Dancing Through the Fire

by Tanith Lee

Cover Life, death, love, and major themes that frequently appear in Grandmaster Tanith Lee's fiction, are all represented in Dancing Through the Fire , one of the last collections she put together before her untimely death. The stories in this book have never before been collected, and four of them have never before been published. These tales will transport you from mystical lands to mystical worlds, corporeal manifestations of myth, and mythical interpretations of life, into realms you've never visited (and in some cases, could never have imagined visiting). Among the reprinted stories * "Comfort and Despair", which Publishers Weekly called "eloquent." * "Fold," which editor Mike Allen called "surreal and haunting." * "That Glisters Is," which, according to Voya , "leaves a disturbing aftertaste." * "The Death of Death," which Colleen Anderson said is "rich with personality and style." The four new stories * "My Lovely," a chilling little tale of a house where people drop in. [short story] * "Last Dancer," which tells of an annual commemoration that just may be the social ticket of the year. [short story] * "Lora," the story of a god gazing lovingly upon one of her subjects. [short story] * "Burn Her," which may be a semi-autobiographical telling of the life (and afterlife) of an artist. [novelette] In her obituary, the Guardian called Tanith Lee "one of the most influential revisionist and feminist voices in contemporary fantasy writing," and said her work has a "sensibility in which the relentless pursuit of personal autonomy and sensual fulfilment leads her characters to the brink of delirium, as well as to a fierce integrity that can co-habit with self-sacrificing empathy." The Village Voice called her "the Princess Royal of Fantasy," and enotes says she is "an accomplished technician and stylist. Her sophisticated presentations carry the reader along breathlessly, yet her style invites reading aloud." Tanith Lee was born in the UK in 1947. Though she couldn't read until she was eight, she began writing at nine, and never stopped. She wrote over ninety novels and more than three hundred short stories. She wrote for television ( Blake's 7 ) and various BBC radio plays. She won the World Fantasy Award for her novel Death's Master (1980). Endless awards followed, and she was made a Grand Master of Horror and honored with the World Fantasy Convention Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Tanith died peacefully at home in 2015. She was married to the artist/writer John Kaiine, who will continue to keep her work in print via numerous short story collections and much more. Reviews and Comments on Tanith The "Princess Royal of Fantasy" --The Village Voice "...one of the most influential revisionist and feminist voices in contemporary fantasy writing.... Yet all her work shares a tone -- Lee captured like few other modern writers a gothic, not to say goth, sensibility in which the relentless pursuit of personal autonomy and sensual fulfilment leads her characters to the brink of delirium, as well as to a fierce integrity that can co-habit with self-sacrificing empathy." --The Guardian "Tanith Lee is also an accomplished technician and stylist. Her sophisticated presentations carry the reader along breathlessly, yet her style invites reading aloud." -- enotes

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2015

About the author

Tanith 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.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dancing Through the Fire” by Tanith Lee, according to the introduction, is the last book she has put together. The book contains four new never published stories with the remainder of the stories having never been collected previously. This fact makes me sad, to know that there will be no further new writing by this wonderful author.

The stories in this collection range from quite short to a bit more substantial, yet all are told with beautiful prose sometimes akin to poetry. Ms. Lee’s ability to tell these parables, stories, adventures, insights show she is at the top of her game.

The first section of the book contains stories where the characters meet death, or need to confront death. In fact, as I think back on the stories many have death or the threat of death as a character or motivator. Tanith Lee died May 2015 and these stories confront death head on.

All of her writing is quite decadent and gothic influenced and all her characters contain powerful independence no matter what their station.

Table of Contents:

Prologue: Dancing Through the Fire
Move One: Life and Death
Death Dances
The Death of Death
That Glisters Is
My Lovely (previously unpublished )
Move Two: The Power of Will
The Flame
Fold
Last Dancer (previously unpublished)
Move Three: Chancing It
In the City of Dead Night
Sold
The World Well Lost
Move Four: Love Stories?
Lora (previously unpublished)
Medra
Unnalash
Comfort and Despair
Move Five: Inner Truth
Burn Her (previously unpublished novelette)
The Sequence of Swords and Hearts
Epilogue: Riddle

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lee’s short stories tend to forsake traditional plot arcs in favour of moody subversion, feminist re-slantings, surrealist tints and dream-laden unrealities. The result can be as affective as effective, moving the reader without proffering a destination. SF tale ‘Medra’ proves a standout.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Tanith Lee: that is to say, beautiful writing, weird stories, and subversive. Definitely not for the average person, and not my favorite work of hers; I liked "Death Dances" the best.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tanith Lee compiled this selection of stories about death shortly before her own death. Each of the stories in this collection is top-notch. Some were previously published, but there were several new stories and poems as well. The story "Burn Her" - one of the new stories - was the stand out, although I enjoyed them all. That Glisters Is, The Death of Death, and The Flame are also among the best of this outstanding group of stories. This is a book to savor: the words, the images, the truth all draw you in and encourage you to get lost in the dance.

[Cathy Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisite collection of some of Lee's best stories, delightfully arranged. Some have never been published before, and some have only been available in obscure, hard-to-find publications. These gems are mixed with many favourites: The World Well Lost, for example, surely one of the most beautiful fantasy stories ever written. It's hard for me to write about Lee - I'm not over her death at all. The astonishing body of work she has left, however, soothes the pain of her loss a little.