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A review by scottjp
Night's Master by Tanith Lee
5.0
This was the first Tanith Lee I ever read. I used to have the SFBC omnibus editions (which I got by accident--forgot to send the reply card back in time--and decided to keep) and read the first three books of the set. I liked them a bit, but had a hard time getting into the mythical style of narration. The Flat Earth books are collections of interconnected myths, legends, or fairy tales if you will, where magic is wondrous and not subject to laws, even fantastical ones. If a demon wants to grow a woman out of a flower well then, it is done. At the time, (this was some 30 years ago) I preferred my fantasy more grounded. However, as I got older and fell in love with some of her later works, I started to feel I hadn't been fair to these books. Or that I just read them at the wrong time.
So I was thrilled to see that DAW was bringing these and other works (most of which were out of print before I discovered her writing) back into print and giving me another chance. And having now re-read this first volume, I am so so so glad I decided to give it a second try, because my experience this time was one of sheer delight. Far from being difficult, the style of the storytelling now felt liberating. I didn't have to analyze the way I often do. This isn't to suggest that it is light or fluffy reading, necessarily; it's just...different. If you are interested in reading original, adult fairy tales--as opposed to re-tellings of the usual old warhorses--I can't recommend this highly enough.
So I was thrilled to see that DAW was bringing these and other works (most of which were out of print before I discovered her writing) back into print and giving me another chance. And having now re-read this first volume, I am so so so glad I decided to give it a second try, because my experience this time was one of sheer delight. Far from being difficult, the style of the storytelling now felt liberating. I didn't have to analyze the way I often do. This isn't to suggest that it is light or fluffy reading, necessarily; it's just...different. If you are interested in reading original, adult fairy tales--as opposed to re-tellings of the usual old warhorses--I can't recommend this highly enough.