weird and dreamy Tanith Lee writes her version of a young adult novel; results are weird and dreamy.
synopsis: weird and dreamy Hesta Web (and her "hotweird and dreamy Tanith Lee writes her version of a young adult novel; results are weird and dreamy.
synopsis: weird and dreamy Hesta Web (and her "hot red hair") runs away from her despicable mother to a weird and dreamy seaside town, abandoned by tourists during this off-season. strange things occur and Hesta eventually finds her destiny in this cold and timeless place.
the novel is layered and does surprising things, much like the seaside village and its inhabitants, much like Hesta herself. terrible things happen, but with a certain nonchalance: villagers slaughter an arrogant visitor in the pub, and nothing much is made of it; an apparition drops her crying baby out of a window, and it turns out to be a mercy killing. Hesta's mother, mom's equally loathsome lover, and a sad detective they've hired enter the village to find the girl; one shall be sacrificed, another shall meet a more welcoming death, and the third shall revert to childhood. Hesta herself is welcomed by the village, as a priestess come to minister her flock. a secretive agency keeps careful watch on it all, as this is a place where odd powers manifest, where the different come to visit and find themselves staying on.
Hesta is asexual, perhaps the first such heroine I've ever read about. there is a character who is revealed as trans and that reveal made this already intriguing person all the more so. there is an older gay man; Hesta comes to live in his house as his ally and equal. this is a queer kind of book.
When the Lights Go Out is a slippery thing, hard to grasp at times. it was a sometimes frustrating experience - I would have preferred it concentrate more on Hesta. the inclusion of other perspectives, including her pursuers, made the book feel unfocused. but that was clearly the intent: to have a certain lack of focus, a blurry narrative, prose like watercolours, ambiguous characters, things barely spelled out. in the end, Hesta having embraced her fate has come to understand the logic of this weird, dreamy place that she now calls home, in a way that the reader and all other such interlopers never can....more
Fantasy author Tanith Lee drains all of the fantasy out of her retelling of Snow White. An impressive feat! The setting is not specific, other than meFantasy author Tanith Lee drains all of the fantasy out of her retelling of Snow White. An impressive feat! The setting is not specific, other than medieval, existing in a place where pagan ways are coexisting with Christianity, albeit surreptitiously. The wicked stepmother is Snow White's real mother and yet not: mother has cut those ties and is barely conscious of her daughter. And mother is also a traumatized sociopath, consumed by an overwhelming narcissism and wrestling with new and confusing feelings of love. A lunatic, but one rendered as fully three-dimensional, the raped captive bride of a warlord, frozen at the young age when she was first kidnapped, trapped in a prison not of her making. Snow White herself is given all the dimensions as well, as are the Seven Dwarves, one of whom becomes her true love. And Prince Charming? The last quarter of the book is his, this insane and sadistic monster, and it makes that final portion particularly grueling. Fortunately, SORRY THIS IS A SPOILER, there is hope at the end.
The writing is clean and crystalline. The feminism is very dark, sometimes hopeful, always realistic. Tanith Lee turns this fantastic fable into a completely unsentimental portrait of women coping and trying to survive in a world of men. Her story is hard to read, especially for any reader hoping for escapism. An austere and entirely impressive achievement....more
Two novellas and one short story, all gorgeously written. Unfortunately, the tales are not equally satisfying. They each take place in Tanith Lee's veTwo novellas and one short story, all gorgeously written. Unfortunately, the tales are not equally satisfying. They each take place in Tanith Lee's version of Marseilles, named Marcheval. The collection is misnamed; a more appropriate title would be SCHADENFREUDE. The focus is almost entirely on the internal, the psychological and the emotional, with no real interest in depicting a lushly atmospheric setting - and I rather expected lush atmosphere, given the author. The city itself comes across as fairly anonymous and not particularly different. Ok despite my whining, this is an estimable book, the prose is wonderful and each story glistens with striking imagery. For Tanith Lee fans like me, it is well worth reading. It is put out by the invaluable Immanium Press, who appear to consider it their mission to make sure Lee's more obscure titles remain accessible. Many thanks to them!
"Not Stopping at Heaven" - 3 stars An older woman marries a greedy young pig who's after her money and comes complete with an equally piggish mistress. Unfortunately for all three, this older woman has something quite horrible inside her that enjoys coming out to play. And by "play" I mean breaking each and every bone in her tormenter's body before sadistically killing said tormenter. This was an uncomfortable tale, possibly because each character is realistically rendered and none of them are remotely sympathetic. Verdict: satisfying.
