Night's Master

I was taken aback when I saw that, on top of all the awful crap he's been accused of, there were claims that Neil Gaiman had based The Sandman on Tanith Lee's Tales from the Flat Earth series without giving her any credit. Given that I've been in the field as a reviewer for twenty years now, plus being a fan of the genre for almost as long before that, I'm perplexed by the fact that I've only heard about this supposed ripoff in the last few days.

My curiosity piqued, I elected to give the first volume, Night's Master, a shot immediately. Interestingly enough, at least on Amazon, the folks from Daw Books recently changed the blurb and now openly claim that Lee's series was the inspiration for Gaiman's magnum opus. As for me, based on this first volume, I can say that there is absolutely nothing in common with The Sandman so far. But I imagine that this could change as I go through subsequent installments.

Here's the blurb:

NIGHT'S MASTER is the first 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. Azhrarn, Lord of the Demons and the Darkness, was the one who ruled the Night, and many mortal lives were changed because of his cruel whimsy. And yet, Azhrarn held inside his demon heart a profound mystery which would change the very fabric of the Flat Earth forever...

Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love.

Discover the exotic wonder that is the Flat Earth.

I wasn't expecting to be drawn into Night's Master so quickly, but Tanith Lee captured my imagination from the very first page. Like One Thousand and One Nights, the book is a collection of interconnected short stories/vignettes that form a bigger and more far-reaching narrative with each new tale. Though each one stands alone to a certain extent, most build on one another and are linked in various and sometimes unexpected ways. Taken as a whole, this first volume encapsulates the mythological and whimsical nature of fairy tales. Yet these are not innocent children's tales. The sex, the violence, and the themes explored make Tales from the Flat Earth an adult fantasy series.

This was my first experience with Tanith Lee and I was impressed by the quality of her writing. Simply put, the imagery is absolutely amazing and the prose lyrical and otherworldly. The universe, the landscapes, the protagonists, and everything else are richly depicted. Night's Master makes for an incredibly immersive reading experience.

Azhrarn, Prince of Demons and one of the Lords of Darkness, is the closest thing to a main character found in this book. And though he influences every tale in various ways, be it mischievous, cruel, or good-natured, he only takes center stage at the beginning and at the end. It's the diverse cast that makes Night's Master such a memorable read. Some claim that Lee doesn't spend enough time with most of them, yet overall I feel that the author did a good job to make each and everyone of them as three-dimensional as they needed to be in their story. Sivesh, Ferazhin Flower-Born, Kazir the blind poet, Zorayas, Mirrash, Bisuneh, Shezael and Drezaem, Qebba; they all played a role in making this book such a compelling read.

My only complaint is that Night's Master is too short. Weighing in at only 177 pages, you'll go through the ebook in no time. I wish Lee had elaborated more on the worldbuilding and some stories could have been a little bit longer, but otherwise it was everything I wanted it to be. Looking forward to the next one!

You guys should give it a shot, either out of curiosity or due to the Gaiman allegations. It was a 1979 World Fantasy Award nominee for best novel, after all.

The final verdict: 8/10

For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.