[Mentalist]

Ever since I've started reading fantasy, I've seen the name "Moorcock" pop up in many places. Once I was gradually introduced to the idea of a gigantic multi-verse, with the myriad incarnations of the same hero, I developed incredible fascination. I've read a ton of Moorcock's works that I could get my hands on--mostly more "traditional" fantasy featuring Corum, Hawkmoon, Elric, Erekoze--but I've never had a chance to approach it in any kind of a systemic matter.--the books were often out of print, and libraries weren't much better.

I've missed the last reprint of the many omnibuses of the series done by White Wolf in the early millenials, so I've decided to capitalize on the new "The-really-definitive-collection" edition that was published by Gollancz in 2013, and which is still going.

I've the full intention to collect all these works, and I currently have the first 6 or so sitting in front of me, and I have completed one. I intend to use this thread to provide reviews as I go along in the series.

For my reading order I am using the handy list found on the forum dedicated to Moorcock's Multiverse. which can be found via an easy Google search: http://www.multivers...read.php?t=3562

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 13 October 2014 - 04:38 AM

[Mentalist]

Book 1- "Von Bek"

"Von Bek" is one of the first suggested starting points for the Eternal Champion sequence/cycle. That seems to be true of this edition as well, as the beginning of the book features an "Introduction to the Michael Moorcock Collection". I won't dwell on that, beyond the fact that, along with some biographical stuff, it gives a bare glimpse of the spectrum of themes, stories and characters that make up the collection.

So, moving on. "Warhound and the World's Pain". I've read this one before. I read the beginning of it one time when I was able to find an older edition in my local library many years ago. I didn't finish it then. I've also read it more recently in translation, and I wasn't sure how much of it I really understood and how much was lost in translation. The story is a simple one: the titular character, German count Von Bek, tired of the Thirty-Year War, seeks escape. He finds himself meeting Lucifer, and he gets commissioned on a quest to redeem himself, a woman he has recently fallen in love with, and the world, by finding the Holy Grail, which is the Cure to the World's Pain, and would be a chance for Lucifer to redeem the lost Grace of God.

The story is incredibly formulaic to anyone who's read Campbell's excellent "The hero with a thousand faces"--it is a very straight up hero's journey, with colourful allies, a single villain, and some wild adventures through strange lands. The book is short-about 200 pages--and it is less than stellar adventure writing, as at one point, when he needs his band of heroes to get to their next significant destination, Moorcock has Von Bek (the story is told entirely in first person) rattle off a list of lands and places his journey took him to, including what happened in each, in about a total of 2 paragraphs. This may not work for a modern reader.

The true value of the work, which serves as a prologue of sorts, is its introduction of a few of the underlying mechanics of the multiverse. The action takes place on Earth, in Hell, in a parallel dimension known as Mittelmarch ("middle world" which lies between the Earth, Hell and Heaven, and in places mirrors, and in places, overlays, other realms), and you get a (very brief) glimpse of Heaven. Although Moorcock avoids creating technical constraints for the metaphysics of the Universe, the important part--the existence of many worlds--is established.

The second big issue is the beginning of establishing (in very crude forms) the hierarchy and themes of the multiverse. One of the major players in future installments is name-dropped, and the underlying global conflict is briefly sketched out. This is further built up on in the sequel.

I like this book. I like it because the earlier, more detailed parts, paint a vivid picture of 17th century Europe, which reads like a historic adventure fiction. Then, when the fantastical elements set in, and the text gets dryer and more down to business, I don't enjoy it as much. The plodding, coupled with small doses of philosophical rambling, combined with what may for some be an anticlimactic ending means I can't rate this book more than a 3/5. But I absolutely understand why it's written like this,and why it's seen as a good launching point for those who want to understand how it all may fit together.