"Idoll" - 2 stars A drab orphan comes to live at her snooty relatives' home, and it mystifies me that a family of merchants has the temerity to act snooty to anyone, even an orphan. He said snootily. They sneakily worship a skeletal doll ensconced in the attic because why not. The orphan also finds worship of this mercantile idol to be strangely enjoyable, and in the end, life/death-affirming. Verdict: less than satisfying.
"The Portrait in Gray" - 5 stars Alice mourns the death of her brother, who has died by his own hand, lovelorn over the heartless and vicious Eugenie. Unfortunately for the fair Eugenie, the celebrated painter Alice is nicknamed M'alice by those in the know. This novella takes elements from The Picture of Dorian Gray and puts them at play in an enjoyable revenge plot. The imagery here is stunning, from the portrait of the icy and thoroughly evil Eugenie in all of her crystalline beauty to the portrait itself, which portrays Eugenie's sickening and hideous interior, suddenly exposed for all to gape at. And M'alice has more revenge than a scary painting in store for Eugenie... Verdict: extremely satisfying!...more
I mean, it is a perfectly good cover, nicely grotesque and creepy, but it is in no way representative of the stories wIGNORE THE COVER OF THIS BOOK! *
I mean, it is a perfectly good cover, nicely grotesque and creepy, but it is in no way representative of the stories within. No doubt certain mercenary publishers hoped to capitalize on Tanith Lee's reputation for gothic strangeness. Thus, the interesting but misguided cover.
This is my first experience reading relatively mainstream, I suppose "literary" fiction by one of my all-time favorite authors. Although "literary" is the wrong word. Let's be clear mark, these are romantic stories about love and sex, no need to be shy, you have nothing against romance, at least not theoretically.
Disturbed by Her Song is a collection of romantic queer fiction. Men on men, women on women, or just another Thursday for Tanith Lee. Her skills are in full effect. Except for the first story, there are basically no supernatural or fantasy elements. Surprise! Well for me at least. These are beautifully written gems, despite a certain smallness to some of them (and therefore 3 stars, due to the minor note nature of most of these stories). The prose enchants, per usual for the author.
For some reason, the author decided to use a not so great literary device of these stories being "told" to her by the two cover characters - siblings, both queer, who Tanith Lee "met" - and man I'm getting tired of using quotation marks, so enough mark. The literary conceit is unnecessary and rather distracting. Too meta, too twee. Honestly, also a little amateurish. Anyway.
Although all the stories were artful, there were three that really shined:
"Black-Eyed Susan" - the reserved new maid at a decrepit hotel finds some hot & sexy times in the arms of a fellow maid, but much more importantly, notices that there is an attractive spirit walking about - perhaps (view spoiler)[the spirit of someone who is still living's... past (hide spoiler)]? This was an absorbing tale and gave me that great feeling of wanting to follow the protagonist off on future strange, hot adventures.
"The X's Are Not Kisses" - I loved this story about the breakdown and potential regeneration of the romance between a young bookseller and her perhaps fey (or perhaps not) paramour, a musician. I actually shed some tears over the intense emotion on display, and here I thought my tear well was dry.
"Death and the Maiden" - oh boy, this was delightfully bizarre and sinister, despite having no overt horror elements. A forthright woman is swept off her feet by a handsome, even more forthright Lady of a Manor, except it is all a long-game plot to help that Lady's daughter not be such a doormat. But it's so much more - identities taking over each other, the way that some women internalize and then enact the misogyny of some men upon other women, topping from the bottom, maternal bonds vs. romantic bonds... so much to enjoy. Also quite hot.
