 This one got me hooked on Tanith Lee, 2008-01-30
There's always that one book, that book that just doesn't know what it's going to do to you, that book that is merely a gateway drug to the rest of the author's output. It might not even be representative of the author's career. Eye in the Sky: A Novel was the first PKD book that I read, and it prepared me in no way for his 1970s drug trip novels or his taoist masterpieces.
THis was my first Tanith Lee book, a werewolf story with Little Red Riding Hood overtones. And it shook me to the core. Remember Abyss books - a short lived experiment in horror from one of those big companies. The imprint gave us Poppy Z. Brite and something with skinned monkeys, but they also lured Tanith Lee away from her Daw house. I don't know if she could have written this with Daw. She is a fantasy writer after all. This is decidedly Dark Fantasy (and while many insist that there's no difference between Dark Fantasy and Horror, ask yourself when you last reevaluated all your childhood stories from a Stephen King novel)
The main character is a werewolf seeking his paramour. That's a simple story. But the way she tells it keeps you enthralled for page after page. Even the dead ship slaughtered scenes lifted straight out of Dracula feel compelling and shocking.
If you can find this book, grab it. Don't bother if it's through ebay, Amazon or your really creepy cousin. It's definitely worth the bother.
 "Season of the Beast", 2003-03-15
"Heart-Beast" is one of the few Tanith Lee books published under Dell's short-lived, yet terribly missed, Abyss horror imprint. ("Dark Dance" was another, a book I liked a lot better than this one.) It's about a man named Daniel Vehmund who comes into possession of a powerful diamond that metamorphosizes him into a werewolf during the full moon. It also leads him back to England where his life is intertwined with that of a young country woman's, Laura Wheelwright.By anyone else, "Heart-Beast" could very well have turned into a "cheap thrills" werewolf story--not that that's a bad thing; I've read some really good lupine slashers--but coming from Tanith Lee, you know the plot's going to be well thought out and twisted. "Heart-Beast" is all that, but the book does drag in more than a few places. Although it's not worthy of a "5" (I had a hard time remembering the story; albeit I was in high school when I read it, I read several other Lee books then too, and most of them were memorable and worthy of five stars), it's not too terrible to deserve a "3" or lower. In summary: good for Tanith Lee fans, but it's not one of her finest horror novels.
Great up until the end., 1998-11-13
This book hooked me and kept me reading until the end. Although it was well written, intelligent and insightful I found the ending to be a real downer. It was just too depressing for my tastes.
Fairy Tales stripped of their Child audience, 1997-08-25
With this one book I am hooked on the personality known as Tanith Lee and will probably search the world looking for everything else she has written, although that might be hard since she has written a lot which makes me feel foolish for missing her so long. This is a lyrical fairy tale about a man who isn't exactly a werewolf, but fits the bill to an extant and a woman trapped in a marriage who is his true love. This is one of those few books that reads fast but leaves you wanting more
An intelligent and enthralling horror-dark fantasy, 1997-03-26
The age-old battle between creation and destruction is the subject of Tanith Lee's "Heart-Beast." After finding an unusually flawed diamond, Daniel Vehmund turns into a murderous beast every full moon. When he meets Laura, there is instant attraction on both sides. But at the end, Laura must resist the seductive nature of Daniel's destructiveness and save herself. Lee conveys this hypnotic story in her usual poetic prose, along with some bizarre symbolism. "Heart-Beast" is for anyone looking for reading material that is thought-provoking, unusual, and a successful mix of horror and fantasy
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