The sequel-of-sorts, "The City in the Autumn Stars", follows a similar mold, as it revisits Mittelmarch, and the same "celestial" conflict mentioned in the first novel is revisited, along with some recurring charterers. The PoV character this time is a descendant of the Original Von Bek, and this time he starts off deserting the cause of the French Revolution, as the Terror begins and the revolutionary idealism is perverted by reality. Von Bek flees Paris, meets an enchanting woman, and, being fully besotted he pursues her around Europe, to the city of Mirenburg.

This book flows a lot better, imho, because a lot more time is spent developing the historical adventure elements,and less time is given to the fantastical. Fantastical is interwoven into the historical fiction narrative, obscured by heavy symbolism with lots and lots of foreshadowing. When the story does return to Mittelmarch, and the pace begins to accelerate and the fantastical steps in and makes crazy, breakneck action happen, it feels far more significant, and greater attachment has developed to the characters. The resolution is spectacular but may (once again) be found anticlimactic by some. The story often refers back to ancient alchemical works, and at times I was quite lost as to what is real, and what the author is making up, but most of it sounds plausible enough for me not to question stuff too much.

"The City in the Autumn Stars" is a much better book. At points is reminds me of the crazy adventures of Jack Shaftoe of Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle". It does the genre-blending a lot better than "Warhound and the World's Pain" and it is better paced as well. The second Von Bek story gets a firm 4/5

Summing up the omnibus, I can say I'd recommend as a standalone it if you like historical fiction. There isn't a whole lot of SFF covering these time periods. I have my biases, as I value setting and world-building more than characterization and pacing much more than good prose. In terms of how well it meshes with the rest of the cycle I cannot say, as It's been a long time since I've read most of them, and the purpose of this read through is to look at the cycle as a whole with fresh eyes.

On average, it's a 3.5 /5. On Goodreads I will give it a 4, due to the strength of most of the second novel, which takes up more pages.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:13 PM

[amphibian]

I read some Moorcock while I was in Nepal - the library over in the spot where I had time had a very eccentric and old SF collection - and found that I was really getting turned off by the repetition of the journeys.

The Shaftoe cycles in Cryptonomicon interested me because there was a decent pace of new stuff being unearthed and pieces of a puzzle fitting into place to keep the overarching story intact. With Moorcock, I think he really liked moving things along a tiny, tiny bit at a time and I couldn't slow myself down to that pace for long.

But I didn't read them in "order" or go for much beyond the Elric and Corum stuff.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 13 October 2014 - 06:02 AM

[Salt-Man Z]

I need to get back to Moorcock once I get out of my reading funk. I've been slowly collecting the White Wolf editions, as well as the recent Del Rey Elric collections. Last year I read the first two White Wolf collections, including Von Bek, which contains "The War Hound and the World's Pain" and "City in the Autumn Stars" but also "The Dragon in the Sword" (which co-stars a Von Bek); I felt the stories themselves were worthy of 3.5 stars, but the whole was also greater than the sum of its parts, so I rated the entire collection at 4 stars. Hawkmoon is up next, which I'm looking forward to.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 13 October 2014 - 09:39 PM

[Mentalist]

Book 2 - "The Eternal Champion"

By this point I have realized that every book has the "Introduction to the Michael Moorcock Collection", so therefore there is no point in calling any volume "First".

Nevertheless, I intend to proceed with the reading order described above.

"The Eternal Champion" is a classic. The trilogy that deals with John Daker who becomes Erekozё and then goes on to become another hero at another world, all the while namedropping the myriads of other incarnations is an old-fashioned "hero goes to another world fantasy" with a twist or three.

Unlike "Von Bek", I'm not particularly interested in breaking down the stories in this one, as it reads like a single trilogy, with a recurring main character. As such, I will review the whole trilogy as one work. Keep in mind I've previously read the first two parts, and had a very vague recollection of how the first story ended and how the second begun. The third was completely new to me though.

trying to avoid spoilers, in "Eternal Champion" Moorcock lets his imagination run wild. Erekozё travels A LOT and the places he goes are VERY different. The places, and the cultures that arise in them are probably one of the highlights of the book.

