The Book of the Damned
core novel 1988 The Secret Books of Paradys
Record
| First published | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.76 (940 ratings, collected 2026-10-28) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780044401513 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The first of the Secret Books of Paradys gathers three novellas set in different eras of the city, each tied to a jewel of a particular colour and to a change in someone's gender or identity. In Stained with Crimson, a dissolute young poet becomes obsessed with a cold, enigmatic woman whose household hides something sinister. In Malice in Saffron, a farm girl fleeing her stepfather comes to the city, where she lives as a nun by day and a thief by night in a time of crusade and plague. In Empires of Azure, a journalist writing under a male name investigates a female impersonator who says he is about to die.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Secret Books of Paradys
- Series: The Secret Books of Paradys core; position 1 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Tanith Lee
Notes
- Three novellas: Stained with Crimson, Malice in Saffron and Empires of Azure.
- From the series record (The Secret Books of Paradys): Four books set in Paradys, a Gothic shadow of Paris across the centuries.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Secret Books of Paradys: position 1 of 4: next The Book of the Beast (1988)
Sources
- Black Gate: The Novels of Tanith Lee, The Secret Books of Paradys
- Reader ratings: Secret Books of Paradys series page
- Reader reviews: The Book of the Damned
- ISFDB: The Book of the Damned
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