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Heart-Beast
Where the moon washed the deck, something sat, its huge head raised, more like the visage of a bear than a wolf, yet long-snouted, the jaws open. Cold eyes that had no soul in them mirrored the moon ...
After the killing of his brutal father, golden and handsome Daniel Vehmund has sought refuge in an exotic faraway land. But his contentment is shattered when a fabulous diamond is pressed on him by a sinister graverobber. From that first fatal contact, Daniel is doomed each night of the full moon to become something else ... something dark and powerful and savage. And nothing that originates on this earth can destroy him.
Laura, a beautiful redhaired farm-girl, lives with her two awful sisters and her selfish grasping parents in the remote English countryside. Apparently condemned to a life of drudgery, all is transformed when she is wooed and wed by a wealthy local squire. But this gilded existence is threatened when a travelling magician persuades her besotted husband to buy for her a very unusual diamond. For this gem is "The Wolf," the diamond that had so transformed Daniel Vehmund's destiny. And when he himself returns at last to England, his fate and Laura's are devastatingly intertwined ...
Meanwhile some dark, malignant presence continues to prowl the woodlands and hedgerows ... and seemingly nothing can curb its unquenchable bloodlust.
A brilliant, enthralling masterpiece of highly coloured imagination.
After the killing of his brutal father, golden and handsome Daniel Vehmund has sought refuge in an exotic faraway land. But his contentment is shattered when a fabulous diamond is pressed on him by a sinister graverobber. From that first fatal contact, Daniel is doomed each night of the full moon to become something else ... something dark and powerful and savage. And nothing that originates on this earth can destroy him.
Laura, a beautiful redhaired farm-girl, lives with her two awful sisters and her selfish grasping parents in the remote English countryside. Apparently condemned to a life of drudgery, all is transformed when she is wooed and wed by a wealthy local squire. But this gilded existence is threatened when a travelling magician persuades her besotted husband to buy for her a very unusual diamond. For this gem is "The Wolf," the diamond that had so transformed Daniel Vehmund's destiny. And when he himself returns at last to England, his fate and Laura's are devastatingly intertwined ...
Meanwhile some dark, malignant presence continues to prowl the woodlands and hedgerows ... and seemingly nothing can curb its unquenchable bloodlust.
A brilliant, enthralling masterpiece of highly coloured imagination.
375 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
6 people are currently reading
491 people want to read
About the author
Tanith Lee
615 books1,964 followersTanith Lee was a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She also wrote four radio plays broadcast by the BBC and two scripts for the UK, science fiction, cult television series "Blake's 7."
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.
Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.
Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.
Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.
Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.
Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.
Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.
Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.
Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.
Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.
Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 15, 2009
Heart Beast is a werewolf version of Wuthering Heightswith a shade of Gormenghast thrown in for good measure. It is not quite as good as it's influences, but it is good. The major flaw is that the female lead at times seems to be more of a symbol than a woman, though perhaps Lee does this to show aspects of the men's characters.
January 27, 2016
3.5 stars
It's hard to categorize this one - it starts as complete fantasy, then delves into a horror-fantasy type, then seems like it's edging towards a little romance before quickly running from any love interest again. Whatever hintings it seemed to take in that department fall apart swiftly, as this is not a romantic book in any form. The storys pace is slow at first, unfurling at an unrushed pace. It is not a book which is high in action or suspense, yet much happens within the pages anyway. You could almost imagine a haunted orchestra playing in the background while reading this one, but rest assured it not melodramatic or emo in any way.
The writing style stands out as nearly gothic, beautifully poetic, with the writing approach of telling it from a characters point of view, but staying distant from them at the same time. Neither the hero nor the heroine are likeable in the story. Their relationship was mesmerizing, however, and ended strangely with bizarre imagery and almost peacefully. I'm not sure yet what I think of the very end, as I did end up liking Daniel more than Laura. As odd as that sounds considering who the beast of the story is and how the legend surrounds him, Laura was unlikeable from the start to me and I couldn't sympathize with her. She seemed to be left haunted and in the cold but it is no matter since she herself can't really seem to feel. The lamb sticks out in the mind as one of the best examples of the bizarre imagery I mentioned above.
