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Death's Master de Tanith Lee
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Death's Master (original: 1979; edição: 2010)

de Tanith Lee

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536844,782 (3.89)1 / 15
""The soul is a magician. Only living flesh hampers it."" -- from Death's Master Death's Master, winner of the August Derleth Award for Fantasy, is the second book of the stunning arabesque high fantasy series Tales from the Flat Earth, which, in the manner of the One Thousand and One Nights, portrays an ancient world in mythic grandeur via connected tales. Long time ago when the Earth was Flat, beautiful indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above, curious passionate demons lived in the exotic Underearth realm below, and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Uhlume, Lord of Death, second of the Lords of Darkness, King of Shadow and Pallor, makes an unusual bargain which sets in motion an intricate sequence of events that entangle men and gods, queens and kings, sorcerers and witches, and lowly wanderers. When the secret to immortality falls into human hands, dark magic and wickedness are unleashed, testing the bounds of mortal love and sanity, and questioning the nature and purpose of life itself. Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love. Rediscover the exotic wonder that is the Flat Earth.… (mais)
Membro:ssefton
Título:Death's Master
Autores:Tanith Lee
Informação:TaLeKa (2010), Paperback, 456 pages
Coleções:Para ler
Avaliação:
Etiquetas:fantasy

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Death's Master de Tanith Lee (1979)

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Mostrando 1-5 de 8 (seguinte | mostrar todas)
At first this second volume of the series seemed more coherent and an improvement on book 2. It revolves around the children of two mothers: one woman who is a queen and has to bear a child to save her land and people in order to lift a curse, and one who attempts to save her son from the enemies who will threaten his life by making him immune to all threats. Nothing ends happily for either the mothers or their sons. The two boys eventually end up as close friends while they endure a strict and life-denying upbringing at a monastery, but are then riven apart by their own, no longer quite human, natures and the interference of demonic forces: the lord of darkness Azharn, a key figure in book 1, and Uhlume, the lord of death.

There are a lot of characters, a lot of action, but no one who can really be cared about or sympathised with. The nearest is a rogue and conman who ends up immortal when Simmu, one of the sons, the one borne to lift the curse, decides to wage a "war" against death by obtaining the elixir of life and dishing it out to chosen people (except that the conman drinks from the flask without permission as he is dehydrated in the desert). Otherwise, the characters behave perversely just to bring about their own ill fortune it seems, with Zhirem, the one who cannot be killed, deciding to be wicked and setting out to make himself a supremely powerful wizard whose one goal is to destroy Simmu and everything he has worked for. And equally oddly, Simmu and co, having partaken of immortality, become indolent and ossified within a few years - this might be understandable after centuries but seems unlikely after a few years. There are various other characters who are wicked just "for the fun of it" rather than for any real reason and it all became rather overlong and tedious by about two thirds of the way through. I read to the end just to find out what happened, but can't say I enjoyed it so this is an OK 2-stars for me sadly. ( )
  kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |
Read, favourite. ( )
  sasameyuki | Aug 13, 2020 |
This second of Tanith Lee's Flat Earth novels is very good, but not as cover-to-cover amazing as the first. The hectic fabulism of the previous book slows down to a nevertheless active pace more similar to Lee's earlier novels, such as The Birthgrave. Azhrarn, the demon monarch of Night's Master, is still important in this book anchored by his peer Lord of Darkness Uhlume, who is Death himself. The real protagonists of the book, though, are the ambiguous heroes Zhirem and Simmu.

My favorite part was probably the wonderfully-imagined undersea adventure of Zhirem, well toward the end of the book.
4 vote paradoxosalpha | May 5, 2018 |
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

On Tanith Lee??s Flat Earth, humans live in the space between apathetic gods and vain and meddlesome demons. In the first FLAT EARTH book, Nightƒ??s Master, we met Azhrarn, prince of demons and ruler of the night who found and loved a human orphan. I loved that book for its exotic setting and gorgeous fairytale quality, but Deathƒ??s Master, the second FLAT EARTH book, is even more enchanting. While the first book was a series of connected tales, Deathƒ??s Master is a traditional novel. This time we meet a second Lord of Darkness, Uhlume, Lord Death, when he makes a deal with Narasen, a human warrior queen.

Narasen, the Leopard Queen of Merh, doesnƒ??t like men. When she rebuffs a powerful magician, he curses her, causing plague, famine and barrenness to settle in Merh. An oracle announces that the land will be healed when Narasen, who is barren, bears a child. After the people of Merh have sent all the men they can muster to Narasen, she seeks escape by asking the witch Lylas, Deathƒ??s Handmaiden, to arrange a deal with Death.

Uhlume, the Lord of Death, gives Narasen a child, but the price she must pay is heavy: after giving birth, she must remain under the Earth with Uhlume for 1000 years. The rest of the story follows Simmu, Narasenƒ??s hermaphrodite child; his friend Zhirem, whose mother also made a deal with Death; Lylas, who assigns nine virgins to guard the waters of immortality; the demon Azhrarn, who canƒ??t help but meddle in human affairs; and other characters thatƒ??ve unfortunately come to the attention of demons.

Itƒ??s hard to truly like any of these characters, which, I suspect, is the main reason that the FLAT EARTH books are not universally loved. Tanith Leeƒ??s characters are all well-developed, but they donƒ??t give back. Theyƒ??re not interested in whether you like them, so youƒ??re not likely to find yourself really caring what happens to any of them. Tanith Lee isnƒ??t offering us friends. Instead, she offers a vision of a world thatƒ??s completely foreign, yet peopled by real humans who we can relate to, whether we like them or not. Lee uses this unfamiliar world to explore familiar human nature in a way that isnƒ??t possible outside a fantasy setting.

