The Book of the Dead (Secret Books of Paradys)

Along with the fourth volume, The Book of the Mad , this book complete Lee's acclaimed Paradys series, set in a thrillingly dark and decadent alternate world. In The Book of the Dead , the dark atmosphere is charged with hedonism, sexuality and death in eight interlocking short stories. Publishers Weekly The ambience of fin de siecle France imbues these eight gothic tales in the third volume in Lee's Secret Books of Paradys tetralogy, tracing the tortured lives once led by those buried in the crypts and cemeteries of the mythical (or forgotten) city of Paradys. ``The Weasel Bride'' twists a folktale about a man who marries an enchanted weasel and dies of her bite into an account of a young husband who kills his beloved bride on their wedding night and takes her dreadful secret to the gallows. The artist in ``The Glass Dagger,'' who normally saves her emotion for her art, is consumed by jealous rage and turns to supernatural revenge when a jaded aristocrat tries an old stratagem to win her love. In ``The Moon Is a Mask'' a drudge who creates a world of beauty in her garret room steals to buy a mask that turns her into a vampire owl. The miasma of corruption and death, combined with vivid and at times elegiac writing will engross readers who fancy this dark shade of fantasy writing. (Mar . ) A handsome youth shocks his family by marrying a white weasel. On their bridal bed a beautiful maiden emerges from the weasels discarded pelt, but it is not just her previous form that holds the bride captive. For her to be released she must be loved, but her beloved must die at her hands as he bestows the kiss that releases her. Two childhood lovers wed. Their union seems to be blessed. Little does Roland know that Marie-Mais pure body is host to the pointed fangs of Evil. Finding this on their wedding night, he kills her and chooses to take the truth to the gallows with him-not for him the responsibility of unmasking the naked face of the Devil.Children and weak things wither after coming in contact with Julie d'Is. What ancient curse was bestowed upon this infant poisoner in the womb of her foolish mother? Only her death will reveal the truth, for no one can approach her in life In the third book, various mystical enchantments and spells keep the citizens of Paradys in madness, lust, and sorrow. But in the fourth book, few know the true secret behind Paradys the City -- that it is not one world, but three cities bound together by a labyrinth of ice and its inhabitants knowing it differently: Paradise, Paradis, and Paradys. Then two twins from Paradise stumble upon two mental institution patients from Paradis and Paradys