DNF

This is the first in a series and having struggled through this one I'm not sure I want to continue although I have the others.

The book is not really a novel but more a series of interconnected short stories with the same setting: Flat Earth at a time when the gods exist but are remote self obsessed beings with no interest in humanity or the Earth, and demons also exist, who live in the Underearth and take an all too unpleasant interest. The chief "character", if you can call him such, is Azharn, a prince among demons who has a huge following of various subservent lesser demons upon whom he can call to work mischief on Earth on his behalf. From time to time he takes a personal interest and visits Earth - always at night as the sun's rays destroy his kind -as in the first story where he takes a human child after the baby's mother dies and gives him to some of his followers to rear, only taking a personal interest when the teenage boy is old enough to have sex with. The demons, especially Azharn, have the property of inspiring obsessive love and devotion in mortals so the odds are heavily stacked against those humans with which they interact.

In other stories, a kingdom falls because Azharn decides to bait the tyrant in charge who has committed hubris by raising statues of himself with inscriptions that set him above the gods (and demons). Afterwards, only a baby daughter of the king's survives and even she is scarred and injured. An old priest raises her and tries to shield her from the truth of her appearance, but sadly the child learns of her disfigurement at the cruel hands of a passing prince, and when the priest dies of old age she is tricked and brutally raped by a pedlar. Afterwards, she turns to black magic and demonology, and becomes as cruel as her dead father, seeking revenge on all humanity for what she has suffered. Naturally she makes a pact with Azharn. Along the way she brings suffering to countless others, including two brothers whose tale is told as another connected story.

Very few people obtain a happy ending, other than a blind singer, and even he undergoes huge trials due to Azharn wanting to amuse himself at the man's expense. Yet there is a twist eventually where Azharn shows himself more of a help to humanity than the coldhearted gods.

The style of writing is very much that of a retelling of folklore or fairy tales, although this material is all original. It has a faint 'feel' of the Arabian nights, but only in that in some stories the women go veiled, and in the exotic names. A lot of the characters are blonde in any case, so it is really only a hint. Due to the form, there is no real character development and it is difficult to feel sympathy for the ever-changing personnel despite their awful ordeals, especially when some of them change from victim to mass murderer. The writing is lush and on balance I would award the book 3 stars for that, even though I did not really 'enjoy' the tales. ( )

Night's Master is made up of a series of interconnected stories all related, directly or indirectly, to Azhrarn, the Demon Lord who rules the Underearth. These are really dark, adult fantasy tales that deal with themes of love, lust, greed, etc. The characters that populate Tanith Lee's world aren't necessarily likeable-- which actually, is refreshing and makes me enjoy the book more. So often writers try hard to create characters that we like and can root for, but I like the fact that Tanith Lee seems to just write characters that do what they want, and what makes sense for them, rather than trying to write them to be appealing to readers. Would I want to be friends with her characters? No, I'd probably run away if I ever met most of them, but they are fascinating to read about, and I find them very human, embodying so many relatable and recognizable emotions, obsessions, lusts, flaws... I find a little of myself in them.

The world building of the Flat Earth is pretty ambiguous. It is a world of exotic magic and mystery. Lee doesn't spend too much time developing it, but it doesn't take away from her stories at all. The mystery is part of its charm. I do love the little glimpse we get of the world above-- the gods who created this world are now bored with it, living in the book's version of "heaven", apathetic to the existence of human beings. So naturally, that leaves the demons who find entertainment in meddling in human affairs. ( )

My second & last attempt with Tanith Lee. Unique & brilliant stories but her prose isn't easy for me. Too poetic, too intangible, or something. I experience the same struggle with Neil Gaiman. Took me forever to get through this book. ( )

I found this book deeply reminiscent of reading mythology. The story felt like it was missing context and delivered big events without building an emotional investment first. Many things happened very quickly, without the rules or structures of the world being very clear beforehand. ( )