* drunk review, sorry for the all caps! also, apologies for the overuse of quotation marks & "hot" oops did it again...more
the book is serpentine: coldblooded, winding slowly, lengthily, inexorably, its coils as deadly as its sharp poisoned fangs, dry scales colored black the book is serpentine: coldblooded, winding slowly, lengthily, inexorably, its coils as deadly as its sharp poisoned fangs, dry scales colored black and red and green. black for deepest night, red for pulsing blood, green for the leafy woods. it was born in the heart of the forest but slips into places that the warmblooded frequent, searching for prey.
okay I think I've tortured that analogy enough, the book is like a snake, get it? time to move on. but I hope you appreciate snakes, like I do, because otherwise this book is not for you. and now for a synopsis.
synopsis: one character creates a second character and together they create a third character. this third character is the protagonist. so, eventually, is the second. the first character is the antagonist. the third character creates a fourth character. the second and the third characters create a fifth character. the fourth and fifth characters are also protagonists. all of these characters are born and die and are reborn. they turn into each other. they are immortal. they change and die often. confused yet? Tanith Lee doesn't give a shit if you are confused. this is her world and you are just living in it, for now at least.
the book is just that: Tanith Lee's world. I have followed this author since I was a teen and this anti-epic of epic length is the most perfect distillation of her entire ethos that I've experienced yet. her prose is ripely purple; her narrative is hallucinatory; her characters are often eerie ciphers. this book is like entering into her dreams. it makes perfect sense if you can understand its dream logic. you have to submerge your own expectations of what an epic novel looks and feels like to fully enter Tanith Lee's world of dreams and share her fascination with fate and (im)mortality and death and renewal and faith. maybe time for another synopsis now.
synopsis: there are two Gods: the Christus and the Son of the Forest. and so there are two sacrifices: both are nailed to wood, both die in service of humanity, both die to be reborn. both are worshiped, sometimes interchangeably. the ritual of drinking blood is sacred to both. are they the same God? if there is only one God, is all worship therefore to that one God? perhaps, perhaps not. one God wants to save you, the other wants to... well, that God's motivations are unknowable, like the forest. perhaps he wants to eat you?
despite her coldblooded nature, despite the coldness of the book and the uncaring quality of the world she has created, Tanith Lee is still an understanding author. this is a savage medieval world that she has borne and she understands that in such a world, women and the disabled get the shaft, in all variations of that word. this is a world controlled by men (and the women who abet them) who scorn women and who loathe disabilities, men who seldom spare a thought for the women and the disabled that they use as they would beasts of burden. and so she makes her heroes women, she makes them disabled, she makes them the most neglected and abused. this can be a tough world to read about. it can also be a grimly satisfying world to read about, as those that are trodden upon rise up, reborn, sometimes literally, to destroy those that have used them so poorly.
synopsis: the Son of the Forest has been reborn into human shape and takes mortal guise, as a priest of Christ; his powers dark and fearsome and above all, bloody. an elder son falls victim to supernatural forces and becomes misshapen, a joke among men, an easy sacrifice; he will rise again, and again. a woman is created, fulfills a purpose not her own, is discarded, is reborn; she is mother and then nemesis and then unifier. a dwarf is created, a shadow self that creates its own life, a joke that will make a joke of others, a little person that will become big. a daughter is born and then reborn, to live as chattel and slave, to live as slayer and avenger, to be a culmination. time passes, centuries like days, and these characters live on, intent on purposes unknowable even to themselves. such is life!...more
Tanith Lee's second book is a sweet and featherlight collection of children's fairy tales. A dozen princes and princesses each get their own little stTanith Lee's second book is a sweet and featherlight collection of children's fairy tales. A dozen princes and princesses each get their own little story. Magic and talking animals abound, as well as odd, short quests and a gallery of amusing enchanted creatures (some of which include the princes & princesses themselves). Silliness reigns supreme; right at the start of her career, the author makes her love for the absurd clear. There is a princess who accidentally turns herself into a furry snake with whiskers (a prince finds her to be just the cutest thing), a witch who yearns to win the annual Wickedest Witch prize, a cross younger sister named Princess Pineapple, an annoyingly perfect older brother named Prince Lion, a villainous enchanter appropriately named Nasty, a pair of condescending eagles, a bunch of sheep turned into a bunch of princes, and a host of other similarly nonsensical characters and scenarios. Not a whiff of the darkness that later made Tanith Lee famous is to be found in these slight and sunny charmers. My favorite is the tale of a prince, looking for love, who assumes that the swan he's found must be showered with kisses in order to turn her back into a human princess. Turns out, she's actually a princess of swans, and finds the whole ordeal quite revolting. The book includes a lovely drawing by Vilma Ilsley for each story. I quite liked the one with a haughty Prince Charming dancing with a cat named Clever....more
surprise! this odd, often bleak, always wistful, very minor note novella is actually a ringing endorsement for revolution! rise, washer women and all surprise! this odd, often bleak, always wistful, very minor note novella is actually a ringing endorsement for revolution! rise, washer women and all the downtrodden!
