The Book of the Damned

The Book of the Damned is perhaps the best of Tanith Lee's Books of Paradyse series, if only for the presence of the second novella, "Malice in Saffron". The first novella, "Stained with Crimson" begins with an interesting encounter, but becomes so mired in atmosphere and more atmosphere that the plot becomes indecipherable. Still, it evokes such a sense of hopelessness (in me at least!) that it's worth a read just to feel one's emotions tugged so. The third novella, "Empires of Azure", is less compelling. The characters feel caricatured despite Lee's typically stylish prose. It should be for "Malice in Saffron" that you buy this book. Jehanine, a peasant girl who's raped by her (step?)father, undergoes a personality split when she flees to Paradyse. Her nighttime persona of a carousing, murderous young man is a gripping portrayal of repressed rage finally unleashed. Late in the story, Lee introduces a plague to the city, and her subsequent descriptions rank with Camus, in my opinion, for depicting mass reaction to that particular fear of death (obviously, I like Lee very much). Finally, the twist of the "miracle" meal caps the story in a very satisfying manner. I think readers of various genres, fantasy, horror, even history, will get a kick out of this story.

First in the Paradys Tetralogy, "The Book of the Damned" is a three-part exploration into the dark, decadent, and thoroughly bizarre (but completely enjoyable) world of Paradys, something of an alternate-world Paris steeped in sorcery and darkness since its earliest days. The first story, "Stained With Crimson," is a less-than-conventional vampire tale. Andre St. Jean, a poet living in Paradys shortly after the Revolution, becomes the owner of a ruby ring in the shape of a scarab and is shortly thereafter introduced to the owner of the ring, the beautiful Antonina Scarabin. His obsession with Antonina leads to her death and his...and their dual gender-bending resurrection as Anthony and Anna. Pursued becomes pursuer, predator becomes prey, and it all grows surreal and cyclical. While not my personal favorite of the three, the story is excellent. The language, rich with color, is descriptive and disturbing; the reader views Andre/Anna's story through the poet's dream-darkened eyes. "Stained With Crimson" is expertly told, dark and ironic, and maintains its dreamlike quality up to and past the last line of the story. The second novella, "Malice in Saffron" is my personal favorite of the three and, to tell the truth, one of my all-time favorite short stories. Taking place in medieval times, it follows a young woman named Jehanine from her country farm, where she is raped by her brutal step-father, to the City Paradys, where her disbelieving brother Pierre--gifted with a topaz cross by the same doting father that so abused Pierre's sister--rejects her violently. She is then led by a mysterious dwarf into a bizarre double life: by day she lives as Jhane in the Nunnery of the Angel, a quiet female penitent; by night she is Jehan, a beautiful and cruel young man who leads a gang of thieves and cutthroats to greater and greater atrocities. When the Black Death comes to Paradys, Jehanine is forced to confront the conjunction of her two lives...add a holy vision, an enigmatic, and a bizarre redemption, and you have some idea of the complexity of Jehanine's story. Stark, painful, and ultimately beautiful, "Malice in Saffron" is a fascinating tale that deserves at least two re-readings: once for the story and once to understand it, or at try and unravel the stunning weave Tanith Lee has set before you.The last story, "Empires of Azure," is a ghost story set in 1930's Paradis, but hearkening back to a time when the city was known as Par Dis, a community of silver mines at the fringe of the Roman Empire. Told through the eyes of a journalist, a young woman who uses the male pseudonym St. Jean--a tribute to Andre St. Jean of the first story--"Empires of Azure" follows Louis de Jenier, a cross-dresser who moves into a house said to be haunted by the girl who was murdered there years ago. In time, the house with its blue-stained windows yields up two things to Louis: a spider-shaped earring made of sapphires, and visions of

This books is comprised of three novellas that are linked only by setting, a city called Paradys that switches era and culture from story to story. The 1st novella "Stained with Crimson" was disjointed and vague with uncompelling characterizations. Just a hazy vampire tale. The 2nd novella "Malice in Saffron" was both depraved and beautiful in a way that only Tanith Lee seems to be able to pull off. It haunted me for days afterward, this brutal tale of revenge & redemption, highlighting the state of affairs for young girls in pre-renaissance times. The characters were unforgettable, making this my favorite of the 20 or so novels I've read by her. The 3rd novella "Empires of Azure" was a fun ghost story, kind of in a classic mid-century scifi style, with the glamour and mystery of decadent 1920s Paris culture. Overall, definitely worth reading. Tanith Lee's writing is like candy.

The Book of the Damned was my first encounter with the writing of Tanith Lee (I've since read four other novels by her, including the other three Secret Books of Paradys, which are all very good), and a strange first encounter it was. The first story is one of vampires, but it is not quite a vampire story, or certainly not a typical one. It flows with a dreamlike quality and is the best of the three novellas included in the Book of the Damned. The second is that of a young lady traumatized by the unthinkable horror which ends with the breakdown of her relations with all members of her family. This young lady's sanity is henceforth questionable and she takes up all manner of un-sane practices, including but not limited to murder. The third story, which has a vague and cheesy connection to the first, focuses on the history of an item essential to the stories of life and death surrounding two characters. This last is not an action-based story, but it is compelling and not terribly difficult reading--quite satisfactory in the end. As a student, I'm in the habit of analyzing literature, looking for little tricks, references to other literature, especially religious in nature, etc. It was very difficult for me to do this to my satisfaction with most of Tanith Lee's work. Either she is the oracle for some higher power which writes very well about strange but fascinating things, and sometimes her writings turn out oddly, or she is way too smart for me. The first novella is at times dreamlike and strange connections are sometimes made. Important plot points are hidden and later revealed. The second novella is somewhat confused by a frequent return to a nunnery as the setting, and certain twisted references to Christianity and Satanism, including mentions of the dark angels Azazel (familiar to readers of Milton or the Book of Exodus) and Esrafel (whom I've never heard of before or since). The religious point of the story, or the significance of religion within the story are both rather lost on! me. The third novella is more straightforward but hardly immune to Lee's stylistic tricks and habits. The only real common ground for the stories is gender-bending. One may not be who s/he at first seems in each of the stories, and Lee's treatment of gender is both puzzling and fascinating, compelling at times and merely bizarre at others. It is best done in the first and third stories, and is not completely gratuitous, adding atmosphere as well as advancing the plot. If this sounds intriguing, it probably will be, and if you've a taste for the decadent, especially in the middle ground between horror and philosophy, you probably out to read this book. I highly recommend it.

"Gothic at her best" is an interesting description indeed. This book, made up of three (relatively) short novellas, is only for those who like sudden, unexplained and disorienting events that are chained together for no apparent reason. Like David Lynch? Like cross-dressing? Read this...!