I have to say that I am suprised that so many people dislike the fiction. I picked up my first issue of dragon a few months ago and loved the fiction piece that was included. I can't recall the title but it was about a winged elf who went to the city and got tricked into helping some criminals. I never really thought about reading D&D fiction until then, and now I am picking up some Salvatores Drizzt series, realizing that I have a lot of history to catch up on! I found the fiction one of the best parts of the magazine. It helps me visualize game mechanics better. When characters do things I'm like ok, he just made a successful bluff check. Ooops looks like that guy failed his grapple! lol buts thats just me...