ACE DRAGON LIMITED
by Russell Hoban
Hoban tosses off a droll adventure that derives its fun from a few modestly absurd conceits. "ACE DRAGON LTD." is written on a round iron plate, like a manhole cover, that John finds on the sidewalk. Soon he's talking through the plate to a dragon who explains that LTD. means limited because "I can't do everything. I can only do some things." One of the things the dragon can do is spin gold into straw—an unpromising talent that proves useful when he runs out of petrol giving John a ride through the sky. They land on a gold moon, would jump to earth if they had something soft to cushion their fall, and there it is—straw. A pleasing trifle, with Hoban's offhand, offbeat aplomb handily comple-mented by BlaKe's casually energetic sketches.