New Releases by Tanith Lee

In Victorian England, a servant is exposed to the sins of colonialism that haunt a wealthy family in this dark Gothic fantasyfrom an award-winning author. World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award–winning author In a curio shop located in one of the darkest corners of Victorian London, young Annie Ember is gifted an ivory charm in the shape of an elephant. Its presence becomes the catalyst for the tragic events that alter her life. Annie''s abusive brother-in-law is killed by her sister, who is sentenced to be hanged for protecting her. Alone and homeless, Annie secures employment as a maid in a country estate. Sir Hampton Smolte earned his fortune as a soldier in the British Raj. In majestic palaces and sweltering jungles, he was exposed to a culture that embraced a pantheon of gods, consumed an unusual spicy cuisine, and confronted dangerous wildlife. Smolte loathed everything about India yet employed its women to raise his children, and upon his return to England, decorated his home with its treasures, artifacts, and iconography. It is this home that Annie now serves. First in the depths of the kitchen among the bickering staff, then in the parlors of the family, where she''s forced to submit to their eccentric demands and cruel desires. And as each of the Smoltes spirals further into madness, haunted by the shadow India casts over them, Annie''s struggle to survive their whims conjures up the vengeance of an ancient power from a nation that suffered under the injustices of an empire.

WINNER OF BRITISH FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL A recognized master fantasist, Tanith Lee has won numerous awards for her craft, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror. Death’s Master, winner of the British Fantasy Award, is the second book of the stunning arabesque high fantasy series Tales from the Flat Earth, which, in the manner of The One Thousand and One Nights, portrays an ancient world in mythic grandeur via connected tales. A long time ago when the Earth was Flat, beautiful, indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above, curious passionate demons lived in the lush Underearth realm below, and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Uhlume, Lord of Death, second of the Lords of Darkness, King of Shadow and Pallor, makes an unusual bargain which sets in motion an intricate sequence of events that entangle men and gods, queens and kings, sorcerers and witches, and lowly wanderers. When the secret to immortality falls into human hands, dark magic and wickedness are unleashed, testing the bounds of mortal love and sanity, and questioning the nature and purpose of life itself. Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love. Discover the wonder that is the Flat Earth.

Now for the first time in e-book, genre master Lee''s postapocalyptic dystopia that follows a young woman after the fall of humanity. The free humans lived underground, secretive, like rats. Above, the world was a fearsome place for them - the open sky a terror, the night so black, and the striding machines from space so laser-flame deadly. Esther dared the open; she saw the sky; she saw the Enemy. And she was taken – captive - to the vast alien empty city. Surrounded by marvels of science not born on earth, Esther did not know what they wanted of her. There was mystery in the city, dread in the heavens, and magic in the handsome alien man who came to her.

Now for the first time in e-book, a collection of dark fantasy tales from a master of the genre. The Gorgon, a brilliant shocker that leads off this scintillating collection of Tanith Lee''s tales, was the winner of the World Fantasy Award for best short story of the year in 1983. It is appropriate that it gives its title to these tales ranging from horror and the supernatural to science fiction, from the writer who has been justly termed "Princess Royal of Heroic Fantasy." Here you will find unforgettable encounters of men and beasts--of dragons and unicorns, cats and seals, virgins and vampires. This is truly a feast of treasures for everyone whose taste runs to a gourmet imagination.

For the first time in e-book, an omnibus of novels about two different but equally unlikely heroes, juxtaposing a somber tone with the absurdist comedy. IN DARKNESS SHE WAKES--a beautiful young woman, forever imprisoned in the Castle of Dark. Guarded and bespelled by two old hags, can she master the secret magic to summon the champion who will set her free? INTO DARKNESS HE RIDES--a handsome prince in an unknown realm. Who has conjured him here, and for what desperate deeds? Hailed as the Looked-for-Deliverer, with a changeling horse for companion, only he can challenge all magic''s perils--from the Dragon of Brass to the Mad Witch of the kingdom-destroying horror, the evil, enigmatic Nulgrave!

For the first time in e-book format, a gothic tale of werewolves in a remote French village from a master of dark fantasy. Tanith Lee''s classic gothic novel tells a tale of werewolves in a chateau in remote France.

