by the threat from the Byzantine Empire. During the third century CE, Julian the Apostate
reigned longer than he did in our world, succeeded in displacing Christianity and reintroduced religious pluralism within the Roman Empire, resulting in the subsequent disappearance of Islam
as well. Without any cohesive threat from the east, presumably Byzantium
was able to survive, consolidate its authority and expand.
Sforza, the Vampire Duke, marshals his forces for his long-planned attack on Florence, and Byzantium is on the march. A mercenary, the exiled heir to the Byzantine throne, a young woman physician forced to flee Florence, and a Welsh wizard, the nephew of Owain Gly Dwr, seem to have no common goals but together they wage an intrigue-filled campaign against the might of Byzantium, striving to secure the English throne for Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and make him Richard III.
This succeeds, and Richard III goes on to win the Battle of Bosworth in this alternate universe, killing Henry Tudor and insuring that he never becomes Henry VII
as he did in our world. At that point, the book ends.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by John M. Ford
John M. Ford
John Milo "Mike" Ford was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet.Ford was regarded as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions...
, published in 1983
1983 in literature
The year 1983 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Ironweed by William Kennedy is published.*Salvage for the Saint by Peter Bloxsom and John Kruse is published. This is the final book in a series of novels, novellas and short stories featuring the Leslie Charteris...
. It won the 1984 World Fantasy Award.
Plot summary
The novel is a fantasy alternate history combining vampireVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, the Medicis, and the convoluted English politics surrounding Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
. The book also fictionalizes the fate of the Princes in the Tower
Princes in the Tower
The Princes in the Tower is a term which refers to Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York. The two brothers were the only sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville alive at the time of their father's death...
.
Edward IV is on the throne of England, but in this alternate world, medieval Europe is dominated by the threat from the Byzantine Empire. During the third century CE, Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
reigned longer than he did in our world, succeeded in displacing Christianity and reintroduced religious pluralism within the Roman Empire, resulting in the subsequent disappearance of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as well. Without any cohesive threat from the east, presumably Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
was able to survive, consolidate its authority and expand.
Sforza, the Vampire Duke, marshals his forces for his long-planned attack on Florence, and Byzantium is on the march. A mercenary, the exiled heir to the Byzantine throne, a young woman physician forced to flee Florence, and a Welsh wizard, the nephew of Owain Gly Dwr, seem to have no common goals but together they wage an intrigue-filled campaign against the might of Byzantium, striving to secure the English throne for Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and make him Richard III.
This succeeds, and Richard III goes on to win the Battle of Bosworth in this alternate universe, killing Henry Tudor and insuring that he never becomes Henry VII
Henry VII
Henry VII may refer to:* Henry VII, Duke of Bavaria * Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor * Henry VII of England * Henry II of Sicily sometimes described as Henry of Germany...
as he did in our world. At that point, the book ends.
Reception
In 1995 Ford reported its sales as "40,000 copies in print (six thousand in hardcover) in English, about 10K more in the foreign editions".Editions
- 1983, Timescape BooksTimescape BooksTimescape Books was a science fiction line from Pocket Books operating from 1981 to 1985. Pocket Books is an imprint of Simon and SchusterIt was named after the Gregory Benford novel Timescape, which was not published by the Timescape imprint. The imprint was founded by David G. Hartwell. It...
, ISBN 0-671-47552-5 - 1985, Avon Books, ISBN 0-380-69887-0 cover by SanjuliánSanjuliánManuel Pérez Clemente is a Spanish painter, most notable for his magazine and novel covers. He was born 24 June 1941 in Barcelona, and studied at Belles Arts of Sant Jordi....
- 2002, GollanczVictor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
(#29 in Fantasy MasterworksFantasy MasterworksFantasy Masterworks is a series of fantastic fiction classics started by Millennium and continued by Gollancz , as a companion series for their SF Masterworks line.- Published titles :-External links :...
line), ISBN 0-575-07378-0
External links
- Draco Concordans: A Concordance for John M. Ford's The Dragon Waiting by Andrew PlotkinAndrew PlotkinAndrew Plotkin , also known as Zarf, is a central figure in the modern interactive fiction community. Having both written a number of award-winning games and developed a range of new file formats, interpreters, and other utilities for the design, production, and running of IF games, Plotkin is...
- Featured review at SF Site
- Review at Richard III Society website
- Publication history with cover scans at Fantastic Fiction