Most Popular Books by Tanith Lee

For the first time in e-book format, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet from a master of dark fantasy. In the land of Santa Verensa, the great aristocratic Houses thrive on vendetta. Although their feuds are rooted in politics, generations of grievances have made the conflict dangerously petty and bitterly personal—a society where people live and die by the Name they bear. Romulan Montargo, heir to his family, revels in the feud. Meanwhile, Iuletta Chenti, the only child of Chenti Primo, the family’s patriarch, has spent her life sheltered. The Montargos and the Chentis have hated each other for decades, but when Iuletta first sets eyes on Romulan, she knows they are meant to be together. Determined to win his affection, she casts a charm on him to draw him to her, and the two fall in love. But Iuletta is already betrothed to the Belmorio heir, and her temperamental cousin Leopardo hates the Montargos with a murderous passion. If the young lovers are to be together, they must defy their families and defy their fates, reclaiming their chance at a happy ending. Tanith Lee beautifully reimagines Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of star-crossed lovers and bloody revenge with an added fantasy twist.

Now for the first time in e-book, a dark fantasy tale from a master of the genre. Kidnapped from her home at a young age, Shaina has been enslaved for most of her life. Now sixteen, she’s been bought and sold, growing wiser and more resilient with each new trial she must endure. Her current enslavers are an older couple living in a small farming village, a quiet place—until the arrival of a magnificent troupe of traveling players, led by the great Kernik, the Clever Showman and Prince of Conjurers. Kernik and his troupe enchant the village with their grand performance, only to disappear under the cover of night. The next morning, everyone has mysteriously forgotten the troupe—except for Shaina. Helplessly smitten with one of the handsome actors, Dasyel, Shaina seeks the help of the witch Barbayat, who offers to teach her how to separate her soul from her body. Shaina’s soul can search for Dasyel while her body remains. But Kernik is no ordinary showman. He’s truly the dark magician Volkhavaar, drawing his powers of illusion from Takerna, the evil god of night and shadows. He plans to subjugate the great city of Arkev, to force its citizens to worship Takerna and strengthen his powers further. And Dasyel is under his control. In order to save Arkev and free Dasyel from Volkhavaar’s thrall, Shaina must fight Volkhavaar’s illlusions with the strength of her soul, defying his tyranny of hatred with the power of her love.

World Fantasy Award winner Tanith Lee channels the allusive Esther Garber to tell these dark, erotic tales of lesbian ardor and obsession. The "fatal women" found within these pages lead exotic lives and adventures and have grim secrets. From fin de siècle Paris to Egypt of the 1930s and contemporary England, the Garber novellas create feverish dreams of danger, scandal, and sensuality. This new edition includes the novella "Femme Fatale," never before in print, as well as an essay by Mavis Haut, author of The Hidden Library of Tanith Lee, about the eminence of this collection within Lee''s body of work.

A recognized master fantasist, Tanith Lee has won multiple awards for her craft, including the British Fantasy Award, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror. In the land of Dorthar, the Storm Lord reigns as king. According to law, the Storm Lord’s youngest son will be the rightful heir. His queen, the cunning and ambitious Val Mara, intends her young son, Amrek, to be that heir. But fate has other ideas. When the Storm Lord abducts a Lowlander priestess, conceives a child with her, and then dies in mysterious circumstances, the unborn baby of that union suddenly becomes the heir to a vast kingdom—a situation that Val Mara is eager to rectify. When his mother also dies, the infant, Raldnor, must be taken far from the Storm Lord’s stronghold to escape the queen’s murderous wrath, forsaking all knowledge of his royal heritage. Raldnor grows up among the people of the Plains, but he is set apart from his friends and neighbors by the mystery of his past. Meanwhile, Amrek has taken the throne as his mother intended. If Raldnor is to reclaim his destiny and defeat the usurper who has taken his place, he will have to survive trials of strength, political sabotage, and threats against his life, regaining his birthright as the true Storm Lord of Dorthar.

