Reviewer: Emera Date read: 3.13.2016 Book from: Personal collection Elephantasm is a violent, brooding, erotic fantasy of revenge against imperialism and patriarchy: Tanith Lee takes on Heart of Darkness, by way of colonial India. Elephants, monsoons, open wounds, whips, trauma survivors, immolation. Lush madness and harsh justice prevail against the privileged and callous. Lee’s usual interest in … Continue reading Elephantasm, by Tanith Lee (1983) E
Reviewer: Emera Date read: 11.2.2013 Book from: Personal collection ‘There are three things that grow in March Mire,’ said the aunt, in a silly sing-song voice, her eyes half closed, ‘and that grow nowhere else together, and seldom anywhere. Find them in one spot, take them and make them up. From them comes this dew. … Continue reading Louisa the Poisoner, by Tanith Lee (1995) E
Date read: 8.1.11 Book from: Personal collection Reviewer: Emera This is one of my most treasured finds from Readercon, picked up from the fantastic Somewhere in Time Books: Tanith Lee‘s 1988 limited-edition novella, with illustrations by Tom Canty. From the title and pastel cover I expected a tale of genteel swashbuckling, possibly YA; should have … Continue reading Madame Two Swords, by Tanith Lee (1988) E
Vital Links tanith-lee.com: Official website and blog Daughter of the Night: An excellent and exhaustive fan-maintained annotated bibliography On Wikipedia “Delirium’s Mistress:” An overview of much of Lee’s more Gothic fiction, including synopses and thematic observations. Desultorily aggregated interviews: Innsmouth Free Press (2009) | Realms of Fantasy Magazine (2011) | SFF Chronicles (2012) | By … Continue reading Tanith Lee
Date read: 11.1.07; reread once or twice since Book from: Library originally; now personal collection Reviewer: Emera (There is nothing about this cover that does not amuse and please me. Consider it an honorary Bad Book Cover Friday?) Tanith Lee‘s The Secret Books of Paradys are among the most exquisitely aestheticized and unabashedly Gothic works … Continue reading The Book of the Damned, by Tanith Lee (1988) E
Gerald Durrell’s infamous Gothic horror story “The Entrance” is the final story in his collection The Picnic and Other Inimitable Stories (1980), which otherwise comprises a series of arch, Wodehousian, semi-autobiographical comedies, centering on absurd mishaps that beset Durrell’s family outings and European travels. (“The Havoc of Havelock” is one of the funniest things I’ve … Continue reading Desultory Annotations for Gerald Durrell’s “The Entrance” (1980)
Reviewer: Emera Date read: 2.23.2017 Book from: Personal collection Cover art by the wonderfully named Gray Morrow “Some seventeen notable empires rose in the Middle Period of Earth. These were the Afternoon Cultures. All but one are unimportant to this narrative, and there is little need to speak of them save to say that none of … Continue reading The Pastel City, by M. John Harrison (1971) E
Reviewer: Emera Dates read: The very end of December 2011 Read from: Vampire Stories by Women, ed. by Stephen Jones (2001). “Venus Rising on Water” (1991), by Tanith Lee: “Like long hair, the weeds grew down the façades of the city, over shutters and leaden doors, into the pale green silk of the lagoon. Ten … Continue reading Vampire Stories by Women: Venus, Outfangthief, So Runs the World…
Seek Books 1747 Centre Street, Boston, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 Seek deserves to be called something really grandiose, like “a repository of pulp splendor.” Seriously, if you’re an sff fan (especially if you’re the kind who has slightly off tastes and whose favorite authors are generally out of print… not that I’d know anything about … Continue reading Bookstores of Boston/Cambridge: Seek Books
All books indexed alphabetically by author’s last name, then chronologically by publishing date. “E” indicates that the book has been read by Emera, “K” indicates that it has been read by Kakaner, and a link indicates that a review is available. Author’s pages include brief profiles, links of interest, and a full list of both … Continue reading Review Index