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serru's review against another edition
5.0
Night's Master is made up of a series of interconnected stories all related, directly or indirectly, to Azhrarn, the Demon Lord who rules the Underearth. These are really dark, adult fantasy tales that deal with themes of love, lust, greed, etc. The characters that populate Tanith Lee's world aren't necessarily likeable-- which actually, is refreshing and makes me enjoy the book more. So often writers try hard to create characters that we like and can root for, but I like the fact that Tanith Lee seems to just write characters that do what they want, and what makes sense for them, rather than trying to write them to be appealing to readers. Would I want to be friends with her characters? No, I'd probably run away if I ever met most of them, but they are fascinating to read about, and I find them very human, embodying so many relatable and recognizable emotions, obsessions, lusts, flaws... I find a little of myself in them.
The world building of the Flat Earth is pretty ambiguous. It is a world of exotic magic and mystery. Lee doesn't spend too much time developing it, but it doesn't take away from her stories at all. The mystery is part of its charm. I do love the little glimpse we get of the world above-- the gods who created this world are now bored with it, living in the book's version of "heaven", apathetic to the existence of human beings. So naturally, that leaves the demons who find entertainment in meddling in human affairs.
The world building of the Flat Earth is pretty ambiguous. It is a world of exotic magic and mystery. Lee doesn't spend too much time developing it, but it doesn't take away from her stories at all. The mystery is part of its charm. I do love the little glimpse we get of the world above-- the gods who created this world are now bored with it, living in the book's version of "heaven", apathetic to the existence of human beings. So naturally, that leaves the demons who find entertainment in meddling in human affairs.
mellowmooncakes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dairinnphoenix's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I heard this book inspired Neil Gaiman to write Sandman. I can see a lot of similarities between Azhrarn and Morpheus.
neartaking's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
smolbean_reads's review against another edition
2.0
So firstly umm, well this was definitely written in the 70s and it's not aging so well. Absolute lack of diversity because everyone is white and beautiful. Pretty much every female character is naked at some point and has wonderful tiddies, of course. Also there is demon dick almost straight away, so I can imagine unsuspecting tweens in the 70s reading this book and having a weird sexual awakening. This book isn't suitable for kids. There is also RAPE dressed up as a fairytale so jeez this book needs trigger warnings.
That being said, I did enjoy the first half of the book. Very imaginative fantasy tales/dark fairytales that all interconnect. Not sure what else to say. I have a very pretty edition of this book, 70s fantasy covers are gold.
That being said, I did enjoy the first half of the book. Very imaginative fantasy tales/dark fairytales that all interconnect. Not sure what else to say. I have a very pretty edition of this book, 70s fantasy covers are gold.
ethanpoole's review
3.0
This book is a collection of quasi-mythological short stories. The stories overall were a little dull. I would have rather just (re)read actual mythology instead.
nebje's review against another edition
4.0
Oscuro y difícil. El estilo es directo y las historias, entretenidas e interesantes. Pero está lleno de violencia, y eso hace que no sea una lectura para todos los públicos.
ldasoqi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
And here I was worried that January would open with 3 duds. Not the case. Not the case at all. What I got is one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read. Night's Master is a unique blending of different traditional mythos, a little Abrahamic religion, a dash of Greek gods, and for added spice it's written in the style of Arabian Nights. It's high fantasy and weird, it's also progressive as fuck for 1978; I loved it.
This book is a lot of firsts. This is the first book in the Flat Earth series, it is also my first Tanith Lee novel. Oh, and I almost forgot: this is my first 5-Star read of 2024 (meaning it's also the first book I have bought in physical print this year).
Well, shucks, I guess I spoiled the review. Just pretend I didn't say anything.
Night's Master is high fantasy, it's about as high as fantasy can get if you ask me. I've only read one other series that comes close to taking such a lofty approach to its story telling, and that's The Shadow of the Torturer, which I'll come back to later. This is the first book in a sequence of stories that chronicle the Flat Earth, a mystical time when the Earth was flat and sandwiched between the demonic under-earth and the mysteriously silent heavens. This entry follows the master of the under-earth, the prince of demons, Azhrarn.
What Night's Master is, is a series of interwoven stories that connect in some way to the deeds/misdeeds of Azhrarn. This book is NOT a protagonist-centered narrative. What we get is the mythology of an entirely imagined world, something similar to the Homeric Hymns and the Epics of the Epic Cycle. It's more accurate to say that those themes are mixed into the delivery of Arabian Nights, with each story leading into the next across the ages. This is written in a style similar to the epics, not really in terms of morality or density and inscrutability, but rather it captures the episodic and dreamy vibe of stories of the oral tradition. You could easily imagine the contents of this book being read out by a bard or crier to the illiterate inhabitants of some nameless tavern. It's Lore, and it's good Lore.