calling it "minor note" is not a critique, it is a description of the tone of the entire story. it is played in minor chords.
synopsis: in an alternate version of France where the English have triumphed and the divide between haves and have-nots is stark and brutal, a diminished young woman is further diminished. all the while she clings to her prized possession, a book about a martyr to the cause, that martyr also being the object of her obsession. eventually she lands in the dreamlike abode of "Madame Two Swords", the inexplicably still-alive paramour of that long-dead revolutionary.
there was an incredible moment near the end that combined wish fulfillment and empathy and the channeling of the dead into a strange yet loving and compassionate kiss between young woman and old woman. that moment had so many layers. the book is beautifully written and that was certainly the most beautiful part of all.
this is more of a 3 star book for me: although I certainly admired it, I have no interest in rereading; it was interesting but also an often depressing, frustrating experience. however that moment was sublime. 4 stars!...more
Tanith Lee crafts a children's fantasy and the results are charming and eccentric. the plot: young Prince awakens with no memory in a strange and fantTanith Lee crafts a children's fantasy and the results are charming and eccentric. the plot: young Prince awakens with no memory in a strange and fantastic world; accompanied by a talking, shape-shifting horse (or lion), he finds he has to deal with several quests in his role as the "Looked-for Deliverer". also featuring feisty witches, a Clock Moon, chariots in the sky, a magic egg, threatening tree sprites, a dragon of brass, and a whole lot of fun nonsense. the book's many endearing absurdities reminded me equally of Lewis Carroll and Miéville's Un Lun Dun. the Prince himself is quite amusing in his general laziness, grouchiness, and disinterest in doing anything heroic.
the author's rich prose has been lightened considerably; rather than delivering lush darkness, she brightens her palette so much that the results veer towards the psychedelic:
"The Prince lay on his back and watched the sugarpink sky and the lavender clouds wallowing in it like furry, disgruntled whales in a pink sea. There was a mist over the heath that made it difficult to tell where the sky ended and earth began, and suddenly a bright thing came glittering across the mist.
I really have to mention this book's striking twist ending (she almost always throws one in there): (view spoiler)[after spending much of the time wondering who he is and where he is from, the young lad cracks the magic egg and learns that he came from our world, where he was "very poor and very old, and had nothing and no one"... one day, sheltering under a tree from the rain, an acorn falls on his head and kills him... and he woke to find himself in this world. the Prince realizes he can't come back to our world even if he wanted to, because he's dead here. he's in his own happy afterlife and he has no inclination towards leaving it. (hide spoiler)]
Tanith Lee keeps it classy in this fun and rather old-fashioned fantasy adventure about a ghost-killer, the musician who follows him, and a vengeful yTanith Lee keeps it classy in this fun and rather old-fashioned fantasy adventure about a ghost-killer, the musician who follows him, and a vengeful young witch's ghost. together they encounter a tragic and threatening ghost city, one that comes complete with a ghost forest and a ghost lake in the form of a five-pointed star.
"Tanith Lee keeps it classy" is my callow way of saying that this does not really read like a Tanith Lee novel. none of her usual writerly flourishes, no strange, so-lush-it's-carboniferous prose stylings. there are no sadistic heroes or masochistic heroines (or vice versa); creepy sexuality in general is kept at a minimum. gender roles are straightforward. the narrative is also straightforward: there are some flashbacks and memories recounted but no dreamy meanderings that blur the line between fantasy and the reality of the story itself. the tone is not reserved and distancing, it's lively and amusing and often outright comic. Lee the comedian! wonders never cease. about the only thing remaining of the Lee I know is her usual twist ending, which in this case really works.
so if a person had told me that Kill the Dead is a classy novel where Tanith Lee discards her usual trademarks, I may not have even bothered to read the book. I read Lee specifically because of all the weird and often twisted things I listed above. the combination of all of that is what makes her awesome and it's the reason why she's been one of my favorite authors since forever. fortunately I first read this novel when I was a kid, loved it, and so just reread it despite recognizing even as kid that it was something very different for Lee.