For the first time in e-book format, a harrowing tale of war and survival from a master of dark fantasy. Aradia is only thirteen when the war begins. The brutal Saz-Kronians have invaded from the North, laying siege to her homeland, and as the war grows ever closer, Aradia’s father and mother are called to Fort Hightower to help defend the City. To keep Aradia safe, they send her to live with her Aunt Elaieva, a cold and distant woman, until the danger has passed. But Hightower falls. Her parents die in the battle. And deeply depressed, her Aunt commits suicide—leaving her home and fortune to Aradia. Unfortunately, inheritance laws mean little in the wake of war. The City has surrendered, and Aradia’s home is taken over by Flag Colonel Keer Gurz, an officer of the occupying Saz-Kronian army, who quickly becomes enamored with her. Yet the war is hardly over. Aradia’s homeland joins into the Charvro Alliance, gaining new allies and resources, and Aradia finds herself swept up in the Kronian retreat. In order to survive, Aradia must learn to play both sides of the war, taking on many different roles and identities, but never forgetting her love for Thenser Zavion, a soldier some name traitor and others liberator. Even as circumstances make her a pawn in greater power games, Aradia is destined to be at the center of the shifting tides—destined to be a heroine of the world.

What if Snow White were the real villain and the "wicked queen" just a sadly maligned innocent? What if awakening Sleeping Beauty would be the mistake of a lifetime -- of several lifetimes? What if the famous folk tales were retold with an eye to more horrific possibilities? Only Tanith Lee -- "Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read" (Village Voice) could retell the world-famous tales of the Brothers Grimm (and others) as they might have been told by the Sisters Grimmer! This special edition, put together for the 30th anniversary of the original edition, adds a new Grimmer fairy tale written especially for this volume!

Weird Tales #325 (Fall 2001) features "From Out of the Crocodile''s Mouth," by Darrell Schweitzer; "The Gravedigger''s Apprentice," by Alvin Helms; "Our Temporary Supervisor," by Thomas Ligotti; "Where All Things Perish," by Tanith Lee; "The Wizard of Ashes and Rain," by David Sandner, and more.

A collection of rare short stories by Tanith Lee

Now available in a redesigned edition, Tanith Lee''s sci-fi classic of a woman''s quest for acceptance through the transfer of her consciousness to an artificial body. In the futuristic world of Indigo, reproduction is controlled by the government, guaranteeing that every baby is happy, healthy, and beautiful. But mistakes happen, and a rare few babies are accidentally born biologically, like Magdala Cled. Because of her natural-born features, Magdala is an outcast in society--abandoned at birth, abused in the orphanage she grew up in, and branded with the cruel name "Ugly." But Magdala''s world turns upside down when she''s approached by Claudio Loro, a wealthy scientist who has created a beautiful artificial body. When he offers to transfer Magdala''s consciousness into the body, she cannot refuse the priceless opportunity for a new, beautiful life. However, unbeknownst to her, Claudio has crafted her new body to resemble Christophine del Jan, his rival scientist and former lover. Now Magdala must impersonate Christophine to infiltrate high society, court Claudio''s advances, and decide whose side she is truly on--all while maintaining her real body lest it die...and she die with it.

»My dear cousin and lover, I sport here three in a bed, with two wolves – who have recently devoured the flesh of a young girl...« To a distant corner of France comes Christian Dorse to claim his inheritance where, his beauty enhanced by his consumptive pallor, Christian prepares himself to surrender to premature death. But Christian is close to the forest where the de Lagenays live, a mother and son that both servants and village people mysteriously avoid mentioning. Are they, as he comes to suspect, the children of the wolf? And are they the ones who, when darkness falls, throw out exquisite seductions which he cannot resist? Award-winning author Tanith Lee''s spellbinding novel mixes eroticism and fear in a fantasy laced with surprise, enchantment and the evil of spoilt beauty...

In a world dedicated to pleasure, one young rebel sets out on a forbidden quest. Published for the first time in a single volume, Tanith Lee''s duet of novels set in a hedonistic Utopia are as riveting and revolutionary as they were when they first appeared two decades ago. It''s a perfect existence, a world in which no pleasure is off-limits, no risk is too dangerous, and no responsibilities can cramp your style. Not if you''re Jang: a caste of libertine teenagers in the city of Four BEE. But when you''re expected to make trouble—when you can kill yourself on a whim and return in another body, when you''re encouraged to change genders at will and experience whatever you desire—you''ve got no reason to rebel . . . until making love and raising hell, daring death and running wild just leave you cold and empty. Ravenous for true adventures of the mind and body, desperate to find some meaning, one restless spirit finally bucks the system—and by shattering the rules, strikes at the very heart of a soulless society. . . .

In "Companions on the Road," a stolen chalice brings misery to those who covet it, and in "The Winter Players," a priestess decides to pursue the thief of the sacred relic of her people.