I'm a big moon gal and it's played up to all its glory in this one, which of course matches considering it's a werewolf theme. I have to say it's one of the more unique werewolf books I've read and beautifully done. The moon is always focused on with lycanthropy, but with this book it's taken to higher planes. There is much mystery here, enshrouded what the creature is exactly, how it came to be, what the stone is about, and I'm still not sure I grasp their draw to each other and the results of that. If all the mystery had been solved, then much of the glamor of the book would be lost.
There's a decent amount of blood - violence is not shied away from, and when it's there it's short and fits to the purpose. The ferocity of the beast is told instead through the matter of fact power and presence. Religion, as almost always with shape-shifting tales, plays its role. Overall a book worth reading if you run across it, especially if you love horror shifter books or Gothic fantasy types.
It's hard to categorize this one - it starts as complete fantasy, then delves into a horror-fantasy type, then seems like it's edging towards a little romance before quickly running from any love interest again. Whatever hintings it seemed to take in that department fall apart swiftly, as this is not a romantic book in any form. The storys pace is slow at first, unfurling at an unrushed pace. It is not a book which is high in action or suspense, yet much happens within the pages anyway. You could almost imagine a haunted orchestra playing in the background while reading this one, but rest assured it not melodramatic or emo in any way.
The writing style stands out as nearly gothic, beautifully poetic, with the writing approach of telling it from a characters point of view, but staying distant from them at the same time. Neither the hero nor the heroine are likeable in the story. Their relationship was mesmerizing, however, and ended strangely with bizarre imagery and almost peacefully. I'm not sure yet what I think of the very end, as I did end up liking Daniel more than Laura. As odd as that sounds considering who the beast of the story is and how the legend surrounds him, Laura was unlikeable from the start to me and I couldn't sympathize with her. She seemed to be left haunted and in the cold but it is no matter since she herself can't really seem to feel. The lamb sticks out in the mind as one of the best examples of the bizarre imagery I mentioned above.
I'm a big moon gal and it's played up to all its glory in this one, which of course matches considering it's a werewolf theme. I have to say it's one of the more unique werewolf books I've read and beautifully done. The moon is always focused on with lycanthropy, but with this book it's taken to higher planes. There is much mystery here, enshrouded what the creature is exactly, how it came to be, what the stone is about, and I'm still not sure I grasp their draw to each other and the results of that. If all the mystery had been solved, then much of the glamor of the book would be lost.
There's a decent amount of blood - violence is not shied away from, and when it's there it's short and fits to the purpose. The ferocity of the beast is told instead through the matter of fact power and presence. Religion, as almost always with shape-shifting tales, plays its role. Overall a book worth reading if you run across it, especially if you love horror shifter books or Gothic fantasy types.
May 19, 2021
this MIGHT be my fav prose from lee so far — beautifully made all the way through. half honeyed, sardonic wuthering heights-influenced romance and part ultraviolent surreal horror, with the latter always threatening to snuff out the former. dell abyss published this & wilding in the same year!!!!!
October 30, 2012
This was one of the most effortlessly beautiful books I've read. A somber werewolf tale that has the dimension and gravity of an ancient legend, written in wonderfully poetic language, it's also gripping, frightening, and moment after moment hinting at vaster realities just behind the text. There is a striking visual image or turn of speech on every page. Read it in sips, because you want to savor it.
October 11, 2016
Tantih Lee justifies the existence of purple prose. She wallows in Gothic Victorian excess, and turns it into a lush sort of poetry. The book itself feels as if it could be put right beside Frankenstein and Dracula, the tone perfectly in step, the atmosphere rich if slightly more forthright than it was in the nineteenth century. It's a perfect companion to Shelley and Stoker, weaving werewolf lore seamlessly into the time period, bountiful with knowledge and appreciation with Gothic literature.
If I were to simplify, I'd call it Wuthering Heights with a werewolf, which is shockingly accurate. Subtext abounds, about marriage and sex, about traditional gender roles in the Victorian world. And the last hundred pages in particular descend into an almost feverish hypnagogic state.
And that was why it lost a star, too, because through all of this lushness of prose, through scenes of sex and viscera, the novel itself is kind of cold, and the characters most definitely are, to the point that it's difficult to guess what any one of them is really thinking, or why they do what they do. It's a fantastic novel to appreciate for its artistry, but, despite the passion it's meant to exhibit, an unemotional one. Beautiful and cold, just like the Worth household at the very end.
