If you’ve spent any time in the dark, lush corners of fantasy literature, you’ve probably felt it. That specific vibe. It’s a mix of ancient mythology, sharp-edged prose, and a protagonist who looks like they’ve never seen a sunrise but somehow owns the night. For decades, Neil Gaiman has been the face of this aesthetic. From the pale, brooding Morpheus in The Sandman to the reinvented fairy tales of Snow, Glass, Apples, he’s the king of the "modern myth."
But there’s a name that kept appearing in the margins of his career—one that many readers are only now truly discovering. Tanith Lee.
The connection between Tanith Lee and Neil Gaiman isn't just about two writers who like gothic stuff. It’s deeper. It’s messy. Honestly, it’s become one of the most heated debates in the fantasy community over the last year. While Gaiman rose to global superstardom, Lee—once the "Empress of Dreams"—faded into the background, struggling to sell stories before her death in 2015. Now, fans are looking at the striking similarities between their works and asking: how much of the "Gaiman touch" was actually the "Lee legacy"?
The Flat Earth and the Dreaming
You can’t talk about this without talking about Tales from the Flat Earth. Published starting in 1978, this series is a masterwork. It’s where Lee basically invented a new kind of mythic fantasy.
The central figure of the first book, Night's Master, is Azhrarn. He’s a Prince of Demons, a beautiful, cruel, and immortal being who rules the night. He has pale skin. He has long black hair. He wears flowing black silk. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever held a copy of The Sandman, you’re probably picturing Morpheus right now.
But the parallels don't stop at the hair dye.
Lee’s world is populated by personified abstractions. She didn't just write about gods; she wrote about beings that represent the fundamental forces of the universe. In her books, you’ll find characters that embody Death, Delusion, and Delirium. These characters are siblings. They are older than the gods themselves. They have a complex, often strained family dynamic that spans eons.
When The Sandman debuted in 1989, it introduced the Endless: Dream, Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, and Destruction. Same concept. Same family structure. Even some of the same names.
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What the Critics (and the Fans) Are Saying
Is it plagiarism? Or is it just "inspiration"?
People have been arguing about this for years on forums like the Malazan Empire and Reddit, but the volume turned way up in early 2025. Some fans point to specific scenes. In Lee’s Delusion’s Master, there’s a description of a character that bears a shocking resemblance to Mazikeen, the half-faced demon from the Sandman universe.
Others aren't so sure. They argue that both Gaiman and Lee were drinking from the same well: The Arabian Nights, Lord Dunsany, and Clark Ashton Smith. Mythology is a shared language. You can't "own" the idea of a dream lord.
But the real sting for Lee’s supporters isn't necessarily the shared ideas. It’s the credit.
Neil Gaiman is famous for his "Introductions." He’s written them for almost everyone. He’s a vocal champion of libraries and writers he loves. Yet, despite the massive overlap in their themes and aesthetics, he rarely—if ever—publicly cited Tanith Lee as a primary influence during his rise to fame. For a writer who struggled financially in her later years, a simple "If you like my work, read Tanith Lee" could have changed everything.
When a Journalist Met an Empress
There's a story that’s been making the rounds again lately. It goes back to when Neil Gaiman was a young journalist in his early 20s.
Supposedly, he interviewed Tanith Lee. She was 33 at the time—at the height of her powers. The story goes that he described her in print as "formerly attractive."
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If true, it’s a brutal anecdote. It speaks to a power dynamic that would persist for the rest of their careers. Lee was a woman writing transgressive, queer-coded, and highly sophisticated fantasy in an era when the genre was still very much a "boys' club." She was ahead of her time. Gaiman, meanwhile, became the man who made those exact themes "cool" for a mainstream audience.
Red as Blood vs. Snow, Glass, Apples
The similarities aren't limited to The Sandman.
In 1983, Lee released a collection called Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer. It was a series of subverted fairy tales. It was dark. It was visceral. It looked at the "villains" with empathy and the "heroes" with suspicion.
Years later, Gaiman published Snow, Glass, Apples, a short story that famously reimagines Snow White as a vampiric monster and the Stepmother as the tragic protagonist. It’s a brilliant story. But for readers who had already devoured Red as Blood, it felt like a cover song.
Why It Matters Now
The reason this is all bubbling up in 2026 is partly due to the shifting perception of Neil Gaiman himself. As allegations regarding his personal conduct have surfaced, readers are re-evaluating his professional history too.
When an author is put on a pedestal as a "visionary," we tend to overlook where those visions came from. When that pedestal starts to shake, the foundations get inspected.
Tanith Lee was a pioneer.
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- She was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel (Death's Master, 1980).
- She wrote over 90 novels and 300 short stories.
- She explored gender fluidity and LGBTQ+ themes decades before they were common in the genre.
She wasn't just some obscure writer Gaiman "found." She was a titan.
Practical Steps for the Curious Reader
If you’re a fan of the "dark mythic" style and you want to see where the DNA of the genre really lies, you’ve got to go to the source. Don't just take the internet's word for it. Compare them yourself.
Start with these three books by Tanith Lee:
- Night's Master: This is the entry point for the Tales from the Flat Earth. It’s episodic, poetic, and introduces Azhrarn. It feels like reading a dream.
- Red as Blood: If you like American Gods or Smoke and Mirrors, this is the blueprint. These are the fairy tales they didn't want you to hear.
- The Secret Books of Venus: This is Lee at her most atmospheric. It’s a series of four novels set in an alternate, magical Venice.
Look for the "D" words. When you read Lee, pay attention to her personifications. Compare her "Death" to Gaiman’s "Death." Look at the way she uses "Delusion" and see if it reminds you of anything in the later Sandman volumes.
Acknowledge the nuances. It is possible to love The Sandman and still recognize that it stands on the shoulders of Tanith Lee. Literature is a conversation. But conversations work better when everyone is allowed to speak.
The goal isn't to "cancel" one writer or the other. It’s to ensure that the woman who helped build the house gets her name on the deed. Tanith Lee passed away in 2015, but her work is more relevant now than ever. If you’ve ever felt the pull of a story that feels "older than the world," you owe it to yourself to find a copy of Night's Master.
The Empress of Dreams is waiting to be rediscovered.
Next Steps for Readers:
Check out the Tanith Lee Bibliography online to find out which of her out-of-print titles have been recently reissued by DAW or Gollancz. Many of her best works are finally appearing in digital formats, making them easier to find than they were a decade ago. Support the estates of writers who paved the way.