related but not quite as tightly written. Another
cult provides the conflict this time as they use a re-
tarded man as a lure to gather in their victims. The
Chosen(1993) has a particularly clever set-up. A
posh restaurant is actually operated by a kind of
demon who serves human meat as the main course
to a select clientele. The plot unwinds somewhat
in the later chapters.
Creekers(1994) is set in a remote area where
a group of inbred people develop psychic powers.
A charismatic leader decides that it is time to use
those abilities to dominate the nearby more devel-
oped community, and the protagonist gets caught
in the middle. Although uneven, Creekerssuggests
the kind of setting and character that Lee used in-
creasingly in later fiction, an isolated, inward-
looking community that develops in grotesque
ways. Lee also began to acquire a reputation for
inventive brutality and occasional near-obscenity
as well as the gross-out image, a scene or concept
that disgusts rather than frightens the reader.
Sacrifice(1995, published under the penname
Richard Kinion) is a variation of Incubiwith even
stronger sexual content but is less well plotted.
Shifters(1998, written with John Pelan) is a vam-
pire variation, more properly the story of a lamia,
and also contains strong erotic content. Lee
seemed to be stalled in his development for some
time, with each novel varying only slightly from
the previous. That ended with City Eternal(2001)
and the related novel Infernal Angel(2003). Both
books involve a literal trip to hell, and although
they are filled with bizarre images, horrifying im-
agery, and terrible deeds, they sometimes feel as
much like fantasy epics as horror novels. Both are
quite powerful and potentially his most memo-
rable work.
Other recent novels have been less interest-
ing, though technically well done. Monstrosity
(2002) is another story of genetically altered crea-
tures escaping to wreak havoc in the general popu-
lation and is science fiction as much as horror. In
The Teratologist(2003, written with Wrath James
Wright), a man challenges God with terrible con-
sequences. A demonic creature sends cursed pack-
ages to post offices in Messenger(2004), which has
some excellent individual scenes but which fails to
hold together as a novel.
Lee’s short stories are very similar to his longer
work in both theme and treatment. Among his
best are “Mr. Torso” (1994), “Dead Girls in Love”
(1995), and “ICU” (1999). His only collections to
date are Splatterspunk: The Micah Hayes Stories
(1998, with John Pelan) and The Ushers(1999).
Lee is a sometimes controversial, often surprising,
and potentially much more significant horror
writer than he is at present. Whether he will con-
tinue to move in unusual directions remains to be
seen.Lee, Tanith(1947– )
It is an unfortunate artifact of the writing process
that quality and quantity are usually opposing
forces. Tanith Lee is one of those rare exceptions
who is able to turn out a steady stream of novels
and short stories but without diluting their quality.
She began her career in the early 1970s with sev-
eral well-written but unremarkable fantasy novels
for young readers before hitting her stride by 1976
with several books for adults, most of which are
science fiction, although the Birthgrave trilogy,
though rationalized, is otherwise indistinguishable
from heroic fantasy. Her first true adult fantasy was
The Storm Lord(1976), which also adopts some
science fiction devices and is set on another
planet, one where magic works. This was the first
in the Anackire series, the story of a young man
maturing and seeking his rightful heritage, a tradi-
tional fantasy theme handled adroitly and very lit-
erately. Anackire(1983), which takes place in the
same world, switches to a female protagonist who
sets free a supernatural entity with unforeseen con-
sequences. Third in the series is The White Serpent
(1988), the story of a quest for a magical city.
Lee had already demonstrated that she could
breathe new life into old plots, and she did so
again with the short but outstanding Volkhavaar
(1977), which pits two reluctant allies against an
evil magical force. She exceeded even the already-
high expectations of her readers with her next
major work, the Flat Earth series, set in a past so
distant that the Earth itself is flat and the gods
meddle in human affairs freely. In an amusing irony
the recurring hero of the series is the equivalent of
Satan, who feels compelled to save humanity from208 Lee, Tanith