A recognized master fantasist, Tanith Lee has won multiple awards for her craft, including the British Fantasy Award, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror. The White Serpent returns to the world of Vis nearly a century after the reign of Raldnor, the legendary Storm Lord who brought peace to Dorthar. Despite his efforts, the people are once again divided by conflict, and the goddess Anackire must choose new champions if the realm is to have any hope of preservation.... As a child, Rehger was sold into slavery, torn from his home and family. As a young man, he has proved his martial prowess as a lauded gladiator, fighting in the grand city of Saardsimney. But in the midst of his rise to fame, he meets Aztira, an intriguing woman who wields devastating power. With her magic and knowledge, she could be the person who transforms his life of subservience and leads him to his destiny. But before he can fully uncover the truth of their connection, a powerful earthquake strikes, devastating the city and forcing Rehger to flee. Haunted by visions of Aztira long after their first encounter, Rehger embarks on a quest to seek out her people, the legendary Amanackire, in a city shrouded in mystery and myth....

Four-BEE was an Utopian city. If you didn''t mind being taken care of all your long long life, having a wild time as a “jang" teenager, able to do anything you wanted from killing yourself innumerable times, changing bodies, changing sex, and raising perpetual hell, it could be heaven. But for one inhabitant there was always something askew. He/she had tried everything and yet the taste always soured. And then he/she succeeded in committing the one illegal act—and was thrown out of heaven forever. But forever is not a term any native of that robotic utopia understood. And so he/she challenged the rules, declared independence, and set out to prove that a human was still smarter than the cleverest and most protective robot... You don’t need to have read Tanith Lee''s DON’T BITE THE SUN, which set the original scene, to find DRINKING SAPPHIRE WINE of the same high merit that distinguished this author’s THE BIRTHGRAVE.

A recognized master fantasist, Tanith Lee has won multiple awards for her craft, including the British Fantasy Award, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror. In the land of Dorthar, the Storm Lord reigns as king. According to law, the Storm Lord’s youngest son will be the rightful heir. His queen, the cunning and ambitious Val Mara, intends her young son, Amrek, to be that heir. But fate has other ideas. When the Storm Lord abducts a Lowlander priestess, conceives a child with her, and then dies in mysterious circumstances, the unborn baby of that union suddenly becomes the heir to a vast kingdom—a situation that Val Mara is eager to rectify. When his mother also dies, the infant, Raldnor, must be taken far from the Storm Lord’s stronghold to escape the queen’s murderous wrath, forsaking all knowledge of his royal heritage. Raldnor grows up among the people of the Plains, but he is set apart from his friends and neighbors by the mystery of his past. Meanwhile, Amrek has taken the throne as his mother intended. If Raldnor is to reclaim his destiny and defeat the usurper who has taken his place, he will have to survive trials of strength, political sabotage, and threats against his life, regaining his birthright as the true Storm Lord of Dorthar.

You’ve rarely seen your favorite fairy tale characters quite like this. In 1983, Tanith Lee captivated readers with Red as Blood, a collection of short stories featuring twisted and dark retellings of Grimms’ fairy tales. Earning a World Fantasy Award, plus a Nebula Award nomination for its titular story, Red as Blood uniquely challenged the fantasy genre. And now Lee returns with a companion collection! Redder Than Blood features three brand-new and sixteen previously published stories that irreverently reshape popular fairy tales, including Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince, Swan Lake, Beauty and the Beast, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Snow White, and more. Don’t miss this newest volume of stories encompassing twenty-five years of a master fantasist’s remarkable career.

Azhriaz, daughter of Azhrarn, Demon Lord of Night, and a mortal woman, is hidden on a mysterious island, destined to spend her life in dreams, but her father''s enemy, Prince Chuz, is determined to rescue her and make her powerful.

Rediscover the classic fantasy series where demons and gods grant wonders and wreak havoc.

The progeny of both god and mortal endures ceaseless war in a frozen hell in the second volume of the Lionwolf scrolls Lionwolf awakes on an unfamiliar shore under a cold blue sun, with no memories save the sensation of being in the deadly womb of the sea. Others join him, and they too cannot remember who they are or where they have been. Though Lionwolf can''t remember his name—and, in fact, calls himself Nameless—he feels like he was once a king. The twenty-three men on the shore are his army, and soon they are called to duty. Eyeless blue hounds and snake-haired figures riding eight-legged horses lead the men toward a towering city where a bestial mouth trumpets a horrible battle cry. It is Shabatu, a Place of War. There, Lionwolf sets eyes on the king''s lover, Chillel—the woman who was once Lionwolf''s wife. Are Lionwolf and his men dead? And is Shabatu perhaps their hell?

