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Night’s Master by Tanith Lee

Dark-haired man in a long dark cloak gazes at an erupting volcano, his face not visible. The landscape features mountains, rocky outcrops, and glowing lava.
In

A mesmerising fantasy novel where demons roam and dreams come to life.

Night’s Master is the first volume of Tales from the Flat Earth series, originally published in 1978. A year later, the book was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

The story is set in an Arabian Nights-like world where the Earth is flat and floats on the Ocean of Chaos. The main protagonist is Azhrarn, the Prince of Demons, who teases, curses, destroys, and rewards mortals depending on his whims.

The book is divided into three main sections depicting events over a few centuries. Each part tells a story of a different character interacting with ominous Azhrarn. These characters include the blind poet Kazir, the crippled sorceress Zorayas, and the beautiful Sivesh, with whom Azhrarn falls in love.

“For what demon loves and loses he will destroy, and my power is mightiest you are ever likely to know.” —Night’s Master

Cover of Night’s Master by Tanith Lee, 2016 DAW edition, featuring a blonde woman in a floral bush with a large brown eagle.
Cover of the 2016 DAW edition of Night’s Master by Tanith Lee.

Lee’s fiction is worth being called belles-lettres for her poetic style and rich vocabulary (see the previous post). The author was not afraid of using similes and does not follow Stephen King’s advice about using a minimum of adverbs, which makes her work unique and more colourful.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its vivid characters, who overcome challenges and make sacrifices in pursuit of their dreams. From the enigmatic Azhrarn to tragic figures like Ferazhin and Zorayas, each character feels fully realised and adds depth to the narrative. The book explores classic yet profound themes—love, hate, destiny, heroism, and defeat.

What struck me the most was Lee’s ability to seamlessly blend elements of fantasy with thought-provoking themes such as feminism, LGBTQ+ issues, and the nature of power. Her writing style, rich in symbolism and metaphor, adds layers of meaning to the story, making it not only entertaining but also intellectually stimulating.

Cover of Night’s Master by Tanith Lee, 1987 Arrow edition, featuring a dark-skinned woman in a turban leaning against a fountain, gazing at a stained glass window depicting a dark-haired man on a throne with fantasy motifs.
Cover of the 1987 Arrow edition of Night’s Master by Tanith Lee.

In conclusion, Night’s Master is a work of unearthly beauty that can touch readers’ souls with its fanciful poetic writing style. Despite the fairytale-like narration, this book contains sexual scenes and violence against women, so I can’t recommend it to children and sensitive readers.

However, for those who are not afraid of old-school fantasy, it’s a rewarding read. For me, this book restored my faith in the fantasy genre, with each word resonating like ripples on the surface of a pool after the fall of a stone.

“Be wary,” said Azhrarn, soft as velvet, soft as a cat’s paw with all the claws ready in it, “be wary, singer of songs, what you say to me.” —Night’s Master

Cover of Night’s Master by Tanith Lee, 1986 Highland Pubns edition, featuring a red book jacket with an illustration of a blonde woman in a blue flower, overshadowed by a mechanical eagle, with skulls surrounding the scene.
Cover of the 1986 Highland Pubns edition of Night’s Master by Tanith Lee.
Have you ever read anything by Tanith Lee? What do you think of her books? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow me.
Thanks for reading, and see you soon in the next post.

Yours truly,

Nathaniel Wonderful

Illumine the world

Author

nathanielwonderful@gmail.com

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