One theme in Deathƒ??s Master is the idea that when life becomes difficult, we often preserve sanity by knowingly casting illusions. When Narasen goes with Death to the underworld, she sees all the humans whoƒ??ve made similar deals with Death and must live in his kingdom for 1000 years. The place is horrible, but theyƒ??ve constructed illusions to make it bearable. When Narasen scorns these weak-minded people, Death explains that they survive by creating their own reality:

"The soul is a magician. Only living flesh hampers it... This land is a blank parchment where anyone may write what they wish."

Another theme is the boredom that comes with immortality on Earth. When the well of immortality is discovered and some humans drink from it, their lives eventually become pointless and dull. Lee suggests that the gods knew that the constant threat of pain and death is what gives life its meaning and joy:

"Men could not have too much. Ecstasy and vulnerability belonged in the same dish. The fear the cup would be snatched away was what gave the wine its savor and as Zhiremƒ??s cup was sure, so was his joylessness... to die is a fear, but to live is a fear, also."

These ideas are so beautifully examined in Deathƒ??s Master, but Tanith Leeƒ??s writing isnƒ??t unrelievedly heavy. In fact, I think sheƒ??s one of the funniest writers I know and even this dark tale has plenty of humor. The scene in which all nine virgins were disqualified in three nights is hilarious and this description of Yolsippa the charlatan had me literally clapping my hands in delight:

"Generally Yolsippa was not a sensual man, but there was one thing, and one thing alone, which could stir him instantaneously and irrepressibly to amorous frenzy. This singular thing was a member of either sex who happened to be cross-eyed. Now the reason for this is a matter of conjecture. Possibly Yolsippa, in his tender years, had been nursed by a woman with just such a feature who had toyed indelicately with him so that ever after the erection of his weapon became associated with the strabismus of his nurse. Now and again Yolsippa had taken himself into a brothel and there lain down with straight-gazing harlots in an effort to be rid of the ridiculous taint. But it was no use; the perversion remained. Indeed, many afflicted by the squint had been most grateful for it. However, the cross-eyed being that Yolsippa had suddenly caught sight of in the desert border town was none other than the local prizefighter, a man near seven feet high with a prodigious girth, the belly of a boar and the fuse of an ox. Yolsippa completely comprehended the unwisdom of his passion, but no sooner had the two blood-shot squinting eyes been fixed on him than he began shuddering in a seizure of profound desire. Nor was it any use to seek his own medicine for dispelling such emotion since it was made of water, spirit, and mulesƒ?? urine."

Here, and in all of her writing, you can clearly see the influence of Jack Vance, who Tanith Lee calls ƒ??one of the literary godsƒ? in her afterword to her story in the anthology Songs of the Dying Earth. In fact, Lee says that ƒ??Influence is too small a word. What I owe to Vanceƒ??s genius, as avid fan and compulsive writer, is beyond calculation.ƒ?

Indeed, Tanith Leeƒ??s imagination and writing style are a fantasy loverƒ??s dream. If you havenƒ??t read Tanith Lee, youƒ??re missing one of our ageƒ??s best fantasists. If youƒ??re not into the twisted dark fairytales found in FLAT EARTH, you should at least try some of her short fiction, which is easily found in the best anthologies.

I listened to Susan Duerden narrate the audio version which was just released by Audible Frontiers. Her lush voice is gorgeous and I think she has the sexiest male voice Iƒ??ve ever heard by female or male narrator. The sing-song quality I mentioned in my review of Nightƒ??s Master was less noticeable this time. If youƒ??re an audio reader, donƒ??t miss this. Deathƒ??s Master, originally published in 1979, won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1980.


Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.
( )
1 vote Kat_Hooper | Apr 6, 2014 |
Death's Master, the second in her "Flat Earth" is as good as the first, This book focuses on Uhlume, another prince of the Underearth who is Lord of Death. Lee creates and unforgettable world in this series that doesn't feel derivative of any other fantasy world, and with lush, luminous prose. In fact, I think I love this book, which is structured more like a novel, even more. Lee's prose is gorgeous and though the novel deals with such heavy themes as illusion and immortality there's plenty of leavening humor and wit. A fairy tale for adults. ( )
  LisaMaria_C | Oct 29, 2012 |
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Schleinkofer,DavidArtista da capaautor secundárioalgumas ediçõesconfirmado
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""The soul is a magician. Only living flesh hampers it."" -- from Death's Master Death's Master, winner of the August Derleth Award for Fantasy, is the second book of the stunning arabesque high fantasy series Tales from the Flat Earth, which, in the manner of the One Thousand and One Nights, portrays an ancient world in mythic grandeur via connected tales. Long time ago when the Earth was Flat, beautiful indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above, curious passionate demons lived in the exotic Underearth realm below, and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Uhlume, Lord of Death, second of the Lords of Darkness, King of Shadow and Pallor, makes an unusual bargain which sets in motion an intricate sequence of events that entangle men and gods, queens and kings, sorcerers and witches, and lowly wanderers. When the secret to immortality falls into human hands, dark magic and wickedness are unleashed, testing the bounds of mortal love and sanity, and questioning the nature and purpose of life itself. Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love. Rediscover the exotic wonder that is the Flat Earth.

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