The Book of the Beast (The Secret Books of Paradys)

In a city imbued with dark fantasy and gothic horror, an ancient curse transforms the lives of all it touches The city known by three names—Paradys, Paradise, and Paradis—conceals many strange stories. In the second volume of the Secret Books of Paradys, young scholar Raoulin has just moved to Paradys to study at the university. He lodges at the once noble, now decrepit House d’Uscaret, a place he knows is haunted from the moment he arrives. There, Raoulin is frequented by the mysterious and beautiful phantom of a young bride with wide-set emerald eyes, and as he is drawn toward her, he realizes that his every action skirts the border of reality and dream. Soon, the voluptuous ghost has infected him with the curse of the Beast—a horrific amalgam of bird, lizard, and man that has preyed on the city’s inhabitants for centuries.   Past and present are irrevocably intertwined in this horrifyingly lush tome, in which author Tanith Lee plunges the reader into the lore and monstrosities of an alternate Paris: the lurid and infamous Paradys.

Kirkus Reviews

“Top-notch demonology and atmosphere, with convincingly developed characters, but it is Lee’s talent for realizing an exquisite and appalling mingling of lust and horror, sexual pleasure and loathing, yearning and revulsion, that drives the book and its readers from cover to cover. Enthralling.”

Library Journal

“Lee infuses this dark tale with a dreamlike quality that hovers, like the world she has created . . . on the border of reality. Sensual and evocative prose.”

About the Author

Tanith Lee (1947–2015) was born in the United Kingdom. Although she couldn’t read until she was eight, she began writing at nine and never stopped, producing more than ninety novels and three hundred short stories. She also wrote for the BBC television series Blake’s 7 and various BBC radio plays. After winning the 1980 British Fantasy Award for her novel Death’s Master, endless awards followed. She was named a World Horror Grand Master in 2009 and honored with the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2013. Lee was married to artist and writer John Kaiine.

Reviews

News