Balefires is the long-awaited collection of David Drake's weird and fantastic fiction. Before Drake was a best-selling author of military science fiction, he was a prolific writer of horror and fantasy short fiction. Balefires collects some of his earliest professional sales (including his first sale to Arkham House.) In addition, Balefires brings together many stories set in the worlds of his fantasy novels (Ranks of Bronze, Lord of the Isles, etc.) and contains original fiction. More than just a collection of stories, Balefrires features extensive story notes that chronicle the development of the writing career of one of the science fiction's most popular writers, and provides detailed snapshots of the larger than life editors, publishers and writers that Drake has worked with throughout his career.