Customer Reviews (3)

Bright Burning Tigers
It's too bad this anthology is out of print, and hopefully the short stories here (all from the first half of the 1980s) can be found in more modern collections. Tanith Lee is usually regarded as a master of gothic fantasy, and most of the tales here illustrate her considerable strengths in that genre. Great examples, out of many, include "Cyrion in Wax," "The Dry Season," and the especially cheeky "Odds Against the Gods." But longtime fans know that Lee has also experimented rewardingly in other genres, and this collection offers several great examples of Lee's forays into science fiction and horror. Her sci-fi work is especially empathetic and dwells on humanity rather than aliens and spaceships, like in "A Day in the Skin (or the Century We Were Out of Them)" and "Written in Water." We find examples of Lee's exercises in vampires and werewolves in "Nunc Dimittis" and "Wolfland," respectively, and chilling human horror in "Magritte's Secret Agent" and "A Room with a Vie." Of outstanding interest in this collection are a couple of very disturbing experiments in the dark side of Hindu mythology, "Foreign Skins" and "Tamastara," while the Bradbury-like adventure tale "Bright Burning Tiger" is a real surprise for Lee fans of any stripe. If you're new to Tanith Lee and seek a strong introduction to her work, or if you're a longtime fan wishing to rediscover her varied strengths, then pick up an old copy of this collection, or find a newer one with short stories from the same time period. [~doomsdayer520~]

Wild!
This was the first thing I ever read by Lee, found purely by accident along time ago, and it's a shame that it's out of print in a *serious*way... These are some of the wildest, most vivid, sensual, occasionallyvery disturbing stories in the universe! The different stories follow atheme of colors, and each one seems done out in a slightly different genre(subgenre, even?) than the others: fairy-tale, sword'n'sorcery, modernfantasy, dark erotica, fable. I haven't even laid eyes on a copy of thisfor over ten years, and "Malice in Saffron" still rings in myhead... Remarkable stuff.

True to its title
This collection of short fiction is bound to have something to interest any reader of Fantasy.If you're new to Fantasy or Tanith Lee, this collection will definately give you insight into the spectrum of the genreand Lee's talent. Since some of the stories come from other collectionsthat share a common theme or concept, they can be confusing standing alone,but are still likely to entertain any reader.The best quality is that thestories can be read and re-read, and still maintain their intrigue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Dickens with a twist
I'll keep it brief.

'Reigning Cats and Dogs' is set in the hovels of Black Church, Victorian London: grubby, poverty-stricken, syphilis-plagued, whore-filled streets and alleyways. The female protagonist is Grace, a beautiful whore who is the embodiment of the moon: pale as milk ice, with green cat eyes and possessed by an ability to heal. The male protagonist is broodingly handsome Saul Anger: a former child sex slave for deviant men who have a taste for boys, who is rescued from that sordid life by the wealthy head of the Society - a secret organization whose purpose is to rid the City of immoral men by killing them (ironically). There is much in-between this of course, but to get to the point: A terror is released in the streets of Black Church, which has taken about itself the smoky form of Anubis, the Egyptian god of Judgement and Afterlife - the very same figurehead worshipped by the Society. Havoc is unleashed in godzilla like proportions.

Reigning Cats and Dogs is a short, gripping read. Recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Sweet!
Drinking Saphire Wine is a continuation of Don't Bite the Sun, and the two are often printed in one volume titled Biting the Sun.This book is awesome.I found it by chance looking through Barnes and Nobles one day, picking up a copy of Biting the Sun and finding that there was a whole nother freaking book in there.It was a nice ending for the first. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Enter the vivid imagination of Tanith Lee
Cyrion is a series of short stories about a hero-nomad-wanderer set in the high middle eastern civilization of Arabian Nights.It will leave youwanting more.Tanith Lee's style is mystical and dreamy.Her descriptionslift you out of your world and draw you into the book like few others Ihave read.Read these stories late at night, and you will find yourselflooking up and blinking at the normalcy of your surroundings after therfirst few pages.

Cyrion travels the desert as in a dream, whollycompetent and capable, going and coming in a foggy vision as though heappears and dissapears into the sand itself.The setting in Middle Easternfolklore is refreshing after so much Celtic and Norse mythology.Theperfect book to read in bed!And an excellent introduction to Ms. Lee'sstyle.

I want more!
It begins with various characters in an inn exchanging stories about the mysterious adventurer, Cyrion, and it ends up as a magical detective story filled with ghosts, witches, swashbuckling fun, and delightful duplicity.Tanith Lee never lets me down, but I wish she'd write more about Cyrion.Anote to fellow females: I usually go for the tall,darktypes, but I couldcertainly go for the Cyrion type.

for those with imagination
I have loved this book for years. It is one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. The characters and setting are rich and full of everything you need for a fantastic voyage into inagination.

THIS IS A MASTERPIECE
This is a book for people who love GOOD pulp fiction. This is what RobertE. Howard would have written, if he had written the adventures of SimonTempler, alais The Saint. Subtle, insightful. Fun. Wish she would writemore in this vein.

