Venus Burning

“Tanith’s work is lush and rich with beauty, darkness, and sensuality. More than almost anyone else whom I have ever read, Tanith’s work sounds like it was meant to be read aloud, perhaps while huddled around a fire in the dark forest or in the quiet and still air within an ancient temple.”

Jeremy Brett, (Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, Texas A&M University)

Tanith Lee wrote fifteen stories for the acclaimed US genre magazine ‘Realms of Fantasy’, which ran from 1994 to 2009 and was founded and edited by her close friend, Shawna McCarthy. Venus Burning: Realms collects all these stories in one volume for the first time, some of which only ever appeared in the magazine and will therefore be new to some of Tanith’s fans.

The stories in this collection are among her best work, in which Tanith takes myth and fairy tale tropes and turns them on their heads. You might find fantasy swordsmen (Woman in Scarlet), vampires (Israbel), werewolves (Moonblind), dragons (The Children of his Old Age), ghostly dolls (Doll Skulls) and tales reminiscent of the Arabian Nights (I Bring You Forever), but these are nothing like stories of those genres you’ve read before. Lush and lyrical, deep and literary, Tanith Lee created fresh poignant tales from familiar archetypes. This book also includes three previously uncollected stories from her Flat Earth mythos.

“We published fifteen of Tanith Lee’s brilliant works. All of those wonderful, mystical, gorgeous, glorious stories are in this volume, and I’m so glad that Immanion Press is sharing them with new (and old) readers.”

Shawna McCarthy - founder and editor of ‘Realms of Fantasy’