my guess is that it's her version of a mainstream fantasy novel. it even has - gasp - a genuinely heartwarming ending where faith in humanity is restored etc and holylol were you on happy drugs when you wrote this Tanith? what this means to me is that this brilliant, iconoclastic author could easily put out mainstream fantasy novels if she so desires. she just does not desire that, at least not too often. for that, I'm thankful. but I'm also thankful for this wittily deadpan, perfectly accomplished, charming little island that somehow exists in the middle of her otherwise dark, stormy, and disturbing oeuvre. ...more
futuristic tale of an alluring and depressed vampire coping with life on the run and death in the sun.
young mark monday probably should never have gotfuturistic tale of an alluring and depressed vampire coping with life on the run and death in the sun.
young mark monday probably should never have got a hold of this book because it introduced him to a dark, rich, and enticing new world of fuckedupedness - one that he quickly embraced. poor, naïve markmonday... innocence smashed!
don't get me wrong, it's not like this book is full of graphic sexual violence. but what it does do is position what is usually seen as 'perverse' as something understandable, even defensible. when Sabella has to deal with an annoyingly sexist postman, weirdly clinging relatives, a charming stalker, his tough older brother... the reader is resolutely on the side of the blood-sipping killer. nowadays this is typical for vampire novels. back in the 17th century when I was a pre-teen... well, not so much. I'd never read about a sexy, appealing killer before, one who made decisions I could see myself making, up to and including prostituting herself so she could obtain her regular fix of the red honey. I certainly had never read a novel where masculinity - in the form of the older brother mentioned above - was made both unpleasantly brutal and sinisterly appealing. such things are common in the realm of romantic fiction, but not in the science fiction that I actually read. it was all so new to me, this heavy-breathing reduction of the genders to their most essentialist, disturbing, and still deeply erotic parts. it felt wrong when I was reading it, like the author was doing a bad thing and I was somehow able to watch. and so I loved it. the fact that this was a sleek vampire novel set in the far future on another planet made it even better. and its weird happy ending made it perfect.
reading it again years later, the queasy-sexy-uncomfortable charge is greatly reduced because I am of course an adult with a whole host of adult experiences under my belt. but it is only reduced - not absent. the novel is still a wonderfully perverse experience. the futuristic setting is fantastic and as an adult I can particularly appreciate the stripped-down qualities of the minimal narrative. the prose glistens in a typically Tanith Lee fashion. she's a stylist, one to rival other genre stylists like Vance or Valente. Sabella is still strange, cynical, and attractive. her tormenter is still brutal, cynical, and attractive. the relationship still makes my skin crawl in the best, most guilt-inducing way. nice to see that the magic remains, whether reading the novel as a kid or as an adult. although I am definitely not recommending this for kids. young mark monday should have had this book taken away from him and sent right to bed without dinner....more
a lushly written, weirdly ambiguous, often eerie little tale of an age-old curse and two lost souls who find eachgirl and boy meet-cute; antics ensue.
a lushly written, weirdly ambiguous, often eerie little tale of an age-old curse and two lost souls who find each other.
a night-bound young woman in a castle seeks to explore the daytime world; a young man takes up a harp and hits the road.
lady held captive by two cackling witches seeks support in escaping her dark and lonely castle.
guy looking for thrills and adventure and maybe some punani takes to the road with his enchanted harp.
a tragic woman and an optimistic man find they have much to learn about life, love, and each other.
a sinister enchantress wielding dark weapons and guarded by two brave elders sends out a diabolical spell that lures a young man to his potential doom.
a callow minstrel ignores all good sense by removing a sheltered miss from her castle; he soon grows tired of her and attempts to abandon her at an unfriendly village.
evil witch who has escaped her prison takes control of a poor Duke and terrifies his city; the witch's heartless paramour, a homeless singer, appears in the city to mock its residents and torment its brave Duke.
naïve girl is taken captive by a sinister Duke; innocent boy attempts brave rescue.
a tormented lass is possessed by a dark and deadly spirit; an ensorcelled lad seeks to rid her of this malignant parasite.
lonely, ancient spirit seeks to escape its unappealing mortal cage but another mortal misunderstands. typical mortals. *sigh* ...more
An excellent collection by one of my favorite writers. The stories range from fantasy to science fiction to horror, often overlapping those genres. LeAn excellent collection by one of my favorite writers. The stories range from fantasy to science fiction to horror, often overlapping those genres. Lee's skills within each are admirable. Despite the genre-skipping, her writing style and her themes remain consistent through each of these tales: luscious, overripe prose; stories with a strong sense of place and often dripping with atmosphere; a woman's identity, needs, and challenges always centralized.
