Dancing Through the Fire

Life, death, love, and truth: 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 are:

* "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 include:

* "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."