the thoughtless gods to escape his own otherwise
boring existence. The Flat Earth sequence consists
of interlaced stories and novels and eventually ex-
tended to five volumes, Night’s Master (1979),
Death’s Master(1979), Delusion’s Master(1981),
Delirium’s Mistress (1986), and Night’s Sorceries
(1987). The first three volumes are particularly in-
novative and cleverly plotted.
Lee frequently incorporates non-European
legends and folk tales into her fiction, and the col-
lection Tamastara, or the Indian Nights(1984) bor-
rows a number of these from the Indian
subcontinent. Sung in Shadow(1983), on the other
hand, is set in an alternate Renaissance Italy, one
where magic works, and is a retelling of the story of
Romeo and Juliet with a liberal dash of magic. The
four-volume Paradys sequence, consisting of The
Book of the Damned(1988), The Book of the Beast
(1988), The Book of the Dead(1991), and The Book
of the Mad(1993), structurally resembles the Flat
Earth series in that it mixes short stories and
longer works, a large cast of characters, and multi-
ple story lines, but it is less focused on a single cen-
tral theme. The Heroine of the World(1989), one of
her very best novels, is set in a fictional country in
19th-century Europe but contains very little overt
fantastic content.
Lee had continued to write occasional fan-
tasies for younger readers, but her first major work
in that form came in the 1990s with a trilogy, Black
Unicorn (1991), Gold Unicorn (1994), and Red
Unicorn (1997). These are set in an alternate
world where unicorns are considered a myth until
one appears to a young woman, setting in motion a
wave of change. Lee’s traditional fantasy output
has in recent years begun to subside in favor of
more unusual story lines, such as in Elephantasm
(1993), which marginally involves African magic
but is more concerned with psychological suspense.
When the Lights Go Out(1996) invokes legends of
mermaids and other sea-based magic, but with a
very unconventional interpretation.
Faces under Water(1998) introduces the Se-
cret Books of Venus series. An alchemist becomes
fascinated with a beautiful woman, unaware that
she is part of a cult that is plotting against him.
The story continues and expands in Saint Fire
(1999) and A Bed of Earth(2002). Lee’s most re-
cent fantasy novels have been as diverse as ever,
mixing traditional stories with entirely new ones
and drawing upon history as well as her imagina-
tion to create credible settings. White As Snow
(2000), for example, is a remarkably effective
retelling of the story of “Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs” whereas Mortal Suns(2003) is an
adventure story set in a magical world that resem-
bles ancient Egypt.
Early in her career Lee displayed an interest in
darker themes. Sabella, or the Blood Stone(1980) is
an unusual hybrid, at times reading very much like a
traditional science fiction novel with its setting on
another planet, but the title character is a not par-
ticularly rationalized vampire, apparently a super-
natural being who adapted when humanity left the
Earth. Kill the Dead(1980) is an equally fascinating
story about a woman raised from the dead and the
efforts by an exorcist to return her to the grave. Ly-
canthia(1981) is set in a fantasy world and is pri-
marily an adventure story, but the main character is
a werewolf. Lee turned to more traditional fantasy
in her novels after this brief flurry of darker fantasy
but continued to write short fiction in both modes,
eventually returning to book-length supernatural
fiction after a gap of many years. Many of her short
horror stories can be found in Red As Blood, or Tales
from the Sisters Grimm(1983) and The Gorgon and
Other Beastly Tales(1985). The title story from the
latter collection won the World Fantasy Award.
Lee’s interest in the grimmer side of fantasy
began to reemerge in her novels in 1990 with The
Blood of Roses(1990), which depicts a vampire as
the king of a magical other race akin to the fairies.
Dark Dance (1992) introduces the Scarabae, a
family of vampires, although they are a far cry from
Dracula and his kind. One of their younger gener-
ation is determined to free herself of the bloodlust
and live independently. In Personal Darkness
(1993) she resolves to kill all her relatives to exter-
minate their line but only partially succeeds. In
Darkness, I(1994) she becomes pregnant and goes
into hiding but discovers that she cannot escape
her destiny. Lee’s vampires are so different from
the way they are traditionally described that they
are almost a new kind of creature entirely. Vivia
(1995) also involves vampires, but this time a
somewhat more orthodox variety.Lee, Tanith 209