The subtitle is silly. The title "Women as Demons" - yes, that idea is there, many times. "The Male Perception of Women Through Space and Time" - well, sometimes. But often not a major part, if at all. The male gaze is certainly present in a handful of stories: in the first story "The Demoness" and the last story "Northern Chess," in the silliest story "The Unrequited Glove" and in the strangest "The Discovered Country," and it is central to the strongest story "Into Gold." But the rest... there are different things going on. And more power to this collection for not straitjacketing itself into examining how women are perceived through male eyes. A collection about women does not have to be about what men think about women. These stories are often about how women think of themselves. Perhaps the subtitle was forced onto the collection by its publisher The Women's Press Ltd. In her amusingly theatrical forward, the author is game to reposition these stories as engaging with the male perception of women. But even in that introduction, Lee recognizes that the Demon Woman archetype is something that she as an author often embraces rather than rejects, a perception shared by women and men alike, one existing as both foolish misconception and resonant mythology. For anyone - publisher, author, or reader - to say that this collection is primarily about "the male perception of women" is to limit the depth and meaning of what these stories are about.
All of these stories fascinated, but a few really stood out and will no doubt be reread. The sneakily humorous (well, as humorous as a story about a mass slaughter could be) "You Are My Sunshine" is set on a spaceship dedicated to wellness; its passengers get a hot surprise when one young lady responds to affection by really lighting up the place. "Gemini" is a claustrophobic psychological study of a lonely woman entrapped by own her own fears, set in a semi-utopian future. Lee pays tribute to classic Asian fantasy with the baroque, wistful "Mirage and Magia" and its remote but predatory anti-heroine, an archetype of that genre. The horror-tinged "Winter White" with its misogynist protagonist getting his just desserts, and the crowd-pleaser "Northern Chess" with its wry and very capable woman warrior getting the job done, are both set in the kinds of perfectly realized medieval-fantasy worlds that Lee once started her career writing about.
"The Lancastrian Blush" puts a supernatural spin on the Wars of Roses; the language in this piece is so gorgeous, strange, opaque - I hung on every sentence, it was such an absorbing experience. The disturbing "The Thaw" starts with an intriguing premise of centuries-old humans unfrozen from suspended animation and ends with humans devoured and an alien invasion. Eek. Perhaps the most original story is "The One We Were" which details the mysterious and perhaps murderous activities of an author who is led astray by a combination of her interest in reincarnation, her jealousy towards any who would claim her past lives, and her own almost psychopathic self-absorption. The most lauded story is probably "Into Gold": this is Tanith Lee creating her own mythology of sorts, a timeless tale of a mysterious foreigner who only means well, only does good, but is entirely misunderstood by the one man who refuses to see beyond his own jealousy.
♀
"The Demoness" - woman as hunger, implacable, mindless, a hunger for love, a love that has fled...
"Deux Amours d'une Sorcière" - woman as sleeper, dreaming of love; a dream that vanishes when woken...
"The Unrequited Glove" - woman as glove, to be worn then taken off, forgotten; beware the glove that returns...
"Gemini" - woman as captive, imprisoned by her past, slave to the inside twin that tells her never again never again...
"Into Gold" - woman as savior, bringer of fertility & fortune & life; a rival to be vanquished, her gold seen as poison...
"The Lancastrian Blush" - woman as betrayer, her powers gone astray, out of control; her blush changes history...
"You are My Sunshine" - woman as a new sun, kissed into life, become an obliterating heat...
"The One We Were" - 'woman' as protean identity; different in each life, sex and gender just costumes...
"The Truce" - woman as alien, a tribe different from man, a tribe apart, and so both tribes die...
"The Squire's Tale" - woman as possessor, taking over the boy's body, changing it into her own, living again...
"The Discovered Country" - woman as mother as tyrant as partner as foe as immortal as the beckoning one...
"Winter White" - woman as ghostly parasite, as spirit paramour, as the mistress who can never be discarded...
"Written in Water" - woman as sole survivor, the last of us; a woman alone needs no starry man, fallen from the sky...
