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Tea With the Black Dragon
R.A.MacAvoy
Internet Top 100, nom. Hugo, Nebula, Wld. Fant. 1983

A simple but delightful fantasy. Easy reading enough for children, thought-provoking enough for adults. An ancient dragon who learned from Bodhidharma still needs to learn more and in this pursuit meets a modern woman.

They find in each other answers to deep-seated personal questions and quests, share a dangerous adventure, fall in love and enjoy life together. To her, his appearance "in his quiet gray suit, felt like a quote taken out of context" and he "was like other men in this way too. He believes what he wanted to believe: what he felt he had to belive. Until, of course, time slammed him into the meaningless truth.".

He teaches her from the depths of his vast experience: "blame is a useless gesture. Regret is worse", "A man is an unsual being. He is capable of tremendous precision of thought. ... Yet he is so eminently...distractable. During the most concentrated moments he may ­ no he will - float off like a butterfly and scatter all he has gained. Yet this is not a flaw in man. This is what makes him man. And I must believe there is a value in that."

And she teaches him: "Living forever is what makes all dragons delusion, whether they're green, red or black. Life is a moment long, no more. If you hold on to it, you're lost!"

Not the most riveting or profound story but an entertaining and pleasant experience.

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