Death's Master: Tales From the Flat Earth, Book 2 | ||||||||
Tanith Lee | ||||||||
Norilana Books, 456 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Sandra Scholes
Death's Master, the sequel of short tales is a reprint from Norlana Books' imprint Taleka. The
basic story is Death's Master is about ancient times when the Earth was believed to be flat,
and Gods reigned over all, and the world was separated into three different levels much like in the
Norse pantheon. The Gods lived on the Upper Earth realm, while the Lords of Darkness and demons lived
far below in the bowels of the Earth. Normal mortals resided in the middle world between the order and
chaos and had a much harder life as a result.
Tanith Lee is the highly acclaimed author of many outstanding fantasy novels that have been read by many
worldwide for over thirty years. To date, she is responsible for penning 77 full-length novels, 14 novel collections,
and has had nearly 300 stories published. Known for her radio plays broadcast by the BBC in the UK, she
worked on two scripts for well-known science-fiction TV show Blake's 7 which aired between
the 70s and 80s. Winner of the August Derleth Award for this particular book, Night's Master this
new novel continues the series.
Tanith Lee has shown her creativity in more than just her writing, as she has illustrated the cover for this
novel along with John Kaiine, and her interior illustration, "Salome." She has many talents and it
is noticeable in this book. The Night's Master is the first of the five lords of Darkness, Azhrarn and
his aspects are night and wickedness while the second lord, Death's aspects are shadow and pallor though
rather than a permanent state as far as death is concerned, his is more an idea rather than a terrifying
reality. She has the knack for making her writing read like a series of adult fairy tales as it does
in this particular novel. Based on a far away plane that, in many ways, resembles Egypt with its strong
warriors and mention of leopards, the writing is descriptive and manages to evoke a setting and a mood
in her work that tends to last in the mind of the viewer. For some, Tanith Lee is a classic writer of
fantasy fiction, while to others her work might not be as interesting if they are not into her style
of writing. She does remain strong as one of the best fantasy writers of her era though, and has not
always stuck to fantasy, but dabbled in science fiction in-between.
The stories vary from strange tales of the world the characters inhabit to tales of the individual
characters' lives and how they are shaped by fate and circumstances beyond their control. She has
managed to shape these stories using her particular writing style to bring to life new and
interesting people and places where their lives can be realised by those who read them.
Sandra Scholes has a desire to move to Alaska where she believes she might be able to take the colder temperatures better in a new setting, however between writing short stories and reviews she hardly has time to contemplate going, let alone going. Her work can be seen in Quail Bell Magazine, The Zone, and The Chronicles magazine to name a few. |
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