The Secret Books of Paradys
#7363.90 adjusted 3.91 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 1988–1993 Reading commitment Medium Tanith Lee Last reviewed 2026-10-29
Overview
Tanith Lee’s four Secret Books of Paradys are set in Paradys, a dark, decadent shadow of Paris seen across many centuries, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century. Rather than one continuous story, the cycle gathers novellas, novels and linked tales united by the city itself and by recurring obsessions: transformation, gender that will not stay fixed, desire and death, sin and strange redemption. Written in the richly Gothic manner of the French symbolists and the nineteenth-century decadents, the books were published between 1988 and 1993.
Dark fantasy, Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Secret Books of Paradys Tanith Lee
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Book of the Damned; Three novellas: Stained with Crimson, Malice in Saffron and Empires of Azure. | 1988 | 1 | core | 3.76 (940 ratings) |
 | The Book of the Beast | 1988 | 2 | core | 3.99 (516 ratings) |
 | The Book of the Dead; A collection of linked stories set in Paradys. | 1991 | 3 | core | 3.90 (535 ratings) |
 | The Book of the Mad | 1993 | 4 | core | 4.09 (410 ratings) |
Four books set in Paradys, a Gothic shadow of Paris across the centuries.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Secret Books of Paradys? The Secret Books of Paradys's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Secret Books of Paradys? Publication order, starting with The Book of the Damned. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Secret Books of Paradys finished? Complete (1988–1993).
- How much reading does The Secret Books of Paradys take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is The Secret Books of Paradys ranked? #736 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,401 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #736?
Ranked #736 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.90 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (2,401 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #735, The Psammead Trilogy.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 4 books · Complete · 2k ratings · Ranks #736 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- The Book of the Beast (1988)
- The Book of the Damned (1988)
- The Book of the Dead (1991)
- The Book of the Mad (1993)
Documented internal/story order
- The Book of the Damned (1988)
- The Book of the Beast (1988)
- The Book of the Dead (1991)
- The Book of the Mad (1993)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.90 across 2,401 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Viriconium, The Orphan's Tales, The Secret Books of Paradys, The Drawing of the Dark accepted 2026-10-28
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Black Gate: The Novels of Tanith Lee, The Secret Books of Paradys Tier 2
- Reader ratings: Secret Books of Paradys series page Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-28
Rule: Core Canon = the four books of the cycle: The Book of the Damned (1988), The Book of the Beast (1988), The Book of the Dead (1991) and The Book of the Mad (1993). The cycle's own units are mixed (three novellas, a novel, a story collection and a novel), and its short fiction is a primary reading unit, so all four are Core.