Enthralling,truly captures the spirit of sword & sorcery.
Absolutely the best fantasy book I have ever read the character Cyrion comes to life in a complex of mind, strength and will. He is basically a nomadic drifter that uses his skills as a wizard & swordsman to help himself become more powerfull but in turn helps those less fortunate than himself. Written in the style of a serial he falls into one adventure unto the other. If you've read and enjoy Edgar Rice, Terry Brooks or Tolken. Find this book it is a masterpiece. ... Read more

Product Description
Wanted for murder, Daniel Vehmund travels the world, lured by a brilliant diamond and damned by a curse that transforms him into a beast. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This one got me hooked on Tanith Lee
There's always that one book, that book that just doesn't know what it's going to do to you, that book that is merely a gateway drug to the rest of the author's output. It might not even be representative of the author's career. Eye in the Sky: A Novel was the first PKD book that I read, and it prepared me in no way for his 1970s drug trip novels or his taoist masterpieces.

THis was my first Tanith Lee book, a werewolf story with Little Red Riding Hood overtones. And it shook me to the core. Remember Abyss books - a short lived experiment in horror from one of those big companies. The imprint gave us Poppy Z. Brite and something with skinned monkeys, but they also lured Tanith Lee away from her Daw house. I don't know if she could have written this with Daw. She is a fantasy writer after all. This is decidedly Dark Fantasy (and while many insist that there's no difference between Dark Fantasy and Horror, ask yourself when you last reevaluated all your childhood stories from a Stephen King novel)

The main character is a werewolf seeking his paramour. That's a simple story. But the way she tells it keeps you enthralled for page after page. Even the dead ship slaughtered scenes lifted straight out of Dracula feel compelling and shocking.

If you can find this book, grab it. Don't bother if it's through ebay, Amazon or your really creepy cousin. It's definitely worth the bother.

"Season of the Beast"
"Heart-Beast" is one of the few Tanith Lee books published under Dell's short-lived, yet terribly missed, Abyss horror imprint. ("Dark Dance" was another, a book I liked a lot better than this one.) It's about a man named Daniel Vehmund who comes into possession of a powerful diamond that metamorphosizes him into a werewolf during the full moon. It also leads him back to England where his life is intertwined with that of a young country woman's, Laura Wheelwright.

By anyone else, "Heart-Beast" could very well have turned into a "cheap thrills" werewolf story--not that that's a bad thing; I've read some really good lupine slashers--but coming from Tanith Lee, you know the plot's going to be well thought out and twisted. "Heart-Beast" is all that, but the book does drag in more than a few places. Although it's not worthy of a "5" (I had a hard time remembering the story; albeit I was in high school when I read it, I read several other Lee books then too, and most of them were memorable and worthy of five stars), it's not too terrible to deserve a "3" or lower.

In summary: good for Tanith Lee fans, but it's not one of her finest horror novels.

Great up until the end.
This book hooked me and kept me reading until the end.Although it was well written, intelligent and insightful I found the ending to be a real downer.It was just too depressing for my tastes.

Fairy Tales stripped of their Child audience
With this one book I am hooked on the personality known as Tanith Lee and will probably search the world looking for everything else she has written, although that might be hard since she has written a lot which makes me feel foolish for missing her so long. This is a lyrical fairy tale about a man who isn't exactly a werewolf, but fits the bill to an extant and a woman trapped in a marriage who is his true love. This is one of those few books that reads fast but leaves you wanting more

An intelligent and enthralling horror-dark fantasy
The age-old battle between creation and destruction is the subject of Tanith Lee's "Heart-Beast."After finding an unusually flawed diamond, Daniel Vehmund turns into a murderous beast every full moon.When he meets Laura, there is instant attraction on both sides.But at the end, Laura must resist the seductive nature of Daniel's destructiveness and save herself.Lee conveys this hypnotic story in her usual poetic prose, along with some bizarre symbolism."Heart-Beast" is for anyone looking for reading material that is thought-provoking, unusual, and a successful mix of horror and fantasy ... Read more

Product Description
In the final two volumes of the Paradys series, Tanith Lee completes this thrillingly dark and decadent alternate world, the imagined city of Paradys. In The Book of the Dead, the dark atmosphere is charged with hedonism, sexuality and death in eight interlocking short stories. In The Book of the Mad a seductive nightmare unfolds in three parallel versions of the city--Paradis, Paradys and Paradise. Connected by a labyrinth of ice whose dangers are amplified by the will and emotion of its lunatic travelers, these cities provide the stage for a drama of mythical proportions, setting up a darkly dazzling finish to The Secret Books of Paradys. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Fourth/Final Book in The Secret Books of Paradys Series
Tanith Lee is a tremendously talented writer, and in "The Book of the Mad" she wows her fans once again. This is the fourth and final book in The Secret Books of Paradys series (preceded by "The Book of the Damned" [#1], "The Book of the Beast" [#2], and "The Book of the Dead" [#3]), and it is, without a doubt, my favorite book in the group. It alternates between three various-spelled parallel cities:

--Paradise, where Felion and Smara (homicidal twin outcasts), travel through their uncle's space-altering ice labyrinth, in order to kill an unknown cousin for their own personal gain.

--Paradis, where Leocadia, a 30-year-old alcoholic, bisexual painter, is blamed for her lover's murder and is sent to an asylum by her conniving relatives. Leocadia is devilishly witty, though Felion and Smara still win out for me.

