East of Midnight

by Tanith Lee

Born a slave, Dekteon knows his life's course is grimly predictable. But, while escaping his Lord's hounds, he finds himself drawn into a strange world. There he meets Zaister, the consort of the Moon King, who, like all royal consorts, is destined by tradition to die an early death. To save himself, he has used his magic powers to draw Dekteon to him, and change their identities - Zaister becomes Dekteon, and Dekteon, Zaister. Despite being in Zaister's body, Dekteon retains much of his own personality, and, slowly, begins to win the heart of Izvire, the woman Moon King. Just before her husband is due to be killed, Izvire schemes to save him, at great risk! But Dekteon knows that if he permits this to happen, Zaister, in his own body, will be condemned to the fate of a slave. And so he hatches a plan which will save them both ...First published in 1977 by Macmillan London Limited.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magic

Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

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

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dekteon is a red-haired slave who is beaten and told he will be sold to the mines, which is a death sentence, for the 'crime' of riding his master's horse in a bit of rebellion possibly egged on by an old slave who appears from time to time. But then the old slave arranges for Dekteon to escape and tells him where to run, a route that takes him through a portal into a strange in-between place, in a scene a little bit reminiscent of the first Witch World novel by Andre Norton.

Once there, a pale and expressionless being advises that his master awaits, and takes Dekteon in a cart drawn by a strange horse with bear-like feet to a ruined mansion where he meets the master - Zaister, who looks remarkably like himself but is an obvious sorcerer. He is given the job of night watchman, despite his initial resistance, and has a number of strange and disturbing encounters. And then he finds out what Zaister has in mind for him ....

This very short book was published in the Puffin imprint in the UK, which is for older children - I suppose what would be termed teen now. It sticks to that brief - although at one point a sexual relationship between married people is portrayed, it is done very subliminally and decorously. To begin with, it is very intriguing and I especially liked the carnivorous sheep which have a great depiction, by Bridie Page, on the back cover of the UK edition. One sequence where Dekteon is driven by malevolent bunnies (!) which prevent him from running by constantly tripping him up, and is pursued by the sheep is nicely creepy.

Unfortunately, when Dekteon is sent to the world where Zaister wants him to fulfil his role as a substitute sacrifice, the story rapidly goes downhill. The female-dominated world he finds himself in is unconvincing. The men there work as artisans or even guardsmen, but are shown as not "real men" compared to the manly Dekteon who sets about single-handedly overturning the basis of the local religion by being smarter than the women. He is aided by the absorption of Zaister's abilities since he is actually in Zaister's body through a sort of soul-transfer, just as Zaister begins to lose his abilities due to suffering Dekteon's illiterate and uneducated state.

Not only is it all a bit of a simplistic tale of gender stereotypes, but unless the reader is to believe that Zaister undergoes complete reprogramming during the few days he later spends with Dekteon, his character is completely inconsistent. Despite being shown to be in such awe and fear of women that he caves in when he falls into the clutches of an unscrupulous woman and her two male helpers when trying to escape in Dekteon's body, by the end Zaister is questioning why Dekteon would not want to continue to, among other things, "have my woman". The whole basis of his character is that, for Zaister, this is literally unthinkable - for a start, the woman in question is his King. As well as being raised as one of the subservient gender, he is his wife's social inferior, so this jarred greatly. But it is all in keeping with a sort of male solidarity which takes over once Dekteon shows his big-heartedness towards the other man; not that convincing in view of the circumstances. It was rather a shame that a female-led society is shown as bound by superstition and the kind of stiff upper lip behaviour exhibited by men during the Victorian/Edwardian era in Britain, but here shown by women who are 'crying inside'.

To summarise then, this book had great early promise - more of the carnivorous sheep and spiteful rabbits would have been very welcome - but was derailed by a cliched and gender-stereotyped storyline. For that reason, I can only give it two stars, one of them being for the sheep, rabbits and great cover.

[Rachel Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dekteon, a slave in fantasyland, escapes and blunders into a strange world between worlds where horses have bear paws and he gets hired by a man who looks just like him to guard him from the terrors of the night. At least, that's the excuse. But it turns out that his new employer has a much more sinister task in mind.

