I started writing with heroic fantasies either explicitly set during the classical past or closely modeled on that past. Black Iron was the fourth story I sold and the first that I consider to be really publishable.
These aren’t necessarily my best stories (though The Barrow Troll comes pretty close), but they’re very dear to my heart.
Contents of VETTIUS AND HIS FRIENDS
- Introduction: Source Materials
- The False Prophet
- Black Iron
- The Mantichore
- The Shortest Way
- From the Dark Waters
- Nemesis Place
- Dragons’ Teeth
- The Barrow Troll
- Killer (with Karl Edward Wagner)
- Ranks of Bronze
- Dreams in Amber
- King Crocodile
—Dave Drake
Vettius and His Friends. 1989, Riverdale, NY: Baen. 304 p. 0671698028 (pb). $3.95.