--Paradys, where Hilde, a 15-year-old virgin, is raped by Johanos Martin, an actor she adores. She becomes hysterical afterwards and is sent to an asylum by her parents, who can't cope. This is the least memorable of the three stories, at least it was for me, but it's still interesting enough.

These three well-crafted stories tie-in to one another as the book progresses, culminating in a terrific ending. Fans of this series will enjoy rereading this book over again, if not to just pick up pieces of the puzzle, which are skillfully strewn around. It's mesmerizing, and dark fantasy at its best. Highly recommended.

I love Tanith Lee
Once again, great writing.Kept me entertained and guessing what was gonna happen next!!

"Penguin Gin, Penguin Gin, drink it up, it'll do you in..."
Paradys: a twilight city where a young girl of Victorian times fell in love with an actor, suffered a brutal rape and rejection, and in her grief was consigned to a madhouse where the caretakers were her tormentors andonly the mad knew compassion. Paradis: a city of the present day, where abrilliant, eccentric artist was accused of murder but instead entered asanitorium and there descended into insanity. Paradise: a bizarre landscapeof the future, crazed and polluted, where two twins travel through amysterious labyrinth of ice to fulfil their murderous urges. Three storieshappening in the City at different times: and yet they all occur at thesame time. At first reading, much of "The Book of the Mad" seemsdisjointed-the Victorian madhouse is a shadow over the modern hospital, thefuture maze leads into different periods in the City's history-but nothingmakes sense. Only at the very end of the book does the plot come togetherentirely, an ending which provokes the reader (well, me at least) toimmediately re-read the book to see how well all the different times andcharacters interlock. Though not my favorite of the Secret Books ofParadys, "The Book of the Mad" is possibly the best of the fourin concept and execution: blurring the lines between dream and reality,sanity and madness, it's a weird wonderful ride and a book to read andre-read over and over again.

Loved it?
The final book of Paradys is undoubtedly the best, drawing the reader into three alternate, related worlds. Parallels abound, as well as subtlesuggestions that say the three worlds are more closely related then onemight think. Smara and Felione, two sociopathic murderers, are in the book.Interestingly, I actually felt empathy for them by the end of the book...Very well written, with excellent charecterization.

Brilliant!
As aptly demonstrated by Tanith Lee, Paradys is a city of many faces. This is evident nowhere more than in "The Book of the Mad," a story that twists both time and space into a compelling, dazzling narrative. InParadys' eighteenth-century past, the young girl Hilde becomes infatuatedwith a handsome, egocentric actor who rapes her. In the present-day city ofParadis, the hard-drinking, eccentric artist Leocadia discovers a murder inher studio. And in the future, polluted, ironically named Paradise, thetwins Felion and Smara explore a labyrinth of ice left to them by amysterious uncle and fulfill their daily quota of murders. Three sets oflives converge in madness--shaken by her experience, Hilde is relegated toa cruel insane asylum; Leocadia is pronouced the murderess, acquitted oncharges of insanity, and sent to a hospital; Felion and Smara continuetheir jaunts and murders and consider themselves the only sane inhabitantsof mad Paradise--and tangle together into a fascinating story. Certainsymbols consistently emerge from the flow: the color orange is a definitivemotif, as is the figure of the penguin. "The Book of the Mad"requires more than one reading to fully grasp how all three stories tieinto each other, as the story is rich and complex, but it is well worth allthe reading. Lee's prose brings all three versions of Paradys to vividlife, dark, dazzling, and ultimately fulfilling. All is apportioned as itshould be: what each character requires, by their actions, is yielded tothem in the end. And the Penguin presides over all. Do not miss this lastchapter of the Paradys Tetralogy. Even madness has a purpose--and when thepurpose is to delight, Lee fulfills her promise. ... Read more

Product Description
Along with the fourth volume, "The Book of the Mad", this book complete Lee's acclaimed Paradys series, set in a thrillingly dark and decadent alternate world. In "The Book of the Dead", the dark atmosphere is charged with hedonism, sexuality and death in eight interlocking short stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not Free SF Reader
The Book of the Dead is basically a horror short story collection.There is nothing particularly memorable about any of them, although the story about the girl getting the ability to go owl-woman isn't bad.Vampire owls though?That is a little on the whacky side.

For those that are pretty keen, only, although it is not bad.

Truth Is NOT Stranger Than Fiction
Imagine Anne Rice in her prime writing the best dark fantasy ever done, and you might get some idea of what Tanith Lee accomplished in these two books that take place in her mythical French city of Paradys. Short stories and two novellas set over the course of many centuries in the same darkly dangerous and strange French city, Paradys, take one along on a ride that begins where the Twilight Zone ends and proceeds straight out the other side of disbelief and non-reality.

A very good book, but not her best.
This was the first book of Tanith Lee I read. Immediately, I was striken by the magic of the language and the plot. The eight stories in this volumeare excellent examples of Tanith Lee's talent.All the stories aresituated in a forgotten French city somewhere in the 17th-century. Led by amysterious guide, an anonymous I-person visits the ancient graveyard ofParadys. The guide points out eight graves and tells the story that goeswith them. The result is a collection of thrilling stories about a vaginawith teeth; a quest for a secret valley; a voodoo-dripping horror story; atypical Lee vampire; a plague-woman; the real dream of a girl; a womancalled Morcara; and a female artist who posesses a glass dagger.Althoughthe erotic element in these stories is nihil, they each have thatundefinable taste of the unreal that Tanith Lee can summon so well. Asalways, she manages to make me shiver, just by describing the city.Thereare, however, things I really miss. The extra dimension behind the thrill,for example. After I had read more of her novels, I re-read 'The Book ofthe Dead' and I was expecting that extra dimension, but was a bitdisappointed. This is not Tanith Lee at her best, but it is a very goodtry.

