Dreams of Dark and Light [Hardcover]

Tanith Lee (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lee has written in several subgenres of imaginative literaturescience fiction, horror, and Arabian Nights-type tales of dark kingdoms in which death and demons take human form and play havoc with mortal lives. She often writes with lyricism, an ominous wit, and a mildly archaic style particularly well suited to her darker fantasies, several of which appear in this excellent collection. The stories here range from light science fiction ("A Day in the Skin") to outright horror ("The Gorgon," a World Fantasy Award winner, "Nunc Dimittis," and the overwrought "Elle est Trois," another WFA winner). At her best, as in "The Gorgon" and the slyly titled "A Room with a Vie," Lee is able to effortlessly build to a climax of breathtaking menace with overtones of dislocation and loss. This generous collection of 23 stories is a must for Lee fans, and a good introduction for those new to her work.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 507 pages
• Publisher: Arkham House Pub; 1st edition (April 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870541536
• ISBN-13: 978-0870541537
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,453,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright Burning Tigers, October 1, 2006

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dreams of Dark and Light (Hardcover)

It's too bad this anthology is out of print, and hopefully the short stories here (all from the first half of the 1980s) can be found in more modern collections. Tanith Lee is usually regarded as a master of gothic fantasy, and most of the tales here illustrate her considerable strengths in that genre. Great examples, out of many, include "Cyrion in Wax," "The Dry Season," and the especially cheeky "Odds Against the Gods." But longtime fans know that Lee has also experimented rewardingly in other genres, and this collection offers several great examples of Lee's forays into science fiction and horror. Her sci-fi work is especially empathetic and dwells on humanity rather than aliens and spaceships, like in "A Day in the Skin (or the Century We Were Out of Them)" and "Written in Water." We find examples of Lee's exercises in vampires and werewolves in "Nunc Dimittis" and "Wolfland," respectively, and chilling human horror in "Magritte's Secret Agent" and "A Room with a Vie." Of outstanding interest in this collection are a couple of very disturbing experiments in the dark side of Hindu mythology, "Foreign Skins" and "Tamastara," while the Bradbury-like adventure tale "Bright Burning Tiger" is a real surprise for Lee fans of any stripe. If you're new to Tanith Lee and seek a strong introduction to her work, or if you're a longtime fan wishing to rediscover her varied strengths, then pick up an old copy of this collection, or find a newer one with short stories from the same time period. [~doomsdayer520~]

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild!, September 6, 2000

By 

Jenny Nemesis (Gotham, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams of Dark and Light (Hardcover)

This was the first thing I ever read by Lee, found purely by accident a long time ago, and it's a shame that it's out of print in a *serious* way... These are some of the wildest, most vivid, sensual, occasionally very disturbing stories in the universe! The different stories follow a theme of colors, and each one seems done out in a slightly different genre (subgenre, even?) than the others: fairy-tale, sword'n'sorcery, modern fantasy, dark erotica, fable. I haven't even laid eyes on a copy of this for over ten years, and "Malice in Saffron" still rings in my head... Remarkable stuff.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True to its title, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreams of Dark and Light (Hardcover)

This collection of short fiction is bound to have something to interest any reader of Fantasy. If you're new to Fantasy or Tanith Lee, this collection will definately give you insight into the spectrum of the genre and Lee's talent. Since some of the stories come from other collections that share a common theme or concept, they can be confusing standing alone, but are still likely to entertain any reader. The best quality is that the stories can be read and re-read, and still maintain their intrigue.