An epic fantasy adventure of wild creatures, enchanted landscapes, and noble destinies In a land of unending winter, the High Magus Thryfe travels with haste to the city of Ruk Kar to warn Vuldir, King Accessorate, of a growing force of envy and darkness. One of Vuldir''s daughters, the seventeen-year-old Saphay, is to wed the Jafn chieftain Athluan, but Thryfe foresees that the marriage will lead to the destruction of all the Ruk kings, their lineage, and their people. Disregarding the magician''s ominous words, Saphay sets off toward the East and her betrothed—only to meet disaster. Athluan, Saphay''s husband-to-be, hears rumors of a blond maiden in royal clothes entombed in a towering pyramid of ice. It is Saphay, and she is alive. The royal wedding ensues and soon—perhaps too soon—Saphay becomes pregnant. As time goes on, the son she births will show signs of a divine and heroic destiny.

Turek was raised as an orphan nomad, until one grim night when he learns of his heritage. He discovers he is the son of the last woman of a superior race long thought dead – a woman who once dishonored his warrior king father. Intent on revenge, Turek takes his father’s name, Vazkor, and embarks on a journey to find his mother – and murder her. Rediscover this realm of brilliant cruel beauty and seductive immortal ruins, of savage war and grand conquest, of falling stars and silver gods—with this 40th anniversary edition of legendary fantastist Tanith Lee''s Birthgrave Trilogy.

Tanaquil, a young mender, and her familiar come face to face with her half-sister, Lizra, who forces Tanaquil to make a perilous choice between siding with Lizra in her quest for conquest or risking her terrible anger.

What if Snow White were the real villain and the "wicked queen" just a sadly maligned innocent? What if awakening Sleeping Beauty would be the mistake of a lifetime -- of several lifetimes? What if the famous folk tales were retold with an eye to more horrific possibilities? Only Tanith Lee -- "Goddess-Empress of the Hot Read" (Village Voice) could retell the world-famous tales of the Brothers Grimm (and others) as they might have been told by the Sisters Grimmer! This special edition, put together for the 30th anniversary of the original edition, adds a new Grimmer fairy tale written especially for this volume!

The Summer, 1998 issue of WEIRD TALES presents 9 great fantasy & horror stories, plus the usual features and poems. A strong issue, with the following stories: FLOWER WATER, by Tanith Lee THE RENFIELDS, by Christopher Lee Walters THE GAME, by Melanie Tem ON THE LAST NIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD, by Darrell Schweitzer BEDDY-BYE, by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre TO FAST IN FIRES, by Charles D. Edkert RING RING! by Seth Hill STEPMOTHER, by Valerie J. Friereich THE BIBLE IN BLOOD, by Ian Watson

An anthology of all original stories written to honour the memory of one of Britain''s greatest fantasy authors. Determined warriors, hideous creatures, wicked sorceries, tricksy villains and cunning lovers abound as fantasy''s finest imaginations do their best... and their worst. James Barclay reveals the origins of The Raven, Adrian Tchaikovsky unveils new aspects of the realm of the Apt, Tanith Lee, Joe Abercrombie, Storm Constantine, Stan Nicholls, Juliet E McKenna and more weave their magic as only they can. Produced in cooperation with the David Gemmell Awards, Legends will, in part, act as a fund-raiser for the awards. Steel yourself, throw caution to the wind, and dare to enter the realm of Legends

Featuring five deliciously romantic stories set in historical and high fantasy worlds, this exclusive eBook set is the perfect gift for any romance reader. Featuring stories by Jo Beverley, Cecelia Holland, Robin Hobb, Jacqueline Carey, and Tanith Lee, this collection of five wonderful romantic stories from five wickedly creative authors includes beautiful maids and clever minstrels, orphans destined for greatness and spies thirsting for revenge, and a pair of lovers who must struggle against the forces of magic and fate. Originally published in the anthology Songs of Love and Death (edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois), these compelling stories are specially packaged in one eBook set at a great price.