A mixed bag of black and white...
True to the color motifs of the Paradys Tetralogy, "The Book of the Dead" (third in the series, although I read it last) is subtitled "Le Livre Blanc et Noir" and takes place, for the most part, inthe possessed, twilight city of Paradys, the Paris of a darkened alternateworld. Other than the common setting and a few literary twists here andthere, there is not much to link "The Book of the Dead" to itsfellows. (Although I did like the hint that Leocadia, protagonist of"The Book of the Mad," was the author of this volume...) With twoexceptions, "The Nightmare's Tale" and "The Moon Is AMask," the eight stories collected in this book are weird andghoulish, but hardly up to the dark and fascinating standards of the restof the Tetralogy.

For the sake of the two aforementioned exceptions, Iwill recommend "The Book of the Dead." These were stories thatremained with me after the pages had closed; they had some of that blend offascination and repulsion, darkness, tragedy, and resolution that socharacterizes Paradys. "The Nightmare's Tale" takes place perhapstwenty years after the Paradys equivalent of the French Revolution, whenyoung Jean de St. Jean (possibly a sideways relative of Andre St. Jean, thepoet of "The Book of the Damned") learns that the man who senthis parents to the guillotine is still alive and living on the Caribbeanisland of Black Haissa. Sailing across the ocean in search of revenge, Jeande St. Jean discovers that there is much more to the business of vengeancethan he expected, especially when it comes to the price. Though theatmosphere is not the city setting of Paradys, the mystery shrouding Haissais expertly evoked, Jean de St. Jean made sympathetic even as he gambleshis life on an obsessive revenge, and a real sense of the night rises upfrom the pages. In "The Moon Is A Mask" the storyline returns toParadys, perhaps around the turn of the century, where an impoverished girlnamed Elsa Garba comes into possession of a mask of black feathers. Bynight, the mask allows her to transform into a vampyric owl-harpy, in whichform she ranges over the City until dawn; in time a mender named Alainbecomes her lover, but their relationship can only end in death. Here Lee'stalent is in full force, describing the almost suicidal pleasure that Alainand Elsa derive from each other, Elsa's night flights over the roofs andtowers of Paradys, detail and imagery building allusively onto each otheruntil the final, unsettling ending.

The rest of the stories are, if notconventional, hardly as good as anything set in Paradys deserves; theirsole saving grace, averting the dreadful condemnation of"mediocre," is Tanith Lee's detailed and evocative writing. Only(and you must remember that this is my opnion, not certain fact; pleasefeel free to read the book!) "The Nightmare's Tale" and "TheMoon Is A Mask" hold any real atmosphere or depth. Two stories out ofeight, a figure that reduces to one-fourth-the fraction that exactlydescribes my dislike for the Paradys Tetralogy: three books excellent,one...not. Rest assured: I would hardly say that this book is poorreading-even substandard Tanith Lee is far better than the pinnacles ofother authors I could name-but in the wake of such masterpieces as"The Book of the Damned" and "The Book of the Beast,"it is a slim and wan offering. Tanith Lee is dazzling. So could "TheBook of the Dead" have been.

Disappointing after the others...
While I am a devotee of the Paradys books, I read this one last and found it to be the least satisfying in the series. The stories are not bad--I don't think Tanith Lee has ever written anything bad--but, other than theirsetting in Paradys and their common subject material of the dead, theliving, and all the things in between, they have little connection to oneanother. Some of them would be rather poor indeed without Tanith Lee'sbeautiful writing to hold them together. (Of course, the fact that shemakes them work does say something about her skill as a writer...) Indefense of "The Book of the Dead" I should say that I did enjoyreading the stories, and particularly the last one in the book, "TheMoon Is A Mask," a tale quite beautiful and tragic: a lonely youngwoman named Elsa Garbe comes into possession of a feathered mask thatallows her, by night, to take the form of an owllike creature and ventureforth across the City where she feeds on blood, like a vampire, and finds arelationship of a sort with a man named Alan; his inevitable betrayal sendsher to her revenge and her death. Also, mention of this book crops up inthe fourth Paradys book, "The Book of the Mad," where this book'sauthorship is attributed to the artist Leocadia. I found that very cute.There are other connections to the other three books: a descendant of AndreSt. Jean of "The Book of the Damned," a man named Philippe whomight be Philippe also of "The Book of the Damned," etc...To sumit all up, "The Book of the Dead" may be hardly as good as any ofthe other three, but it is enjoyable and deserves its own reading. If youlong for the black and white companionship of the dead, read and enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
Although she leads an overprotected life with the two old hags, Lilune knows she possesses a special gift. When she 'calls' the musician, Lir, to her prison-like castle, she knows she must avail herself of the opportunity to escape and explore the world. But travelling south of the castle, Lilune and Lir realize that they aren't alone - for an ancient, infectious evil accompanies them, which instils terror in everyone they meet. Lir dislikes arrogant Lilune, but finds himself intrigued by her and the source of the evil. Is it within Lilune, or does it come from a deeper source?When the pair become separated, he carries on searching for her. Finally, Lilune returns to her castle in despair, believing that she must be imprisoned to protect the world from the evil within her.But Lir follows her, and discovers that the root of the evil lies deep beneath the castle ...First published in 1978 by Macmillan London Limited. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

