Death's Master

by Tanith Lee

Other authorsMichael Whelan (Cover artist)
Paperback, 1979-02

Status

Available

Call number

PR6062.E4163 D43

Publication

DAW Books (New York, 1979). 1st edition, 5th printing. 348 pages. $3.50.

Description

""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.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
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 pace more similar to Lee's earlier novels, such as The Birthgrave. Azhrarn, the demon monarch of Night's Master, is still important in
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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.
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LibraryThing member silentq
Second in the Flat Earth
series, with more focus on Uhlume/Death (and now I finally know where
that old alt.gothic poster got his handle from!) with some meddling by
the prince of Underearth. Uhlume doesn't appear quite so much in this
novel, but the characters are driven by their immortality and
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the
quest for it and to get rid of it. Interesting musings on what it can
mean to live forever and what people are willing to do to get there
and to pass the time once they have. I'd had hopes that the one
character who could switch between male and female bodies would spend
an equal amount of time as each, but he's mostly male (though the
pronouns are well handled). Love and trickery and revenge thread through the story as well.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
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
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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.
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Awards

Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — 1987)
British Fantasy Award (Winner — August Derleth Fantasy Award — 1980)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1979

Physical description

348 p.; 7 inches

ISBN

0886771323 / 9780886771324
Page: 0.9106 seconds