In terms of the "bigger picture": "The Eternal Champion" does a great job setting up the Multiverse. It builds on concepts mentioned in "Von Bek" (which become significant in the third story), and does it well-the first story introduces the concept of Eternal champion, the second is largely about the Champion's relationship to his Sword, and the third, where Erekozё is sent to a mini-system of the worlds the Wheel, containing 7 interconnected realms brings out more about the cosmology--The Law v Chaos, the role of Balance, as well as introducing what I understand may be some characters common on the Champion's adventures in various incarnations (think Hoid in the Cosmere... although I could be wrong, but that's the impression I'm getting right now).

The Book is well-paced. it deals with interesting themes, and Erekozё constantly struggles against the "Good v Evil" definitions he is expected to follow. The fact that the Balance will sometimes require the Champion to fight for Chaos to prevent Law winning was, I felt, a clever concept, and I look forward to seeing it built upon.
Characters were mostly interesting, albeit many were fairly archetypal. The story didn't have too many unpredictable twists, but it was really all about the journey and showing the reader the worlds Moorcock creates, so I didn't mind too much.

Overall, a solid book. I felt the conclusion was fitting. Curious to see if there will be many references to events from this book in further ones. I did notice 2 important cross-references to other books to come.

Spoiler

One was mentioning the nature of runestaffs, the other was that the ending of the "Dragon in the Sword" and reunification of the Eldren was to be the founding of Melniboné

definitely a 4/5. Next in the list is "Hawkmoon: The History of the Runestaff"

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:15 PM

[Mentalist]

Book 3: Hawkmoon: History of the Runestaff

So far the most primitive book in the "Eternal Champion". Primitive, in the sense of "this is straight up heroic fantasy" that almost reads like a Saturday morning cartoon. The plot is incredibly straightforward "good v. evil". The titular "bad guys" are called "the Dark Empire".

So yes. Hawkmoon Good, Dark Empire Bad. Doesn't really get more complex than that. Also, the "everything is pre-ordained" trope is used way too much.

The flow is a bit choppy. The same trope is encountered again and again--the heroes face overwhelming odd, put up an incredible fight, then get captured. And rescued in the last possible moment. 4 times per story.

In terms of structure of the book--Book 1 introduces a setting (that can loosely be compared to the Broken Empire from "Prince of Thorns", and it has a cool epic battle part the middle. Book 2 is a fetch quest. Book 3 is pretty much also a fetch quest. The last story is redeemed somewhat by the fact that there's a lot of pages devoted to the Dark Empire's PoV, which is somewhat refreshing after the pious-to-tears Hawkmoon.

In terms of advancing the global "Eternal Champion" narrative, "Hawkmoon" bears some interest, due to a sizeable role played by a particular colour-coded character.

In short: good for completion's sake, but on its own, the most dated book in the cycle so far.

2/5

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 21 November 2014 - 03:10 AM

[Mentalist]

Book 4: Corum: The Prince in the Scarlet Robe.

"My name is Inigo Montoya Corum Jhaelen Irsei. You've killed my father (And Mother. And all my close relatives. And the distant ones. In fact, you've wiped out my entire species). Prepare to die!"

"Corum" as a volume contains the first trilogy about Corum, yet another incarnation of the Eternal Champion. Like Hawkmoon, Corum fights Chaos. Unlike Hawkmoon, Corum isn't perfect. In fact, Corum is a deeply flawed and damaged individual. His race the Vadhagh (one thing about this series--if you're the kind of person that needs to sound out all the proper names in your head--you mingh be best off walking away. In this one Moorcock took quite a fascination to what I can only assume are Celtic-style names, and they are tongue-breakingly difficult. and there's LOTS of them), a proto-elf type peoples were so advanced and superior that they grew apathetic, self-indulgent and ignorant of their surroundings. And, naturally, eventually there came the barbarians (humans, or "Mabden") to give them a harsh reality check. Corum, accidentally away when his home is sacked and his family slaughtered, quickly learns, fear, horror, fury, murder, hate. He manages to escape his would-be nemesis, and his quest for revenge begins. In the process, he makes a bargain he shouldn't have and is set on a path that will have him confronting the Sword Rulers--gods of Chaos which wrestled the Fifteen planes from Law.