"It is an Evil Place. Evil is Built into the Stones of it.."
It is continually frustrating to read a rich, suspenseful, beautifully crafted book and then find that hardly anybody else knows about it - such is apparently the case with Tanith Lee's "The Castle of Dark." Containing an imprisoned damsel, a spooky castle, a magical harp and a mysterious secret, this is a wonderful book that has the same tone and atmosphere of an old dark fairytale.

The chapters switch back and forth between two characters: Lilune is a strange young woman living with two hags in an abandoned and dark castle. With hair down to the ground and without any need to consume food, Lilune is intensely lonely and curious about the outside world. Lir is a young harper, chosen for his calling in his youth by an unnamed traveller who instructs him on the crafting of a beautiful harp that makes the most beautiful music.

When Lir is called to the Dark Castle by Lilune's magic he finds himself caught up in webs of secrecy by the nearby villages, the two hags and Lilune herself. Why is this young maiden kept chained to her bed? Why is she allergic to the sun's light? And what dark influence has followed the two of them as they escape from the Castle into the world?

It's very difficult to write any more without destroying the intrigue and mystery captured within this book. With a style that is quite Tolkien-esque, in a world that is beautifully brought to life by Lee's poetic language, "The Castle of Dark" is a short but memorable read. Without bogging us down with boring facts and encyclopedic knowledge about this fantasy world (like other fantasy authors feels compelled to do) Lee creates a dark fairytale setting simply, vividly and realistically: moist and green forests where grey lions stalk between the trees, the splendour and pomp of a city's royal court, and of course the creepy and mysterious Castle itself. Just being able to explore these places is reason enough to read this book.

There is another thread of intrigue in the form of Lir's "mentor", whom he dubs 'Wild-Eyes', an elusive figure that claims to have harped in Hell itself (the devil apparently is quite a gentleman) and reveals some quite profound truths about the nature of music.

Lir and Lilune make great protagonists, both with their flaws, but both likeable and sympathetic, whilst simultaneously remaining a fey-like quality about them that makes us certain that we'd never meet anyone like them in our own world. Refreshingly, Lee does not force a romance between them, and in fact their relationship plays out more like a brother/sister bond. As the only two characters in the story that are given names, their two separate paths are intricately plotted together - and Lilune's plight may just move you to tears.

A simple, but beautiful and poignant book "The Castle of Dark" is one of the few fantasy books out there that reads as totally original, yet with resonance to real myths and legends of the world. Please, I'm sure you won't regret tracking it down.

The Castle of Dark
wonderful! This book is written from two points-of-view, that intertwine into one beautiful fantasy story.
About a young girl, Lilune, whose whole life has been in fear of the sun. Also the story is about a harper, Lir, who is summoned by Lilune to the castle of dark because Lilune is lonely but doesn't understand why even her mother abandoned her.No one lives in or around the castle (except Lilune and the witches who have taken care of her, since she can last remember).
Lilune lives a strange life, she doen't eat and sleeps only in the day, hiding from the sun.She is unaware of the dark secret of her family,which has kept people from living around the castle. Lir and Linune must banish the dark being that posses Linune so that Lilune may live a normal life and bring the Castle back from the dark. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Why yes. It is a followup.
Brought on by the success of the previous 4 books from Tanith Lee's flat earth.

There is no central plot. No cataclysmic schemes or happenings. And by that very absence we are free to see the central theme runningthrough all the flat earth books (including this one). The reason they aremarvels.

It is Ms. Lee's own version of "Nevertheless". (In myopinion much better that the original).

So we are pawn on the chessboardof the gods. So they pull us high or low by whim and happenstance. So what?Do you not hear the singing of the lark! It is so wonderful to be alive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Slow, Disappointing
My experience with Tanith Lee's novels is rather hit and miss, and I'm afraid this one falls into the latter category. Only my love of some of her other works kept me reading until the end - to be ultimately disappointed.

This is actually two stories; in one the vapid Vitra is a Fabulast who lives on the dark side of the planet, and she is writing a story about the spoiled Vel Thaidis who lives on the light side of the planet. Or is it a story? After a crime is committed in each world, the stories strangely take on a life of their own - which is explained in the last chapter.

Definitely not Lee's best work, but you can see shadows of concepts explored more fully in other books, like the spoiled teens from Don't Bite the Sun (Starmont Hardcover Collection, No 1) and the evil (almost incestuous) twins of The Silver Metal Lover. She hints at the eroticism that is an integral part of her other works, but never delivers.

Not her best, but bound to please the avid follower
I've read a whole lot of Tanith Lee, good and bad, and this one probably falls somewhere in the middle.

A planet divided into two worlds, light and dark. A series of characters typical of Lee's novels: the beautiful naive heroine fallen from grace, the sincere young man on a hero's journey, the mesmerizing black-hearted rogue, the conniving beauty taking advantage of others' misfortune, and, ultimately, those behind the scenes of this lovelorn drama.