The third volume in the ground-breaking, genre-bending, boundary-pushing CLOCKWORK PHOENIX anthology series, now available in digital format. Includes critically-acclaimed and award-nominated stories by Marie Brennan, Tori Truslow, Georgina Bruce, Michael M. Jones, Gemma Files, C.S.E. Cooney, Cat Rambo, Gregory Frost, Shweta Narayan, S.J. Hirons, John Grant, Kenneth Schneyer, John C. Wright, Nicole Kornher-Stace and Tanith Lee. With a whimsical introduction and new afterword by Nebula Award-nominated editor Mike Allen. CONTENTS The Gospel of Nachash • Marie Brennan Tomorrow Is Saint Valentine''s Day • Tori Truslow Crow Voodoo • Georgina Bruce Your Name Is Eve • Michael M. Jones Hell Friend • Gemma Files Braiding the Ghosts • C.S.E. Cooney Surrogates • Cat Rambo Lucyna''s Gaze • Gregory Frost Eyes of Carven Emerald • Shweta Narayan Dragons of America • S.J. Hirons Where Shadows Go at Low Midnight • John Grant Lineage • Kenneth Schneyer Murder in Metachronopolis • John C. Wright To Seek Her Fortune • Nicole Kornher-Stace Fold • Tanith Lee Praise for CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 3 . . . . Allen’s third volume of extraordinary short stories reaches new heights of rarity and wonder. Marie Brennan sets the bar high with “The Gospel of Nachash,” a fine reinterpretation of the Adam and Eve legend from a fresh perspective. Tori Truslow’s scholarly “Tomorrow Is Saint Valentine’s Day” tells the story of the Great Ice Train and its encounter with the merfolk on the Moon. Gemma Files’s “Hell Friend” and C.S.E. Cooney’s “Braiding the Ghosts” are sinister, spine-tingling ghost stories. Cat Rambo deals with realism and escapism in her futuristic “Surrogates,” where appearances and reality are mutable. Shweta Narayan’s “Eyes of Carven Emerald” eloquently rewrites the history of Alexander the Great to include mechanical entities. Without a wrong note, all the stories in this anthology admirably fulfill Allen’s promise of “beauty and strangeness.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review With a balance of new names and established authors, the third Clockwork Phoenix installment collects some magnificent interpretations of fantastic ideas. “The Gospel of Nachash” opens, Marie Brennan’s haunting tale of the beginning of time, and a very interesting reinterpretation of a gospel it is, too. Tanith Lee’s “Fold” is a story of a man who wrote love letters to the people he saw passing beneath his window, and only left his apartment once. Gemma Files’ “Hell Friend” is really a heart-warming ghost story; Georgina Bruce’s “Crow Voodoo” is an unnerving take on something common to fairy tales; and Gregory Frost’s “Lucyna’s Gaze” starts off sweet, and grows more awful with every revealed detail. Clockwork Phoenix delivers on its promise of both beauty and strangeness, and adds in some fright and a few new ways of looking at old tropes. All in all, it’s a very successful collection of thematically similar, but wildly varied in subject, works. — Booklist CLOCKWORK PHOENIX is a series of anthologies from Norilana Books, edited by Mike Allen, that bears the subtitle “New Tales of Beauty and Strangeness”. This seems a quite appropriate subtitle — the stories really do seem attempts at evoking both beauty and the strange. This makes them consistently interesting . . . There is a mixture of wild science fiction (as with John C. Wright’s “Murder in Metachronopolis”, a convoluted time travel mystery) with what seems best called slipstream (say, Tanith Lee’s curious “Fold”, about a man who sends people paper airplane love letters) with out and out fantasy. One of the latter is my favorite here: C. S. E. Cooney’s “Braiding the Ghosts”, in which a girl goes to her grandmother after her mother’s death, and learns from the older woman the secret of “braiding” ghosts — which is to say enslaving them. So ghosts are the servants of the older woman. But the girl is not so happy with this . . . especially when she falls for the ghost she is forced to braid. And the ghosts — are they happy? Read the story and find out . . . lovely stuff. — Locus For the past three years editor Mike Allen has been publishing his unique CLOCKWORK PHOENIX anthologies, inviting authors like Tanith Lee and Catherynne M. Valente to give us their take on the concepts of, as the title has it, “beauty and strangeness.” The result has been a critical and artistic success and, if volume three is any indication, the spell won’t be lifting any time soon. Allen continues to assemble some of the most adventurous, beauteous, and just plain weird stuff our current crop of speculative authors are capable of producing. Adventurous minds are invited to attend. — Strange Horizons

Disturbed By Her Song collects the work of Esther Garber and her half-brother Judas Garbah, the mysterious family of writers that Tanith Lee has been channeling for the past few years. Possibly autobiographical, frequently erotic and darkly surreal, their fiction takes place in a variety of eras and places, from Egypt in the 1940s, to England in the grip of the Pre-Raphaelites, to gaslit Paris and to the shadowy landscapes carved by the mind and memory. The themes of youth and age stream through these tales of homosexual love and desire. These stories recall, at times, the work of Lawrence Durrell, Colette, and Angela Carter.