Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
165th out of 283 books
—
345 voters
The Book of the Beast (Secret Books of Paradys #2)
by
Tanith Lee
It was created on the fifth day of the Earth; not bird, nor man, nor lizard, but somehow all at once - the Beast. Through the ages, men have fought it with sorcery, alchemy and chastity, yet all the while there were cries in the night and blood on the stones in the morning. From the most ancient of days, passed through the seed of generations, still it preys - on the unluc...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
April 15th 1991
by Overlook Hardcover
(first published 1988)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
416)
More like a 3.5 but in this case I am rounding down. I wanted to love it more than I did. The writing is absolutely beautiful and evocative, the story creepy and altogether original. It's hard, actually probably almost impossible, to sit down and just devour. I could only handle a few pages at a time, as the writing is quite dense. It just left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
I have the next two books in this series, and I have the distinct feeling that they are better taken as a whole, so I'll get...more
I have the next two books in this series, and I have the distinct feeling that they are better taken as a whole, so I'll get...more
Since I read the last chapter in 2010, I think it still belongs in 2009.
This one was much easier to deal with. Only the beginning was the kind of scary I can't do. (Ghosts, no. Monsters, oh hell yes!) And as Lucas said, the monster was excellent. I'm still a little confused about the change in eye color from purple to green, but I have decided to believe that she wouldn't leave such a gaping hole, and that it's in there somewhere.
Overall, I don't think it was as good as Book of the Damned, becau...more
This one was much easier to deal with. Only the beginning was the kind of scary I can't do. (Ghosts, no. Monsters, oh hell yes!) And as Lucas said, the monster was excellent. I'm still a little confused about the change in eye color from purple to green, but I have decided to believe that she wouldn't leave such a gaping hole, and that it's in there somewhere.
Overall, I don't think it was as good as Book of the Damned, becau...more
Reasonably well written, but imo not as interesting as the last one.
One of the 1st 2 books in the Paradys series, which must all be read together to be truly enjoyable. See my review of Book of the Dead.
I love Tanith Lee's books, but one cannot gobble them.. these take a little longer to read....
The Book of the Beast wasn't nearly as bad as the Book of the Damned as far as leaving me feeling icky. I enjoyed the story of how the Beast was laid on this family as a curse. The only thing that was left open was why the woman laid the curse on the Roman soldier in the first place. And also why the eyes started out amithyst and then later they turned emerald green. Still I liked the ending. It was pretty good.
Tanith Lee is a master of dark and elegant fantasy, and this book is no exception. Well paced and plotted, but the ending seemed abrupt.
May 15, 2013
Barbara
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
Christopher Aspinall
marked it as to-read
Apr 26, 2013
frazzledsoul
is currently reading it
Apr 20, 2013
Sahdri
marked it as to-read
Mar 30, 2013
Mark
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Mark by:
Traveller
Mar 28, 2013
Mike
marked it as to-read
Mar 09, 2013
Perryokeets
marked it as to-read
Mar 09, 2013
Sophie
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Tanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She is the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She has also written four radio plays broadcast by the BBC and two scripts for the UK, science fiction, cult television series "Blake's 7."
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a...more
More about Tanith Lee...
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