Playing out within this setting are Lee's usual themes of sexual tension/erotica, sharp patrician dialogue, and vivid fantastical scenery which she writes so well. As is often the case with her novels, the plot sometimes takes a back seat to the world that Lee creates. However, in the end, this novel doesn't seem to hold up to its early promise. Wrapped up in a neat package, the last few chapter don't push as far as they might have and seem underdeveloped.

I'd recommend Day By Night only to the seasoned reader of Tanith Lee's work.

What a trip!
First off let me say I love love LOVE Tanith Lee's writing. She really gets beneath the character's skin and into their minds, and her descriptions are very real and often quite detailed. This book is no different and I really enjoyed it.

It is set on a planet which does not rotate, one side which is eternal day the other eternal night. The villainous Vitra Klovez is a Fabulast, royal story teller for the poor workers of the Subterior (basically a ghetto) whom she considers to be "worms". She tells a tale of the sun side of the planet, and for her own amusement uses people in her world as characters for her to toy within her imaginary one. Once character is Ceedres Thar who derives from prince Casrus Klarn in her world, she is in love with Casrus but he does not share the same feelings for her, for he sees past her beauty for what she really is: a pretty piece of tin. Therefore she makes Ceedres evil in her story, and her own replica of herself Vel Thaidis the heroine, but as you will find out it is really the other way around. Soon both the Fabulism and Vitra's world seem to be intersecting, and as is hinted you'll see that Vitra is not the one controlling the tale.

My favorite character in this story is Casrus Klarn, who's guilt for the pain and the suffering of the people of the Subterior, no matter how cruel they become, leads him to help them. To tell you the truth I'm unsure of how I feel about the ending, if I thought it was a cop out or not. However, this story kept me hooked through until the last page. A keeper for me.

Well, that was fun!
Talk about playing with polarity! This was quite an inventive soap opera. Like the other reviewer who kindly furnished the synopsis for us, I was just a tad disappointed with the ending; it seemed just a little tooconceptually lazy. But it was certainly fun!

A tale of a planet separated into two distinct hemispheres.
One is bathed in eternal sunlight, the other side in perpetual darkness. On the sun-baked side, we learn of princess Vel Thaidis, who is victimized by the conniving prince Ceerdres. On the planet's dark side, snobbish, melodramatic princess Vitra seemingly creates the story of Vel Thaidis via "fabulism", a television-like technology used to appease the lower classes. She is in love with the kind and charitable prince Casrus. The early chapters of this book play like a SF-obsessed romance novel and are rather weak, and the "parallel worlds" setup seems a bit gimmicky to start with. Stick with it, though, as when we learn the fates of Vel Thaidis and Casrus, the book improves immesurably. The latter half of the book is highly engrossing, and while the twist ending seems a little contrived, it is still a worthwhile read. Probably not recommended for a first taste of Tanith Lee, but if you have already read and enjoy her work, try this one. ... Read more

Product Description
Science Fiction Book Club Edition of: Secret Books of Paradys 3: The Book of the Dead & Secret Books of Paradys 4: The Book of the Mad. The Book of the Dead is eight short stories and The Book of the Mad is a novel. Jacket art by Dawn Wilson & Jacket design by Jeff Brenner. ... Read more

Product Description
Lee sets her darkly terrifying new series amidst the timeless beauty of Venice, weaving intricate plots around the elements of water, fire, earth, and air. The first book immerses readers in the secret terror that lies beneath the ancient Venetian canals.Amazon.com Review
It's no surprise that Tanith Lee has won the August DerlethAward and several World Fantasy Awards. She writes elegantly of loveand lust, hatred and obsession, in decadent, morally ambiguous,fascinating novels and short stories that owe more to Angela Carterand OscarWilde than to any established tradition of fantasy.

Lee findsthe perfect setting for her rich style and dark visions in Venus, analternate-history, 18th-century Venice caught up in a fevered Carnival thatrequires everyone to either wear masks or be killed. When FurianFuriano, searching for bodies in the canals, finds instead a floatingmask of Apollo, he becomes entangled in the complex plots andcounterplots of warring religions and the secret societies of powerfulguilds. And he encounters the beautiful Eurydiche, who has been cursedfrom birth with silence and an immobile face that make her both apowerful symbol of the historic role of women and an irresistible,inscrutable, and possibly fatal attraction for the hot-blooded youngFurian.

This fantasy murder mystery, Faces Under Water, isBook I of the Secret Books of Venus, but its plot is self-containedand complete. This is no fat fantasy; rather, it is a properlyproportioned novel of somewhat more than 200 pages, a length thatdisplays Tanith Lee's considerable gift at its finest. --CynthiaWard ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Dense
Tanith Lee's writing seems to come in two categories, though not exclusively. Her Flat Earth series, and her fairy tale stories, are written in an arch style which suits them.

And then there are books like this one, and the comparable Paradys series, which speed past arch and enter baroque. I found the writing so distracting that I had difficulty following the plot.

Some readers might enjoy this style, but I don't. The book is short, which is nice, but it's still too long to sustain the style. On a positive note, the period setting and the mix of murder and alchemy are intriguing. If only I know where it was going and what it meant when it got there.