This odd fantasy has some very beautiful, striking images and scenes, and the first fourth or so has a wonderfully spooky, dreamlike atmosphere. Unfortunately, once Dekteon is sent to the matriarchy of cold, bitchy moon women and the sun men they rule, the magic falls away and is replaced by an annoying plot in which he gets the better of the entire society just by being a manly man and not doing what the women say. I'm not objecting just because it's sexist. I'm also objecting because it's dumb and boring.

Not one of Tanith Lee's best. Though I do love the cover, which is 100% accurately taken from the book. A woman with an ivory bow riding a horned lion is what I read fantasy for; wish she was in a better book.

It was part of the MagicQuest series, a fantastic YA fantasy imprint which published books by Patricia McKillip, Jane Yolen, Diana Wynne Jones, Peter Dickinson, Robert Westall, Paul Fisher, and Elizabeth Marie Pope. They had great covers and sometimes also great interior illustrations, and I haunted libraries and bookshops for them - all were reliably worth reading, though I liked some more than others. I wish the imprint had lasted longer, but it only put out 18 books. (And looking them up now, I see that I never saw or even heard of The Last Days of the Edge of the World by Brian Stableford.)

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considering how prolific Tanith Lee is, this is only one of two of hers I have read, and I didn't enjoy the other, so much so I can't remember what it was called.

A fantasy tale where everything is tightly controlled, and yet under the magic Tanith shows the mundane, the effort that goes into the glaze of perfection. It is a short book, a very slim volume, and all respect to Tanith for creating such a vivid tale in so few words.

I've read this countless times since I found it in the school library when I was eleven.

[Milliebot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novella was lacking for me. There was very little world building and it was fairly sexist. Basically a typical ye-olde-y time that Dekteon lived in and a ye-olde-y time with magic and hybrid animals and woman kings that Zaister lived in.

D and Z switch lives and D is puzzled and somewhat disgusted that women hold power (cuz, you know, they're supposed to be submissive property) so he decides to just be manly and powerful and do the opposite of what the women tell him to do.

So basically the women only hold power because the men never thought to argue that point???

In the end, I didn't get the message Tanith was trying to send. I didn't care about any of the characters (except the horned lions the women rode like horses), though I do think Izvire is a sweet name.

I read this in about 3 hours, and Tanith is bae and I want to read all her work, so I'm not mad. But I wouldn't recommend this to the casual fan.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of parallel worlds, where one man condemned to death in a religious ceremony, tracks down his double in another world and tricks him into swapping places. But nothing works out quite as expected for either.

This was an ok kind of story - I enjoyed the premise and was fascinated by the world of the Daughters of the Night. I good bit of world-building here with an interesting religion and a strange little society. But I would have liked to know more and felt a lot of the depth that I'm used to in other books was missing.

I didn't quite get the 'horses with bear feet' - where they constructs like the Pallids or meant to be something else that I didn't spot?

Overall, a good read, but not one I would rush back to read.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really clever idea for a book, a weird fantasy with a good ending.
Well worth reading but a bit hard going for people who don't like time shifts and lots of characters.

[Krystelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, by no means, a shining jewel in the literature crown, but it is definitely an example of a very specific brand of 1980s fantasy that is reliant more on world building than anything else. The world is not built particularly well in this example, but this still manages to stoke the fires of a very old love of fantasy stories in me.

The analogies in this book are heavy-handed and really don’t work particularly well, with the transition between reality and the fantasy world a bit too hamfisted. The women in the society are intentionally lacking, it feels, and while there are some nice moments, it’s just not quite where it should be. It’s also spectacularly short, which means it feels less like a fantasy epic and more like a passing thought.

There’s definitely better fare out there, but this was not terrible- just incredibly mediocre.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent novella, I believe intended for a young adult audience - notable for its treatment of gender and a matriarchal society where men are seen as servants. Also deals with human sacrifice - the male partner of the female King is ritualistically sacrificed every five years to ensure the continuation of the world.

A short and gripping read.

[Saskia (Smitie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik vond het een erg vermakelijk verhaal. In een beperkt aantal pagina's weet Tanith Lee een interessante wereld te bouwen met boeiende personages. Het is niet het meest hoogstaande fantasy epos, maar een goed fantasy tussendoortje.