A recognized master fantasist, Tanith Lee has won numerous awards for her craft, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror. Delusion’s Master is the third book of the stunning arabesque high fantasy series Tales from the Flat Earth, which, in the manner of The One Thousand and One Nights, portrays an ancient world in mythic grandeur via connected tales. A long time ago when the Earth was Flat, beautiful indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above, curious passionate demons lived in the Underearth realm below, and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Chuz, Prince of Madness, third of the Lords of Darkness—beauty on one side, foul corruption on the other—“takes pity” on the world. In his gentle, soft embrace, mortal minds repose in a tide of illusion and twisted desire. Yet no one is immune from the sweetest madness of all, and even immortals fall at the cast of the bone dice…. Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love. Discover the wonder that is the Flat Earth.

The enchanting, magical sequel to The Black Unicorn and The Gold Unicorn! After several years traveling, Tanaquil — a sorceress like her mother with the ability to mend — returns home only to discover that her true love has been betrothed to her sister, Empress Lizra. Broken-hearted and jealous of her sister’s happiness, Tanaquil is lured by a red unicorn into a mirror world where she encounters Tanakil, a diabolical version of herself. She discovers also several new powers. Powers she will need to foil Tanakil’s sinister plot of revenge.

Struggling to hide her true nature, Sabella, a vampire who has sworn off of drinking human blood, must keep her identity safe from a private investigator who is determined to expose her for what she is despite being enthralled by her charms.

He called himself by the name of the father he had never known, Vazkor, king of a forgotten land. In his veins were mingled the blood of that regal warrior and that of his witch mother, the silver-masked, snowy-haired survivor of the hated Old Race. He had sworn that she would die at his hands in the name of his father and all that his world had become. Across that barbaric and age-haunted planet his quest went relentlessly on. As he searched, so grew his own powers, his fearful heritage. Across wide seas, in conquered cities, and among haunted mountains, the hunt took him. And as he drew closer to his objective, the clearer became the way she must be slain, the more certain his ability to sunder all her witchcraft and ancient science to rid the world once and for all of his creator - the white witch from the volcano.

Artemesia is the daughter of a pirate queen, and she''s sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping from the school, she hunts up her mother''s crew and breezily commands them out to sea in a leaky boat. Unfortunately, Art''s memories of her early life may not be accurate-her seasick crew are actors, and Art''s infamous mother was the darling of the stage in a pirate drama. But fiery, pistol-proof Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate crew afloat. And when they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl, Art is certain that her memories are real. The Seven Seas aren''t large enough for two pirate queens: Art will have the battle of her life to win her mother''s title--and the race for the most fabulous treasure in pirate lore. This gaudy, outrageous tale sparkles with swordplay, skullduggery, and salty language--not to mention over-the-top comedy! "A refreshing, tongue-in-cheek, tangled tale that will entice readers who crave adventure and fantasy."--SLJ

Tanaquil has family problems. Her mother is a sorceress and her sister is an empress, engaged to Tanaquil''s own true love. Things get worse when a red unicorn lures her into another world, where she finds a mirror version of herself plotting her sister''s death. Can Tanaquil stop her double from becoming a murderer? Accelerated Reader: Reading Level 4.5, 5 Points.

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.

“An excellent collection” of vampire stories, from authors such as Harlan Ellison, Dan Simmons, Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, and Fritz Leiber (Publishers Weekly). Renowned editor Ellen Datlow has gathered seventeen variations on vampirism ranging from classically Gothic to postmodern satire, from horrific to erotic. These stories reflect the evolution of vampire literature from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice and beyond, resulting in a deeper exploration of their inner lives. Expanding the concept of vampirism to include the draining of a person’s will or life force, Datlow’s collection transcends the traditional “black capes and teeth marks on the neck” to reinvent an eternally fascinating subgenre of horror. In Harlan Ellison’s “Try a Dull Knife,” an empath stumbles bleeding into a nightclub, on the run from emotional vampires. A Broadway actress steals the emotions of her fellow performers in “. . . To Feel Another’s Woe” by Chet Williamson. And in “The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be,” Gahan Wilson offers his own surreal twist on Lewis Carroll’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” as two strangers on a beach lure intoxicated picnickers to a different kind of picnic . . . Blood Is Not Enough includes contributions by Dan Simmons, Gahan Wilson, Garry Kilworth, Harlan Ellison, Scott Baker, Leonid Andreyev, Harvey Jacobs, S. N. Dyer, Edward Bryant, Fritz Leiber, Tanith Lee, Susan Casper, Steve Rasnic Tem, Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, Chet Williamson, Joe Haldeman, and Pat Cadigan.