"Mirage and Magia" - woman as revenge, avenging her own broken heart, her enemies all the pretty young men...
"The Thaw" - woman as vessel, a container, a body to be worn; a new soul looking out, with unkind eyes...
"Northern Chess" - woman as warrior, the chessboard queen, vanquishing foes that know only how to fight men......more
who knows what tomorrow will bring? maybe sunshine and maybe rain. but as for me I'll wait and see. maybe it'll bring giant metal spiders that want towho knows what tomorrow will bring? maybe sunshine and maybe rain. but as for me I'll wait and see. maybe it'll bring giant metal spiders that want to kill you....more
this is a tale of an insanely self-absorbed little twit of a pianist who returns to his recently re-acquired ancestral chateau. he's apparently dying this is a tale of an insanely self-absorbed little twit of a pianist who returns to his recently re-acquired ancestral chateau. he's apparently dying and all he wants is a place to run to and hide, one where he can do his slow dance with death while moodily contemplating his sad life with all of the poisonous self-loathing typical to a Tanith Lee "hero". fortunately for him, he gets a new lease on life due to a pair of threatening yet strangely life-affirming were-cousins. unfortunately, some predictably ignorant peasants decide to get inbetween our sexy goth trio and their Lifelong Happiness At Last. damn, peasants are a real drag! especially if you are self-absorbed twit/pianist.
the above description does a profound disservice to this intriguing and rather gorgeously written bit of fantasia set in semi-modern times. but i couldn't restrain myself from the snark - it was almost like i wanted to have some petty revenge on the confounding and infuriating hero. i'll try to do better later in the review.
but first, a shout-out to Tanith Lee. now this is one of those authors who holds a special place in many fantasy-lovers minds. some love her for all of the boundaries she seemed comfortable in ignoring, the ruthlessness, the vivid imagination, the perversity, the srange sexual situations, the often lush prose, her chameleonic ability to write in many different genres. others loathe her for her often self-annhiliatingly passive heroines and her despicable heroes, prose that moves beyond purple into ultraviolet, a cold-blooded disdain in providing happiness for either her characters or her readers, etc. i understand the divisiveness, but i fall squarely into the former camp - at least when i was much younger. Tanith Lee & Jack Vance & Michael Moorcock & Roger Zelazny were my go-to fantasy and scifi authors for a long while, until i gave up on fantasy for a shameful period of at least 10 years or so. but i'm back to my favorite genre and plan on catching up with all of my old favorites, to see if the magic is still there.
i'm glad i started off my Tanith Lee rediscovery by reading Lycanthia. this is a slim story and i read it all in one evening. it is a bewitching one as well. i was entranced from beginning to end because it has literally everything my blackened little unheart wants in my fantasy... Weird Ambiguity, a ton of it. Characterization that does not attempt to pull the reader's heartstrings and protagonists that are often stunningly unsympathetic and capable of doing terribly wrong things. Luscious, almost overripe prose, with frequent bits of dry gallows humor and sardonic self-awareness. Monstrous things that are not eye-rolling or corny. Cruelty & Tragedy & Despair that is not facile or there to check off boxes on the Gothic List of Necessary Things, but is carefully layered within the narrative and the characterization. a winding but not confusing plotline. a gothic atmosphere of mystery and potential violence.
"Atmosphere"... Lee knows how to create it! her descriptions of the sinister forest, the eerie little village, the off-kilter and enigmatic supporting characters, and especially the chateau itself... wonderfully baroque detail-porn that i totally ate up. the whole rich stew is swooningly romantic - not so much because of romance between the characters (although there is a feverish yet childlike version of that), but rather because of the swooningly romantic atmosphere. a classic kind of "Romantic" - of the Byron, Shelley, and Shelley school.
the central theme of the novel is fascinating: the idea of Self-Aborption and its impact, how it ruins any attempt to truly understand one's surroundings, the people in those surroundings, the context of an entire place. Lycanthia's aristocratic asshole of a hero, and what befalls him and his lovers, is a perfect encapsulation of the deleterious effect of such a trait. some may howl at the moon and live only to consume life, like beasts - and those around them can tremble with fear or anger or even lust; others may howl and rage only at themselves and their lot in life - and those around them can find themselves betrayed by that all-consuming narcissism, destroyed by that terminal inability to connect with anything outside of themselves....more
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