[Ана Хелс · Rating 5 out of 5]

Третата история от поетичните пътешествия между световете от красота и странност на приказната богиня на думите Танит Лий ни отвежда в дуална вселена на магичен матриархат и безмагиен патриархат, отделени от тъничък воал, преминаващ се дори с една мисъл, но на правилното място и от правилните хората. В реалността на магиите властват боговете на слънцето и луната, жестоки, кървави и безмилостни като природните явления, каквито всъщност са, но обожавани от хората с настървеността на дионисиеви вакханки, дори и това да значи да се пренасят в жертва най-красивите им чеда. Кралицата е една и тя е като луната – вечна, изменчива, но постоянна, а нейният консорт се изменя веднъж на всеки пет години, за да е свеж и ярък като слънцето, на което отдава живота си в крайна сметка, за да може същото да изгрее след още една тежка зима. Езичество и дива магия владеят умовете на всички, или почти. Един от консортите обаче решава, че иска промяна, защото предначертаното не е излязло от неговата ръка, и след много проучвания достига до света на патриархалната немагичност.

А той е почти като нашия – несправдлив, кървав и гнусен, с роби и владетели, с лов на хора и цена на човешкия живот колкото куца овца. Един роб се опитва да промени личното си проклятие, наложено още от раждане, и намира начин да избяга от нерадостната си съдба, макар и да става жертва на нещо една идея по-зловещо. Примамен от консорта в съседната реалност, робът преминава в междинно измерение, намиращо се все на изток след полунощ, където започва една игра на котка и мишка със сили непознати и плашещи, търсещи отмъщение, справедливост или просто която и да е изкупителна жертва за мистичен ритуал. Сблъсъкът между роба и консорта е истинската история за принца и просяка – размяната на местата не винаги носи поука и смисъл, а още по-рядко спасение. Когато размениш две объркани съдби те не могат да намерят щастие, а само споделят мъка и опасност, и в крайна сметка смърт. Но начин винаги има щом има желание.

Красива малка книга за личността, за търсенето на това не просто кой си, а какво си; за осъзнаването на ограниченията на света и разбиването на кристалните стени на кутийката ежедневие. Защото и в най-магичната, и в най-немагичната среда може да се създаде чудовище, или да се роди спасител на вселената, понякога разликата се съст

[David Stephens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tanith Lee's East of Midnight has a fun and creative plot. The story concerns a slave, Dekteon, who escapes from his master only to find himself in another world where darkness looms heavily, allowing strange forces to push themselves inward (and rabbits and sheep to appear faintly demonic). It turns out Dekteon's double from yet another world, a nobleman named Zaister, has used his sorcery to kidnap Dekteon and is planning on trading places with him. For in Zaister's world, men are subservient to women, and Zaister, in particular, is married to the female king who has her mate killed every five years and replaced with a younger one. With Dekteon's death looming in Zaister's stead and Zaister unaccustomed to being hounded by slavers, both men must learn to survive in unfamiliar worlds.

The problem is that the plot largely doesn't work. The satirical elements, while interesting, are too heavy handed. When Dekteon learns of his impending death, he thinks, "Women did not kill men merely to ensure sunrise. Women were dependent on men for their strength, for security and for children." I know the book is attempting to rearrange these gender stereotypes, but all of the characters have the worst assumptions about gender on the tip of their tongues at all times, and it's just too much. Annie Denton Cridge did a much better job with this kind of gender reversal.

The characters are all paper thin as well, which makes their actions dubious at best. Readers never get a sense of Dekteon's background as a slave, nor the rebelliousness or resourcefulness that he suddenly shows off later in the story. Zaister's female king never feels at home in her kingdom and becomes tolerant of Dekteon's behavior far too easily.

Most noticeably, though, the writing is just bad: too many repetitive sentence structures, too many adverbs, and summary where dialogue should be. There is far too much telling and not enough showing. The whole thing feels superficial, so not only does the story come and go without much suspense or engagement, it falls off a cliff by the end with a resolution so predictable it could easily make readers wonder why they even bothered.