Great Storytelling
This is an enjoyable, unique fantasy that reveals a touching, unconventional love story.I liked the fact that both the heroine and (anti)hero of the story are misfits and both hold deep disappointment and disillusionment at their core; at the end of the story you really want for them to be happy because they've been so emotionally deprived.Their interations are both touching and erotic.I won't write more in order not to give the plot away, but I really would recommend reading this book.

A beautifully described sci-fi Venice
I like Tanith Lee and I happen to think that she writes beautifully, but all that aside, this story didn't really hold my attention. I continued to read it only for the imagery it evoked and not because I really cared what happened to any of her characters.
The story begins with Furian Furiano (a disillusioned former aristocrate) wandering the canals during Carnaval looking for dead bodies to bring to a friend of his who is an alchemist and also possesses a magpie that he nourishes with scraps of human flesh from his experiments. (I know, what a great guy). Things begin to go awry as Furian discovers a mask in the water and brings it back to the Alchemist, Dr. Schaachen. He later links this to one of his father's friends who belongs to a mask making guild. This friend has a daughter with a rare disorder that prevents her from making any kind of expression. It draws vague parrelels to the Orpheus, Euridyche myth.
I did get bored while I was reading this book. Just because the story is sometimes vague doesn't mean that it is profound. Just because the characters are decadent and without morals doesn't make this story shocking. The book was well-written enough to keep me reading, but only as a travel guide to somewhere that doesn't exist.
I found myself missing some of Tanith Lee's earlier books like the Silver Metal Lover, and Biting the Sun. Her characters are so much more human. I recommend those if you want to see the kind of writing that she is capable of, and she is capable of some wonderful writing.
I probably will read the rest of the books in this series though.

The Secret Books of Venus: Book I
Set in a fantasy version of the 18th-century Venice Carnival (a setting I really liked), "Faces Under Water" follows Furian Furiano (very original name ;) as he comes across a mask floating in a canal. This discovery leads him into the company of dark alchemists, the Guild of Mask Makers--and ultimately into the arms of Eurydiche, a woman whose mask is her actual face--a well-woven twist to the authentic Carnival atmosphere.

Although it's been a long time since I've read this book (I had to browse through it again to remember most of the story in order to write this review), I do recall "Faces" was rather slow-paced, particularly in the beginning half, and not as exciting or intriguing as Lee's Paradys series, which this series appears to imitate. Based on this book alone, I doubt I'll like her new Venus series. There are three additional books to it--"Saint Fire," "A Bed of Earth," and "Venus Preserved"--but I'll probably stick with her Paradys series instead, one I'd recommend over this series.

Dark, colorful, and breathtaking...
When Furian Furiano, a moody and temperamental young man with a painful past, comes across an exquisite mask of Apollo in his daily polings throughthe canals of Venus, the Venice of a shadowy alternate world, he has noidea what this chance find will bring him: a desperate love, initiationinto an ancient and reclusive craft, and a closer encounter with death thanhe ever wished. In the hidden places of Venus, something is stirring andwaking, something kept skillfully hidden until Furian's clumsy searchesbring it to light...and not Furian, not his beautiful lover Eurydiche,perhaps not even Venus herself will be safe if its power is notstopped.

Like Lee's novels of Paradys, which seems to belong to the sameworld as Venus, "Faces Under Water" deals with a wide range ofemotions and environments, from the darkness and the decadence to theunexpected joys and pains-all of which Furian's troubled life encompasses.Central to his thoughts and the story is the idea of the mask: what liesbehind it? Can one even know what is really there? Furian's lover Eurydicheis perhaps a personification of this question; born with a rare disorderthat keeps her mute and her face as still as stone, she cannot affirm herlove to Furian in any way that he can concretely accept. In the same waythat Furian can never be sure what Eurydiche is thinking behind herbeautiful mask, he cannot fathom the plot that is forming around him untilit reveals itself to him at last. The Mask Makers' Guild...a mysterioustribe known as the Orichalci that dwell in the southern Amarias(seventeeth-century Venus' name for the Americas)...questions of life anddeath...unlikely pieces joining together, they form an impenetrable screenaround Furian, weaving darkness until he cannot find his way out alone. Yetdark as Venus' world may be, it is not entirely without its lights. Humorand odd bits of truth are provided by Furian's friend/mentor/irritantDianus Shaachen, an aging doctor who dabbles in alchemy and other mysticalarts, dotes on his pet magpie, loves to be cryptic, and may actually knowsomething of use to Furian. Furian's own interactions with his fellowcharacters show him to be more than a figure moved about a stage-by turnswry, sarcastic, and vulnerable, afraid to admit love, unable to deny it, heis achingly, familiarly human. And Eurydiche and Furian's love, whateverits nature, may the one thing that can heal both these wounded people. Suchthings are necessary-for how can you know what you have gone through ifthere is nowhere to pause and look back...and how can darkness have meaningwithout the light? ... Read more

Product Description
A newcomer to San Francisco falls in love too fast despite the warnings of a cadre of ghosts haunting his uncle; a businessman comes to regret his ennui when faced with the machinations of an outsider artist; on a train traveling through a dangerous Russian winter, a passenger encounters a wolf on two legs; a mining colony where love has become dangerous but no less passionate; a young man, mourning those loss of his ballet career, may yet get his chance to fly.

