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161st out of 400 books
—
337 voters
The Secret Books of Paradys (Secret Books of Paradys #1-4)
by
Tanith Lee
The gothic genius of Lees great works of fantasy are finally available in onevolume. Witness the city of Paradyss life and history through the eyes of itsprovocative and perverse citizens, in this darkly fascinating odyssey as onlythe award-winning author could imagine it.
Includes:
The Book of the Damned (1988)
The Book of the Beast (1988)
The Book of the Dead (1991) (collect...more
Includes:
The Book of the Damned (1988)
The Book of the Beast (1988)
The Book of the Dead (1991) (collect...more
Hardcover, 720 pages
Published
November 1st 2007
by Overlook Press
(first published 1993)
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Магическо, обсебващо, терминиращо целия ти досегашен опит с книжната реч. Плътно до задушаване, цветно до ослепяване, магнетично до разбиване на всички физични , психични и метахолични закони. Объркани герои, безумни ситуации, неочаквани завършеци, непреодолими начала. Кошмар и летен сън в едно, целувка, смърт, усещане за полет. Магия. Просто е. И не може да се каже по-сложно. Невероятен език, танцуващ, напрягащ, задоволяващ, и не може да бъде друг. Комплицирани, нереални светове, уж на ръба на...more
I’m a bit surprised I’d never heard of these before picking up Book of the Damned at the library by chance. They are a haze of gothic insanity, the sort of things that might hav been written while drinking absinthe if the drink really had the hallucinatory qualities ascribed to it by urban legend. The fictional French city of Paradys is host to a bizarre rogues’ gallery of vampires, fiends, Satanists, ghosts and vengeful mortals, all decadent, depraved and oddly philosophical. The series isn’t f...more
"How fast does a man run when the Devil is after him?"
Best opening line of a book ever
Best opening line of a book ever
I picked this up on a whim at the library the other day. I've only ever read The Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee before, so I really wasn't sure what to expect other than lushly drawn worlds and unusual characters. On both those points I was definitely not disappointed in the slightest! What did surprise me, however, was just how dark and gothic the Paradys books really were. I was pleased with the two(?) happy endings of the tales in her stories; the rest really were tragic, in almost the classic s...more
I kind of wish I were writing these up as four separate volumes, because the books are quite different from each other although they're all set in vaguely the same place (a transformed version of Paris) and parallel time continuity: The Book of the Damned is three unconnected novellas, two of which are excellent while one is mediocre; The Book of the Beast contains two intertwined novellas, both of which are okay but unexceptional; The Book of the Dead is short stories, the best of which are ter...more
So I had heard of this book awhile ago and it seemed interesting. Well the local library finally got a copy in so i checked it out. Needless to say I made it through the first two stories in The Book of the Damned in two weeks. Unheard of for me since I could normally finish a book like that in two weeks. It put me to sleep everytime I started to read it. So unless you are having problems figuring out if you are a boy or a girl (the first two stories both characters were girls trying to be boys)...more
current page: 181 - I am... so confused with this book right now. It is a bizarre work, and definitely in a different vein from Lee's other works (namely, the Claidi cycle). Brilliant words, though; I love her parlance, but man - I don't have a clue what is going on. o.o Bizarre.
These stories are haunting even when they are perplexing - sometimes I wasn't sure I liked what I was reading, but I felt compelled to read on nonetheless. The stories were irresistible, yet there were times when I was searching for meaning.
I have to say this was sometimes a tough read. But interesting and deep enough to keep me going all the way through. Currently I am thinking of reading it again as this book left me thinking and dreaming of the dark world Tanith Lee created.
Dark, terrifying and beautiful is the best way to descirbe the world, the atmosphere Tanith Lee creates. It can be fairly difficult to follow at times, but it's always well worth following through to the end.
An interesting series of stories held together with a common setting. It is very "gothic" and clearly an early work since it is very mixed, some stories being very good and others falling flat.
Very good. It gets slow in the middle but the ending sure and well make sup for it. Lee is one of the best lyrical writers out there and her imagery is so incredibly tangible it gives you chills.
Gave up on this after the first three stories. It's so moody and Lovecraftian and Gothic, I needed a break. Reviews hint that perseverance might be rewarded, so I may pick it up again.
I liked part of this and really bogged down on much of it. I've never been good with collections of short stories that way. I liked the antiquated writing style. Very Gothic.
I like The Tanith Lee I've read. Some of her best stories rather resemble Angela Carters reimagined fairy tales. I'll have to read this sometime soon.
Read as one big book, this is a fabulously dark & poetic chronicle of the good & evil in a multidimensional land called Paradys.
Reminiscent of the best pulps. Somewhat retro but lovely for all of that.
Aug 19, 2008
Will Whatley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Will by:
brennen reece
Shelves:
owned
Very good plots, with gender/sex transformation/twists as always with Lee.
This is definitely a must-read.
WHAT!!! Off the wall WEIRD!
her stuff is always unusual
Jun 13, 2013
Natalya Voronina
marked it as to-read
May 29, 2013
Kelly Cook
added it
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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
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