Huh. I ordered this from betterworldbooks and am totally kicking myself that this the only book out of the five I got where I forgot to check for the condition. "Acceptable" is really a matter of debate. :}

I am very sorry this book is in such poor shape (and also a cheapo paperback edition that seems to have enjoyed only the shoddiest proof-reading), making it not the most gorgeous choice for a sweepstakes prize, but I hope the contents more than make up for it.

I read it immediately following Beauty Sleep, pondering which book to send for which sweepstakes, and the contrast between the two is quite stark. I really, really enjoyed Beauty Sleep, but this is an entirely different kind of book. I had almost forgotten that "Fantasy" doesn't have to be fluffy or pulpy at all. Lee's prose is incredibly rich and elegant, and asks for a reader who isn't afraid of big words (or has a dictionary and is prepared to use it). This is the closest to any "literary" merit I've come in a good while, and I savoured every word.

The stories contained in this collection are quite varied, and I enjoyed some a lot more than I did others; the ones I wasn't crazy about were those that had "surprise endings" (the main reason why I tend to dislike short stories), or where the way they portrayed male-female relationships seemed incredibly dated (or both: Meow nicely combined those two flaws). But even the stories that I wasn't crazy about (with the possibly exception of Quatt-Sap, which must be the most frivolous of the collection) were quite heavy on the mythology, and I feel this really is the ideal book for the sweepstakes. Lee has gathered elements from the Mediterranean Classical Antiquity, fairy-tale Middle Ages, and even a strange alternative-history Colonial Africa(?), and added the most surprising twists to them. I especially enjoyed the last story, La Reine Blanche (which must have inspired the tacky cover illustration), but the whole collection reminded me I really ought to seek out more of Tanith Lee's works.

I grew up on The Dragon Hoard, which I somewhere have a rather well-loved copy of, but somehow I never came across any more of her works until now. This really needs to change, and The Gorgon has so far been my best read of the admittedly young year.

Congratulations on winning the first Mythological Sweepstakes! I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did.

Wow - I am completely stoked to have won the Mythological Sweepstakes.
As you can see by my user name, I love all things fantastical, so this is a lovely surprise.


Thank you for my fantastic winning parcel - love all the chocolate, especially the Marzipan Ritter, which is my Mum's favourite and hard to buy over here :)

I've read and enjoyed other books by this author, but never read her short stories - looking forward to giving them a go.

I don't know why it has taken me so long to 'discover' this author. This is the first book I have read by her and despite being a bit 'mwah' about short stories, I was very impressed. Lee writes in such a beautiful way, a style that reminds me a bit of Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, that sort of lyrical, classical prose that you don't see a lot any more. The ideas behind the stories are brilliant as well, a real sting or twist in the tale that I often didn't see coming.

I can't say that there wasn't a story I disliked, but three definitely stood out as my favourites:-

'The Gorgon' is quite a sad, terrible tale, where a pushy tourist insists on investigating a lonely island, despite being warned away by the locals. You expect some sort of horrific monster and in many ways, that is just what you get. But it's a bittersweet discovery.

"Magritte's Secret Agent" is a strange little tale. A young woman meets a lady and her disabled son. Despite misgivings, she becomes obsessed with the wheelchair obsessed man and the rude, angry mother. In a fit of drunken rage, she does something infinitely stupid, only for huge secrets to be revealed.

"The Hunting of Death: The Unicorn" is a three part tale, although each is told from the point of view of the same soul. I didn't want to read this to begin with, as I hate the idea of hunting animals. But the story is very different, very surreal and I think the Unicorn wins out in the end!

A collection that definitely gets you thinking and draws you into Lee's weird, wonderful world. I'm looking forward to reading the other books I have by her and to tracking down those I don't have ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

This book has been released as part of the Oppem’s International Birthday RABCK Group 2018. I hope you like your goodies and have a brilliant day.

thank you so much for this fantastic book