Venus Burning: Realms

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.

Preface by Shawna McCarthy; 

Beauty, Darkness and Sensuality: The Magic of Tanith Lee’s Writing: An introduction by Jeremy Brett

The Story Told by Smoke (From the Journals of St. Strange); Doll Skulls (a Paradis novelette); Death Loves Me; Old Flame (From the Journals of St. Strange); The Lady-Of-Shalott House; I Bring You Forever; The Woman in Scarlet; The Children of His Old Age; The Man Who Stole the Moon (A Story of the Flat Earth); Moonblind; Israbel; Stalking the Leopard; En Forêt Noire; The Snake (A Story of the Flat Earth); Our Lady of Scarlet (A Story of The Flat Earth)