In The Book of the Dead, the dark atmosphere is charged with hedonism, sexuality and death in eight interlocking short stories. In The Book of the Mad a seductive nightmare unfolds in three parallel versions of the city--Paradis, Paradys and Paradise. Connected by a labyrinth of ice whose dangers are amplified by the will and emotion of its lunatic travelers, these cities provide the stage for a drama of mythical proportions, setting up a darkly dazzling finish to The Secret Books of Paradys.