If I were to simplify, I'd call it Wuthering Heights with a werewolf, which is shockingly accurate. Subtext abounds, about marriage and sex, about traditional gender roles in the Victorian world. And the last hundred pages in particular descend into an almost feverish hypnagogic state.
And that was why it lost a star, too, because through all of this lushness of prose, through scenes of sex and viscera, the novel itself is kind of cold, and the characters most definitely are, to the point that it's difficult to guess what any one of them is really thinking, or why they do what they do. It's a fantastic novel to appreciate for its artistry, but, despite the passion it's meant to exhibit, an unemotional one. Beautiful and cold, just like the Worth household at the very end.
October 9, 2015
This hardcover was published by Headline books UK.
The story is a werewolf story perhaps adapted from "Little Red Riding Hood" as imaged by Tanith Lee.
The story is a werewolf story perhaps adapted from "Little Red Riding Hood" as imaged by Tanith Lee.
June 14, 2019
Abyss #34
Eh. I like Lee's style, and it can usually carry me through a book that doesn't have that engaging of a plot, but here her prose felt very flat, very emotionless. At least with Dark Dance, I felt like there was a point to the story, but Heart-Beast kind of rambles from point to point.
I'll give Lee this, though: The story starts out leading you to believe it will be Daniel's story, but by the end of it, you realize this was actually Laura's story. It just takes a long time getting there.
Eh. I like Lee's style, and it can usually carry me through a book that doesn't have that engaging of a plot, but here her prose felt very flat, very emotionless. At least with Dark Dance, I felt like there was a point to the story, but Heart-Beast kind of rambles from point to point.
I'll give Lee this, though: The story starts out leading you to believe it will be Daniel's story, but by the end of it, you realize this was actually Laura's story. It just takes a long time getting there.
February 3, 2022
gorgeous, gleaming, gothic prose that crystallizes each moment like a wolf in ice
July 11, 2010
A dark fantasy, this is the tale of Daniel who is possessed by a wolf-like shape imprisoned in a diamond given to him by a strange man. Daniel, who killed his father for beating his mother, left home as his mother bade. He roams working whenever he can until he meets the stranger. In possession of the diamond he, in turn, finds himself possessed becoming a creature of the night that comes alive on the three nights of the full moon. As this beast he does not recall that he is human, killing at random those who roam about at night. When he returns home and his mother dies, he loses the portion of his humanity. Yet he is drawn to the enigmatic and self-centered lovely Laura, another man's wife. Her husband, Hyperion, loves Laura with all her heart as well as Daniel. The story spirals to an unexpected end.
December 29, 2013
Blah. Sad to say that I didn't even finish this book. I was excited to read it, thinking it was a romance novel set to the premise of a werewolf and his lover. One reviewer compared it to Wuthering Heights, so that set the expectation high. Two hundred pages in, the so-called "lovers" had not even met yet. The characters were unlikeable. They were either self-loathing, miserable, or embraced/enjoyed evil. Any romance in the book was heavily laced with antiquated, feminist loathing, in which the woman feels that sex is a joyless chore and the man is equal parts smitten, misogynistic, and clueless. Perhaps, when I have nothing better to read, I will return and see if the last eighty pages or so redeems itself...but I won't hold my breath.
August 21, 2021
loved everything about this except for the first section which reads like a parody of something edward said would dissect in Orientalism lol - decadent eastern officials with legions of catamites, snake charmers and grave robbers (pilfering from sphinxes no less), sultry former slave-girls dying to give themselves up in devoted sexual ecstasy to pale foreigners - really weird and unnecessary uh, let's call them flourishes, for a story which is mostly about gorgeously written, psychosexually heady gothic romance encircled by absolute, undeniable violence and ruin.
September 24, 2008
A very original werewolf tale.
November 25, 2008
One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. This one is perfect: surreal, graceful, & surprising.
December 10, 2008
A good, dark, exotic werewolf story. Be warned it's a bit gory.
July 31, 2018
I didnt enjoy this one too much at first, but it improved as I read on. All in all a decent werewolf horror story with a smashing ending.