These are some of the stories included in this anthology, stories chosen from magazines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best gay male speculative fiction of the year. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting, but definitely uneven
For me, a great short story is built around one of two things - either the characters, or the setting/atmosphere.One or the other has to succeed in drawing the reader into the story; otherwise the plot itself falls flat. Here, rather predictably (since the gay theme most often originates with the narrator/protagonist), it's the characters that succeed. Although the restraints of the short story don't generally allow for a lot of growth, there were a few notable exceptions where I found the characters well developed. In particular, I'm referring to the entries by Bowes, Lane, and Hand.

Unfortunately, I didn't find the setting/atmosphere aspect of these stories nearly as well developed. Looking back over the years, my favourite short stories are those that clearly establish a setting that drives the mood and the atmosphere of the story. As much as well developed characters can draw you into the story, it's a strong setting that isolates the reader from the real work and allows for that all-important denial of reality. Barron, Francisco, and Hand succeeded beautifully here, but (despite their respective stories' initial promise), Bowes and Lee just fell flat.

Aside from all that, there is some beautiful writing here. Personally, I'm not one to sit back and admire the language of a story, but a well-written story does creep a little deeper into your brain and establish some connections there. Although it's been done before, I really like what Sheppard did with the ship's log, and I thought Hughes did an amazing job of telling an amusing story, as opposed to just telling a story with amusing elements. Hand and Lee, of course, are amazing in how they weave a tale, and I actually liked how ambiguous Cardamore's story was, despite some other reviewers' feelings. Finally, I have to give Li credit for doing something different, but I found her accented syntax just too distracting.

All in all, for those who like their speculative fiction a little bit `gay' then this a collection worth picking up. For most, I suspect it will be more of a pick-and-choose kind of collection, as opposed to a cover-to-cover read, but those stories that work, work well - and are worth the price of admission.

Always a Good Read
Berman, Steve, ed. "Wilde Stories 2010", Lethe Press, 2010.

Always a Great Read
Amos Lassen

I look forward every year to Lethe Press's "Wilde Stories" and this year's collection does not disappoint. This is a collection of 12 speculative short stories and each is a good read. I especially like the introduction where editor Berman takes the Lambda Literary Foundation to task because he believes that they have misplaced their priorities in the way that look at storytellers and he goes on to state that a person's sexual orientation is not relevant to the ability to tell a story. It is the story that matters and not the teller. Berman then goes on to give us the stories. I am not going to summarize all of the stories but I will concentrate just a few. That does not mean that I have favorites but that I want you to have the opportunity to judge for yourself.
Jameson Curriernever fails to please and his '"Death In Amsterdam," while not as speculative as the other stories is a fascination look at how Muslims in Amsterdam choose to use violence against gay men and to what extent they do this. We have always thought of Amsterdam as being an Eden for gays but Currier lets us know that there is trouble in paradise. I have always considered Currier to be one of the most dynamic gay writers and he proves that once again with this story.

"Barbaric Splendor" by Simon Sheppard is set in 1640 and a crew is shipwrecked on the shore of Xanadu, the same place where the Khan's palace is. Sheppard has always been one of my favorite short story writers and here he pleases as usual in this story that reads like a ship's log and we see the Nordic narrator compromise how he feels about sodomy.
Another writer that never fails to hold my interest is Tom Cardamore and in "The Sphinx Next Door" is a wonderful read about mail that goes to the wrong place.
Other authors include Laird Barron, Ben Francisco, Richard Bowes, Tanith Lee (writing as Judas Garbah), Georgina Li, Joel Lane, Elizabeth Hand and Rhys Hughes. Notably not included is Berman, the editor but I suppose he had his hands full putting together this excellent anthology.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Ah! Tanith Lee short stories!
A couple stories didn't move me. But the rest DID. The short stories range from quirky to chilling to poignantly beautiful, with scenes set in our world & others.

Even my little brother got all dewy-eyed & reverent when I made him read one of the stories. That says a lot.

Disappointing after Tales from the Flat Earth
'Magritte's Secret Agent' and 'The Gorgon' were my favorites and they were really good.'Monkey's Stagger' is in essence just a really long bad pun (other parts are funny) and 'Because Our Skins are Finer' was just plainbad.Tanith Lee is one of my favorite authors but this stuff was justaverage and as my title says disappointing after reading some of her otherbooks.Of course this is just my opinion (but that's what we're here forisn't it?)

A collection of stories you will not soon forget
Tanith Lee does it again in this collection ofanecdotes. From the starting story "The Gorgon" to the ending story "La Reine Blanche" you are hooked. These short stories tell of interesting and fantastic but believable characters that hold you to the end. From the mute "Sirriamnis" to the grizzled old apothecary in "Draco,Draco", the heavenly appearence of the beautiful aliens in "Quatt-sup" to the gorgeous autistic man in "Magritte's Secret Agent", Lee shines in the stories written in first-person viewpoint like personal diaries. Definite reccomended reading.

An enticing collection of stories for the dark fantasy lover
One of my most cherished books, "The Gorgon" was my first taste of Tanith Lee's talent.She has a real gift for capturing the atmosphere of the fairy tale in an entirely original way.If you can find this book, buy it! ... Read more