DELUSION'S MASTER (Special Edition)

By Tanith Lee

When the world was flat and the gods had not yet restructured the universe, the cities and hopes of mankind hung upon the whims of the immortal lords of all diabolical powers.
For these, such as Azhrarn, Night's Master, and Uhlumc, Death's Master, the world was a flesh-and-blood playground for all their strangest desires. Hut among those demonic lords, the strangest was the master of madness, Chuz.
The game that Chuz played with a beautiful woman, with an ambitious king, with an ancient imperial city, was a web work of good and evil, of hope and horror. But there was always Azhrarn to interfere—to bend delusion to a different outcome—and it was a century-long conflict between two vain immortals with women and men as their terrified pawns.

TANITH LEE, acclaimed as the "princess-royal of high fantasy," winner of the prestigious August Derleth Award, now presents a new novel of brilliant coloration and sparkling imagination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Aug 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9783739665696

Reviews for DELUSION'S MASTER (Special Edition)

[pinkhouselady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rather sexual

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delusion's Master, the third in her "Flat Earth" series is centered upon Chuz, another prince of the Underearth who is Lord of illusion and madness. Azhrarn, "Night's Master" is also prominent in the book. Lee creates and unforgettable world in this series that doesn't feel derivative of any other fantasy world, and with lush, luminous prose. Not only is Lee's prose gorgeous but there's enough imagination to fill several ordinary books. No filler, no padding here, this is even shorter than Night's Master and can be inhaled in one sitting. A fairy tale for adults--with biblical allusions and tales of the creation of the cat and of the hatred of snakes by humankind--although this is the darkest of the Flat Earth tales yet, Unforgettable.

[silentq_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Next in the Flat Earth series, and it focusses a bit more on the demon of darkness than the one of madness, mostly because Chuz wants to punish Azhrarn who wants to punish humanity for worshiping the gods instead of thanking him for saving them. The madness is both subtle and overt, taking many forms, and is often caused by love. I didn't like this one as much as the others in the series, it didn't feel as emotionally deep (the snake fingers on the cover got a post it note pasted over them as well).

[jubercat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tanith Lee seems to be a "love her or hate her" kind of author. While I haven't enjoyed all of her books, there are 3 that made strong impressions on me as a young 20-something. One was Delusion's Master, which is really the third in that series but I mistakenly read it first. (The other two are The Silver Metal Lover and Electric Forest.) While I also enjoyed Night's Master and Death's Master, they didn't live up to this one. Never before had I seen characters with such depth of emotion and quiet drama (just perfect for dramatic 20-year old me). It was a stunning entree into the world of fantasy for this reader.