I mentioned Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun earlier. I don't want this whole review to be compare and contrast between these works, but Wolfe is the only other person who writes like this. BTNS is a reimagining of the (far future) worlds' mythos in the style of the Testaments. It's wacky and weird, but also ingenious and anachronistic to a time that does not exist. Wolfe's work is a bit of a Christ allegory, and the prose carries a lot of that trademark biblical density. Those characteristics mean the narrative adopts a more traditional story structure to offset just how alien its prose and story beats can be.
But we're talking about Night's Master here, right? Well, this book is similar to Gene Wolfe's work, it assumes the character and style of Arabian Nights and old fairy tales and curates a careful mix of uncaring gods and vicious demons playing the games of Greek tragedy upon humanity. This book is taking the grandeur and imagery that Greek and Christian myths have, and it weaves this flowing tale that borrows from those tropes and stories but without any of the moralism, none of the preaching. I really dug Night's Master, this book has politics that I agree with and prose that's 5/5 for depth and clarity. I actually preferred this to TBNS because of how fantastic the prose was. Not to leave it at that-I understood this book cover to cover on my first read, it seems to me that Lee went for clarity in prose given the winding nature of the narrative, and that's never been the case for Wolfe's work. I've to say that if this is just how Lee writes, I need to read more Lee.
This book is nearly 50 years old, so I won't say much more. If you're interested, but I haven't sold you, feel free to check out some other reviews by much better critics (I think you'll end up adding this to your TBR). If you are a fan of Romantasy/faerie courts books, I would highly recommend this, especially if your main draw to those books is the lore and world building.
This book is a lot of firsts. This is the first book in the Flat Earth series, it is also my first Tanith Lee novel. Oh, and I almost forgot: this is my first 5-Star read of 2024 (meaning it's also the first book I have bought in physical print this year).
Well, shucks, I guess I spoiled the review. Just pretend I didn't say anything.
Night's Master is high fantasy, it's about as high as fantasy can get if you ask me. I've only read one other series that comes close to taking such a lofty approach to its story telling, and that's The Shadow of the Torturer, which I'll come back to later. This is the first book in a sequence of stories that chronicle the Flat Earth, a mystical time when the Earth was flat and sandwiched between the demonic under-earth and the mysteriously silent heavens. This entry follows the master of the under-earth, the prince of demons, Azhrarn.
What Night's Master is, is a series of interwoven stories that connect in some way to the deeds/misdeeds of Azhrarn. This book is NOT a protagonist-centered narrative. What we get is the mythology of an entirely imagined world, something similar to the Homeric Hymns and the Epics of the Epic Cycle. It's more accurate to say that those themes are mixed into the delivery of Arabian Nights, with each story leading into the next across the ages. This is written in a style similar to the epics, not really in terms of morality or density and inscrutability, but rather it captures the episodic and dreamy vibe of stories of the oral tradition. You could easily imagine the contents of this book being read out by a bard or crier to the illiterate inhabitants of some nameless tavern. It's Lore, and it's good Lore.
I mentioned Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun earlier. I don't want this whole review to be compare and contrast between these works, but Wolfe is the only other person who writes like this. BTNS is a reimagining of the (far future) worlds' mythos in the style of the Testaments. It's wacky and weird, but also ingenious and anachronistic to a time that does not exist. Wolfe's work is a bit of a Christ allegory, and the prose carries a lot of that trademark biblical density. Those characteristics mean the narrative adopts a more traditional story structure to offset just how alien its prose and story beats can be.
But we're talking about Night's Master here, right? Well, this book is similar to Gene Wolfe's work, it assumes the character and style of Arabian Nights and old fairy tales and curates a careful mix of uncaring gods and vicious demons playing the games of Greek tragedy upon humanity. This book is taking the grandeur and imagery that Greek and Christian myths have, and it weaves this flowing tale that borrows from those tropes and stories but without any of the moralism, none of the preaching. I really dug Night's Master, this book has politics that I agree with and prose that's 5/5 for depth and clarity. I actually preferred this to TBNS because of how fantastic the prose was. Not to leave it at that-I understood this book cover to cover on my first read, it seems to me that Lee went for clarity in prose given the winding nature of the narrative, and that's never been the case for Wolfe's work. I've to say that if this is just how Lee writes, I need to read more Lee.
This book is nearly 50 years old, so I won't say much more. If you're interested, but I haven't sold you, feel free to check out some other reviews by much better critics (I think you'll end up adding this to your TBR). If you are a fan of Romantasy/faerie courts books, I would highly recommend this, especially if your main draw to those books is the lore and world building.
zmontybear's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
stalwart's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant, evocative use of language makes this a delight to read. As it is made of several tangentially-related stories, it feels more like a collection of folktales than a novel. And yet, all of them echo themes of desire and duty. Her portrayal of the Night's Master being prisoner of his own desire is masterful.