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Summary: Fourth/Final Book in The Secret Books of Paradys Series
Review: Tanith Lee is a tremendously talented writer, and in "The Book of the Mad" she wows her fans once again. This is the fourth and final book in The Secret Books of Paradys series (preceded by "The Book of the Damned" [#1], "The Book of the Beast" [#2], and "The Book of the Dead" [#3]), and it is, without a doubt, my favorite book in the group. It alternates between three various-spelled parallel cities:--Paradise, where Felion and Smara (homicidal twin outcasts), travel through their uncle's space-altering ice labyrinth, in order to kill an unknown cousin for their own personal gain. --Paradis, where Leocadia, a 30-year-old alcoholic, bisexual painter, is blamed for her lover's murder and is sent to an asylum by her conniving relatives. Leocadia is devilishly witty, though Felion and Smara still win out for me. --Paradys, where Hilde, a 15-year-old virgin, is raped by Johanos Martin, an actor she adores. She becomes hysterical afterwards and is sent to an asylum by her parents, who can't cope. This is the least memorable of the three stories, at least it was for me, but it's still interesting enough. These three well-crafted stories tie-in to one another as the book progresses, culminating in a terrific ending. Fans of this series will enjoy rereading this book over again, if not to just pick up pieces of the puzzle, which are skillfully strewn around. It's mesmerizing, and dark fantasy at its best. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it?
Review: The final book of Paradys is undoubtedly the best, drawing the reader into three alternate, related worlds. Parallels abound, as well as subtle suggestions that say the three worlds are more closely related then one might think. Smara and Felione, two sociopathic murderers, are in the book. Interestingly, I actually felt empathy for them by the end of the book... Very well written, with excellent charecterization.
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Summary: The best of the Paradys novels.
Review: This was a beautiful, intricate intertwining of plots, schemes, personal mythology, magick & transformation. What a trip.
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Summary: Nightmarish, surreal fairytale
Review: With a nod to decadent literature and a tip of the hat to Andrew Lang's fairytale series, Lee's final book in the Paradys series is an excellent conclusion. For those unfamiliar with this work, the series takes place in the bizzare, Gothic city of Paradys, an alternate world Paris where all darkness reigns; each book in the series is subtitled with colors, like Langs book's. The Book of the Mad's color is orange, a recurrent motif through this novel. With her trademark lush prose, Lee weaves together three stories that occur in three versions of the city, connect by a tunnell of ice. The murderous brother and sister twins live in Paradise, a world of madness; innocent child-woman Hilde lives in 19th Paradys; and mad, bisexual painter Leocadia lives in modern Paradis. The connections between these sets of characters is innovatively set up by Lee, taking place both within their inner landscapes; through the arenas of sexual obsession, alcohol; and violence and through space and time. A triumph of a feverish imagination
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