February 26, 2020
Tanith Lee, for when you just want gloom and portents and uncomfortable sexual undertones and lushly descriptive writing and the occasional disembowelment.
September 6, 2020
The story begins with quite an explicit and not really required sex scene and goes on from there. The book is meant to be erotic - a weird love story which takes a long while to actually bring the characters together - and yet isn't, because the male protagonist turns into a ravening mindless monster at every full moon and the female protagonist who has a weird lamb-fixation is turned on by it, even though she finally realises too late that her long-suffering husband was actually a friend and someone she should not have betrayed.
I didn't like the characters apart from a more minor one who I felt sorry for and who bows out in a rather masochistic manner. Nearly all the characters come to a nasty end even if they are on the male protagonist's side and not only the people who might "deserve" it such as his drunken brother who, copying the deceased father's behaviour, hits his frail elderly mother.
There are quite a lot of unexplained appearances by certain esoteric characters who turn up but don't really do a lot, a real deus ex machina episode at the end involving a hot air balloon, and a good lesson in why it's not a good idea to eat a steak and mushroom pie baked by a maidservant who feels unappreciated. That sequence in particular felt random and not really relevant to the story.
Some of the prose is powerfully descriptive but that includes extended and repeated descriptions of evisceration and slaughter. Sadly not one for me hence the 1-star rating.
I didn't like the characters apart from a more minor one who I felt sorry for and who bows out in a rather masochistic manner. Nearly all the characters come to a nasty end even if they are on the male protagonist's side and not only the people who might "deserve" it such as his drunken brother who, copying the deceased father's behaviour, hits his frail elderly mother.
There are quite a lot of unexplained appearances by certain esoteric characters who turn up but don't really do a lot, a real deus ex machina episode at the end involving a hot air balloon, and a good lesson in why it's not a good idea to eat a steak and mushroom pie baked by a maidservant who feels unappreciated. That sequence in particular felt random and not really relevant to the story.
Some of the prose is powerfully descriptive but that includes extended and repeated descriptions of evisceration and slaughter. Sadly not one for me hence the 1-star rating.
February 29, 2020
Daniel Velhmund stał się wilkołakiem. Nie widział nigdy żadnego innego wilkołaka na oczy, nic go nie ugryzło, nawet nie skubnęło. Przyczyną jego stanu jest skradziony z grobowca przeklęty klejnot, co może i jest dość oryginalne, jednak wolę standardowe wilkołacze dziabnięcie przemieniające nieszczęśnika w porastającą futrem w czasie pełni maszkarę. W końcu im więcej razy wilkołak użyje swoich zębów w książce tym lepiej.
Nasza bestyjka postanawia przepłynąć się statkiem, do końcowego portu dociera on jednak bez załogi, z jednym tylko pasażerem… chyba już coś takiego gdzieś kiedyś czytałam :)
W najbliższej okolicy podczas pełni księżyca zaczynają się dziać straszne rzeczy, wilkołak sukcesywnie redukuje populację zamieszkującą okoliczne wsie i nie tylko, pańska krew wilkołaka też tuczy. Sceny przemian i ataków są całkiem dobrze opisane, może trochę monotonnie, ale przecież wilkołak nie będzie tańczył kankana między jednym podgryzieniem gardła a drugim, żebym się tylko nie nudziła. Rzeź to rzeź.
Niestety w międzyczasie poznajemy historię irytującej rudowłosej piękności, która dzięki dobremu ożenkowi z obory przenosi się na salony, wieś jednak nie do końca z niej wyjdzie, po pewnym czasie jej zwierzątkiem domowym zostanie owca. Jak można się domyślić historia pięknej połączy się z historią bestii. Zakończenie przez to ucierpi, ale da się przeżyć.
5/10
Nasza bestyjka postanawia przepłynąć się statkiem, do końcowego portu dociera on jednak bez załogi, z jednym tylko pasażerem… chyba już coś takiego gdzieś kiedyś czytałam :)
W najbliższej okolicy podczas pełni księżyca zaczynają się dziać straszne rzeczy, wilkołak sukcesywnie redukuje populację zamieszkującą okoliczne wsie i nie tylko, pańska krew wilkołaka też tuczy. Sceny przemian i ataków są całkiem dobrze opisane, może trochę monotonnie, ale przecież wilkołak nie będzie tańczył kankana między jednym podgryzieniem gardła a drugim, żebym się tylko nie nudziła. Rzeź to rzeź.