Now for the first time in e-book, a collection of Tanith Lee’s short stories and novella about the fantastical adventures of Cyrion, a hero larger than life. Roilant needs a hero—fast. He’s trapped, betrothed to his cousin Eliset in an agreement made to help the destitute branches of their family line. But rumor has it that Eliset is a witch, a villainess behind the deaths of many in his family, and if Roilant weds her, he’ll meet the same fate. Roilant didn’t put much stock in the rumors—until, that is, he tried to call off the betrothal. Since then, he’s been plagued by a series of nightmares demanding he return to Eliset’s side by the end of the month. If he goes to her, he’ll surely be murdered for his fortune, but if he stays, he fears his cousin will kill him and his beloved, the woman he loves. Convinced only one man alive can help him, Roilant stumbles into the Honey Garden inn looking for a legend—a man named Cyrion. All anyone seems to have are stories, but everyone’s heard tell of the mighty Cyrion. They say that he looks like an angel, with hair like the sky of earnest sunrise. That he’s an adventurer, a vanquisher of evil and a defender of man. That he’s a fearless swordsman, a master of disguise, and a genius detective. Some say he’s defeated demons and outwitted wizards. That he’s solved impossible mysteries and survived inescapable death. But is he for real? And—more importantly—is he for hire?

The ambiance of fin de siecle France imbues these eight gothic tales in the third volume in Lee’s Secret Books of Paradys tetralogy, tracing the tortured lives once led by those buried in the crypts and cemeteries of the mythical (or forgotten) city of Paradys. “The Weasel Bride†? twists a folktale about a man who marries an enchanted weasel and dies of her bite into an account of a young husband who kills his beloved bride on their wedding night and takes her dreadful secret to the gallows. The artist in “The Glass Dagger,†? who normally saves her emotion for her art, is consumed by jealous rage and turns to supernatural revenge when a jaded aristocrat tries an old stratagem to win her love. In “The Moon Is a Mask†? a drudge who creates a world of beauty in her garret room steals to buy a mask that turns her into a vampire owl. The miasma of corruption and death, combined with vivid and at times elegiac writing will engross readers who fancy this dark shade of fantasy writing.

Tanaquil, a young mender, and her familiar come face to face with her half-sister, Lizra, who forces Tanaquil to make a perilous choice between siding with Lizra in her quest for conquest or risking her terrible anger.

Out of the dusk he comes striding, the stranger, the man in black, inevitable as death itself: Parl Dro--Ghost Slayer. Some have bought his services for gold, and some have blessed him for his work. But not everyone welcomes an exorcist who will remorselessly deprive them of their beloved dead. Dro began his vocation at an early age. And now he will not be turned aside, no matter how you may threaten, curse or weep. He is seeking too the greatest stronghold of the deadalive: Ghyste Mortua, the ghost town in the mountains, and he means to destroy it. If he will face that, what use the pleas of the desperate sisters, Cilny and Ciddey, what use the rage of Myal, with his genius for music and his imperfect talent for crime? Only one thing, it seems, motivates Parl Dro. His determination to kill the dead. "Tanith Lee is one of the most powerful and intelligent writers in fantasy." --"Publishers Weekly" "With Lee... expect the unexpected." --"Starburst"

Now for the first time in e-book, genre master Lee''s postapocalyptic dystopia that follows a young woman after the fall of humanity. The free humans lived underground, secretive, like rats. Above, the world was a fearsome place for them - the open sky a terror, the night so black, and the striding machines from space so laser-flame deadly. Esther dared the open; she saw the sky; she saw the Enemy. And she was taken – captive - to the vast alien empty city. Surrounded by marvels of science not born on earth, Esther did not know what they wanted of her. There was mystery in the city, dread in the heavens, and magic in the handsome alien man who came to her.

Condemned to the underworld when she is born without feet, the infant daughter of the king of Akhemony begins her lifetime in darkness and is assisted by the Sun Consort to reclaim her place as heir to the throne.

I saw her, hanging in the sky like a flake of the moon. A woman, her face masked by a black shireen, her body by a black shift, but her white arms spread, and her white, white, bone-white hair blowing all around her like a flame composed of smoke. Recognition was immediate. It was my mother. I shouted at her. It was crystal clear to me, what he had meant for me, my father, Vazkor, what she had robbed me of. And I drew from my belt my hunting knife and threw it at her heart.

Portion of edition statement from page 4 of cover.

Historical novel. Set in France in the summer of 1789 through years of political and social intrigue.

In "Companions on the Road," a stolen chalice brings misery to those who covet it, and in "The Winter Players," a priestess decides to pursue the thief of the sacred relic of her people.

Often disturbing, occasionally delightful, let The Year''s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror be your annual guide through the mysteries and wonders of dark fiction.

A new edition of the first story in the acclaimed Wolf Tower sequence: orphan-slave Claidi''s bid for freedom from the mindless ritual and the deadly game of chance that rules a blighted land.

A haunted house and a ghostly woman are the instruments that release an ancient curse upon the forgotten city of Paradys. As a savage, unholy beast prowls the city’s streets, a young student seeks to uncover the secrets that will lead to his salvation. Lee infuses this dark tale, the second volume in the series, with a dreamlike quality that hovers, like the world in The Book of the Damned, on the border of reality.

This wondrous tale of love, war, and one woman''s goddess-chosen destiny is frought with danger as Ara becomes a pawn and player in the power games of princes and warlords.

Art Blastside is bored with life ashore, so she jumps at the chance to return to sea.

Brand-new contributions to the hoard of dragon lore by five top fantasy authors. Orson Scott Card''s "In the Dragon''s House" is a gothic yarn about the mysterious dragon that lives in the wiring of an old house, noticed by a young boy who shares its body in dreams and feels its true size and power. Mercedes Lackey''s "Joust" tells the story of a slave boy who is chosen to care for a warrior''s dragon--a dragon whose secrets may be the key to his freedom. Tanith Lee''s "Love in a Time of Dragons" is a fable is imbued with her signature atmosphere--Old World, moody, erotic--as a kitchen maid goes a-questing with a handsome champion to slay the local drakkor. Elizabeth Moon''s "Judgment" tells the tale of a young man forced by lies to flee his village . . . into an adventure of dwarfs and dragonspawn. Michael Swanwick''s "King Dragon" invokes a truly sinister and repellent creature--a being with the soul of a beast and the body of a machine--part metal, part devil . . . all merciless.

Through 40 chilling and beautiful color paintings, bestselling science fiction and fantasy artist Wayne Barlowe details an amazing visual journey into the strange, frightening, and bizarre world of hell.

Jane, a sixteen-year-old of the future, falls in love with Silver, an experimental robot so man-like that its manufacturer must recall it

With her talent for mending things, sixteen-year-old Tanaquil reconstructs a unicorn which, brought to life, lures her away from her desert fortress home and her sorceress mother to find a city by the sea and the way to a perfect world.

This collection of tales, including the World Fantasy Award-winning title story, recounts extraordinary encounters between human beings and such mythic beasts as dragons, unicorns, and vampires

A king''s oversight causes near-bankruptcy of the kingdom and forces the prince to seek his fortune elsewhere.