Horror
Useful little critical book. It does the sensible thing and maps Tanith Lee’s range without trying to nail her down to one neat interpretation, which would be a fool’s errand anyway.
What I liked most is that it keeps its footing. Plenty of criticism sounds like it’s trying to solve the author. This doesn’t. It just shows how wide Lee’s work runs, from fantasy to horror to the stranger corners in between, and leaves room for the mess of it.
That restraint matters. Tanith Lee doesn’t really reward tidy boxes.
What I liked most is that it keeps its footing. Plenty of criticism sounds like it’s trying to solve the author. This doesn’t. It just shows how wide Lee’s work runs, from fantasy to horror to the stranger corners in between, and leaves room for the mess of it.
That restraint matters. Tanith Lee doesn’t really reward tidy boxes.
That’s the only sensible way to approach Tanith Lee, really. Once criticism starts acting like it can pin her down, it’s already missed the point.
I’m interested in books like this for the map they draw between genres. Horror, fantasy, criticism, odd little crossings in between. Lee feels like a writer who would punish anyone trying to file her neatly.
I’m interested in books like this for the map they draw between genres. Horror, fantasy, criticism, odd little crossings in between. Lee feels like a writer who would punish anyone trying to file her neatly.
Criticism about Tanith Lee probably has to be a bit slippery, otherwise it misses the point. The interesting thing here sounds less like “what does she mean?” and more like what keeps surfacing across all those different worlds.
That’s usually where the useful criticism lives anyway: not pinning the author down, just noticing the recurring oddities. Lee seems built for that.
That’s usually where the useful criticism lives anyway: not pinning the author down, just noticing the recurring oddities. Lee seems built for that.