Niestety w międzyczasie poznajemy historię irytującej rudowłosej piękności, która dzięki dobremu ożenkowi z obory przenosi się na salony, wieś jednak nie do końca z niej wyjdzie, po pewnym czasie jej zwierzątkiem domowym zostanie owca. Jak można się domyślić historia pięknej połączy się z historią bestii. Zakończenie przez to ucierpi, ale da się przeżyć.
5/10
April 27, 2022
This was a take on a beauty and the beast story although I was uncertain while reading it how I was hoping it would end. Each character was flawed in their own way so I didn’t really have a fan favorite.
I was entertained although I found myself skimming over some of the detail near the end to get to the outcome. I did feel a bit cheated by some of the tangents that were not resolved.
The lamb was an interesting creature… I am thinking the lamb was also one of the beasts. There were several beasts… not just the male protagonist. You will need to read the story to understand.
I was entertained although I found myself skimming over some of the detail near the end to get to the outcome. I did feel a bit cheated by some of the tangents that were not resolved.
The lamb was an interesting creature… I am thinking the lamb was also one of the beasts. There were several beasts… not just the male protagonist. You will need to read the story to understand.
May 31, 2021
A tale of werewolves, this story is Harlequin quality writing with Goth sensibilities. I should have known by the teaser sentence on the front cover:
"Lured by moonlight, pursued by a curse, he has come to find her, to claim her, to set them both free..."
It's going onto the free table at work - where I got it.
"Lured by moonlight, pursued by a curse, he has come to find her, to claim her, to set them both free..."
It's going onto the free table at work - where I got it.
February 8, 2023
Ah, Tanith Lee! I'm so glad I found this book in the thrift store - it doesn't happen very often. And despite it taking 2 months to read it - it wasn't the fault of the book at all. Life happens and I don't take and/or can't find as much time to read as I would like these days.
Regardless - A lovely werewolf tale with a very, very not-so-nice werewolf.
Loved it!
Regardless - A lovely werewolf tale with a very, very not-so-nice werewolf.
Loved it!
July 13, 2023
Lee’s prose is beautiful, as always, but this is not one of her best showings, and not as good as her other werewolf novel, Lycanthia. The characters are unusually wooden and uninteresting, and the plot meanders. Might have made a good novella, but there’s not enough story here for an entire book.
September 13, 2022
Enjoyable horror fantasy romance take on the werewolf and maybe the red riding hood fables. Fun engaging read.
Ending was odd.
Ending was odd.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2024
Dark, gothic werewolf tale written with Tanith Lee's signature gorgeous prose.
August 23, 2024
Tess of the d'Urbervilles with werewolves. Fuck yes.
Want to read
July 23, 2011Stephen King endorsed the entire Dell Abyss Horror line. Here is his blurb:
"Thank you for introducing me to the remarkable line of novels currently being issued under Dell's Abyss imprint. I have given a great many blurbs over the last twelve years or so, but this one marks two firsts: first unsolicited blurb (I called you) and the first time I have blurbed a whole line of books. In terms of quality, production, and plain old story-telling reliability (that's the bottom line, isn't it), Dell's new line is amazingly satisfying...a rare and wonderful bargain for readers. I hope to be looking into the Abyss for a long time to come."
"Thank you for introducing me to the remarkable line of novels currently being issued under Dell's Abyss imprint. I have given a great many blurbs over the last twelve years or so, but this one marks two firsts: first unsolicited blurb (I called you) and the first time I have blurbed a whole line of books. In terms of quality, production, and plain old story-telling reliability (that's the bottom line, isn't it), Dell's new line is amazingly satisfying...a rare and wonderful bargain for readers. I hope to be looking into the Abyss for a long time to come."
January 25, 2014
Beautiful prose, some of the time, but I'll be damned if I knew where she was headed whith that tale... and what's up with all the pointless violence and hatred?
Want to read
September 9, 2010*note to self. (copy from Al).
July 25, 2011
Dark, mysterious and sometimes quite scary! Not a book to let young teens read by any means :s
July 27, 2014
Excellent horror story. Not for me, but I know someone who will really really like this book. =)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews