A Bed of Earth

The Secret Books of Venus #3

by Tanith Lee

It is a haunting journey to a parallel version of sixteenth-century Venice, where a fierce territorial rivalry between two noble families-the della Scorpias and the Barbarons-unearths a supernatural force from beneath the placid surface of the canals and rotting understructure of the city. The struggle between the two families for space on the Isle of the Dead, the overcrowded burial ground for generations of Venetian nobility, becomes more and more heated, and fourteen-year-old Meralda della Scorpia is forced to pay the ultimate price. But as the years pass on, parties complicit in her disappearance-from both houses-begin to suffer the consequences in a series of shocking deaths that could emanate from none other than a supernatural foe. As these bizarre events throw the city into a panic, a humble apprentice gravedigger is left to sort out the mysteries-an effort that will enable him to unearth the secrets of his own shadowy past.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Alchemy, Dark

330 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Tanith Lee was a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She also wrote 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 waitress.

Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.

Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.

Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.

Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.

Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very strange. The flamingo on the cover actually kills some guy and makes a nest in his body. I'm pretty sure flamingos don't really do that.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third installment of the four books of alchemical fiction can be read as a stand alone, but it is far more neoplantic than it is strictly alchemical. It's devoted to earth as can be seen by the title, and is rife with the grave images of alchemy. Like the book St. Fire that preceeds it, it is confusing because the closely wed plot lines of of thwarted love across household feuds, and class lines. Bartolome, our most comorehensive narrator relates the story of Meralda's death, suicide by drowning after her illict affair has been revealed by her maidservant. How she reaches this point is grisly reading, and the rest of the book is rather confusing because several other romances, especially that of Bartholome's affair with Flavia intertwine with a child's affection for what is apparently a spirit, another woman's flight from a prearranged marriage, Dionyssia by an illicit affair. Ultimately, like St. Fire the confusion becomes clear in the last ten pages. I found it laborious but rewrding to reach the end.
M favorite sequences in the book are the transits to the spiritual realm, sort of like the Planotic ideal world. I liked the conclusion because it brought forth the notion of the baby's ensoulment in utero, an influence that possibly transcends a solitary commitment. This probably qualifies as a spoiler, so this review will be hidden

[Varadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is my favorite of the series so far. Lots of female characters, an interconnected plot that lets everyone have a POV and an experience, and tying things up clearly at the end so it all makes sense. I really loved it.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been so long since I read any Lee, I'd forgotten how good she is. The story involves several threads that eventually tie together (though not in any way I expected): a member of the undertaker's guild, a tragic love that drives a noblewoman to drown herself, a young aristocrat who falls for what appears to be a ghost. The story starts slow (but readable) and becomes more absorbing as it goes along.

[Chere · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third of The Secret Books of Venus is as rich and luscious as the first two. The story is different in theme as the others, yet it is consistent in its history and setting. I feel that I know Venus so well, that I've been there myself. As before, this tale is filled with magic and vivid images and colors, a lush tapestry. It is a story of fantasy, but also a story of human emotions, most of all the transcendent power of love. It had me gripped until the end, delivering a final twist even at the very last. A beautiful work, with beautiful ideas.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of this book is horrifying, but there is horror all over the stories of Paradys & now Venus. I didn't care so much for the 1st 2 Venus books, because I felt they were going nowhere & lacking in substance of their own.

Book 3 tells several different stories of love, revenge, & death, & offers redemption at the end, which is rather kind of Lee considering how she has punished me in other books like Vivia or Mortal Suns.

[Unwisely · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the first book in this series. My library doesn't own the second book in the series, so I picked this up. I ... really, really couldn't get into it. I didn't like the main character, and she was too frustratingly naive for me to get past the first 100 pages, so I finally gave up. Ugh.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!
Even the book cover illustration reflects the story.

[SmokingMirror · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5