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like a reaction to the Womyn's Movement and also at the start, with all its red-headed sacrifice and slave culture, like something of Sutcliff's, but after that it just becomes pure Tanith. (I like the horses with bear paws.) My copy was reprinted in 2001 (with the most God Awful cover), presumably off the back of the Wolf Tower books - very different in tone, I add - and I am bemused as to why it was considered suitable for a children's imprint. Although it contains nothing *unsuitable* either. However I'm going to try it on the almost-10-year-old & see what she thinks.

[Allen Garvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage TL, with very tanithesque gender reversal, ending with them being righted and each character finally be made full. Another TL book I've had for years but have never gotten around to reading till now.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric story of witchery, sacrifice and how one may skip out on the above and substitute a lookalike to take the fall. An uneducated fugitive is raised to dizzy and enjoyable heights before realising what is about to happen to him.

[Amari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the twists, and the extremely unique, beautiful concept. It made for some horrifying and astounding images.

[B.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanith Lee is my new favourite author! So much to look forward to. This book had some weird commentary on gender, but also had very creative ideas and sentences which included the word "pelt".

[Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kunagi ammu sai loetud. Küllaltki lummav maailm.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanith Lee's shorter works are generally outstanding, e.g. "Kill the Dead", "Don't Bite the Sun", and "Night's Master" are excellent as are the short stories in "Red as Blood", "Tamastara", and "Companions on the Road". "East of Midnight" joins this group as an engaging fantasy fleshed out just enough to tell the story. An runaway slave named Dekteon is recruited by a runaway sorcerer named Zaister. Zaister is the current husband of a female king in a city dominated by a religion that worships the Moon and the Sun. The female king represents the Moon, and her husband the Sun. The Sun cannot age so the man must be sacrificed every five years to be replace by a new Sun. Zaister has devised a scheme involving Dekteon who bears a strong resemblance to Zaister. Not surprising, Dekteon has ideas of his own. This short novel moves at a good clip, and Lee's writing is simple and evocative. The edition I have was marketed to young adults. It is certainly suitable for teenagers but sophisticated enough for adults.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book probably does not deserve 4 stars, and the ending really deserves like 1 star. But, the first 9/10ths of the book were great and built a very typically-tanith world of beautiful bizarre fantasy, and I believed nearly up until the end that it was a book about two assholes who try to thwart a kingdom of women that ends with hubris horror fantasy. It could have been amazing. Actually, I’m still trying to decide if the ending was intended to hurt in the way it did as like a feminist hot take on the disappointment of real life... Four stars, because I liked the ending that I imagined, and the cover artwork is SO GOOD there is a man riding a mechanical unicorn lion that has an earring, pursued by sheep with fangs.

[Nighteye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okey book, short, intresting thropes but that left me wondering what she wanted to be said with this book, to embrace and not let go perhaps or break with old traditions but why than did she use a womenking and not a male dominated society? A lot about a reserve setting of gender in this one, cool lanscapes and caracters as well as intresting show of hardship in form of slavery.

[Gabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well ... I guess this was a rather unlucky choice for my first Tanith Lee novel. Quite disappointing.

Even if I take into account, that the translation was done rather poorly, and the prose is better in the original, there still is flat characterisation, flat plot with man chances matriachy cause he's a man and oh so witty ... and quite a lot of "telling, not showing" paragraphs.

[Christiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little jaunt. Published in 1978. Questioning the patriarchy, just a different way of looking at things. Easy to read, fun little world, but with none of Lee's vast vocabulary (probably because this is YA). A good place to start teens reading Lee. As an adult this isn't where I'd start if it was my first time reading Tanith Lee.

[Michael Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining short 70s-era fantasy.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed boek. Tweede boek dat ik van Tanith Lee heb gelezen. Ze stelt wederom niet teleur.

[Karen Hannum · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Not one of her greatests

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

vastly enjoyed this as a kid. the term 'rollicking' seems appropriate. if it was an old Hollywood flick, then Errol Flynn would be fabulous as Dekteon.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Britt-marie Ingdén-Ringselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Å så härligt med en riktig fantasy igen, i ordets rätta bemärkelse! Rekommenderas!
Nu ska jag läsa mer av Tanith Lee:-)

[Scarlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Quick but held depth

[Rhian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sumptuously written, with shades of the regicidal, matriarchal cults of ancient Greece, but the main character isn't as compelling as I'd like, and some of the politics is problematic.