In itself, none of the 3 stories are anything special. The first especially is as vanilla as heroic fantasy turned revenge story can get. The fun starts later. In Part 2, and moreso in Part 3, Corum's journey involves an upbeat companion who is much-better informed of Corum's nature as the Eternal Champion, and Part 3 has Corum step outside his own Fifteen Planes and encounter several more versions of himself!. It really does wonders for the cosmology of the Multiverse, and helps to keep the books fresh, as compared to the rote adventures of Hawkmoon.

And yes, going back to the main point: Corum is MUCH more interesting than Hawkmoon. Corum is scarred. Corum dislikes gods. Corum questions his role, and wants to abandon it at several points. Corum doesn't pine for his love all the time (only about 30% of his free time).

Given these books aren't all that long, it's difficult to expect deep characterization. The books are primarily action and the make no qualms about it. There are several pretty epic battles, though none as good as that one in the Hawkmmon book. But aside from that, "Corum"'s characters aren't completely one-dimensional, and that's enough to make them sufficiently interesting.

4/5

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:17 PM

[Mentalist]

Book 5: Sailing to Utopia.

This one was my first real foray into Moorcock's science fiction (I didn't really see Eternal Champion as sci-fi)

"Sailing to utopia" is a connection of 3 separate sci-fi novels, connected by themes, but not by plot.

The Wrecks of Time" is an interesting story about a world where parallel Earths exist and a man who tries to keep them from being destroyed by a mysterious force beyond is comprehension. It throws in some talks about cultural archetypes for good measure. It's short, not an action book, but well-written, and interesting.

"The ice Schooner" is the jewel of the volume--throwing you in a weird ice-age world (which seems to be post-apoc, and then tells a story of an ice-ship captain, who comes to see his world change, and questions all that he believed in. I found it very compelling, and the sizable chunk of introspection by the main character actually feels fitting here. The setting is neat, the tone reminds me of Jack London's Klondike short stories in its tone, and that's a sell, because I love Jack London. And the world's well written, and Moorcock feeds you little bits, so that you can try to figure out just what it is that happened to this world.

"The Black Corridor" is a story of madness. The main character is flying a ship, escaping the nuclear apocalypse on Earth to start a new life with his loved ones. The rest are in stasis, but he stays awake to watch over them, and , as he feels, atone for his crimes. The book is essentially a chronicle of his madness, interspersed with episodes recalling just how society on Earth crumbled, and how a man can act when society's collapsing.
although it's pretty short, I found it an absolutely compelling read.

This one gets 5/5. The wrecks of time isn't great, but the other 2 are excellent.

Next up, i'm already one third into the "Nomad of Time", which is a fun Jules-Verne-like in tone alternative history with time travel and multiple version of earth's 19th-20th century history. Really good so far. Moorcock's awesome at sci-fi, but his heroic fantasy's pretty average is my impression so far.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:18 PM

[Mentalist]

Book 6: The Nomad of Time.

This is, hands down, THE best Moorcock book to date. It reinforces my belief that he's way better off writing sci-fi.

"Nomad of Time" is a collection of 3 books, all sharing the same main character. Captain Bastable is a British officer in charge of a detachment of colonial troops in British India. He is asked to confront a local warlord from an obscure city, filled with temples that seem to be older than the city itself. Then something goes wrong....

The three books are a collection of alternative histories. They all feature a different "what if" scenario for 20th century history, with Bastable being a mostly unwitting witness/participant. The trilogy introduces a number of memorable characters, makes a few nods to already established Multiverse personas, largely skips the law v Chaos bit, and, towards the end, adds a new dimension to the elaborate canvass that is the structure of the Multiverse as a certain Guild is revealed, and we learn of their ongoing mission within the various incarnations of the Multiverse.

The books read like historical military/adventure fiction. The one common thing between the 3 books is airships--"The Nomad of Time" was described as some of the earliest steampunk, but I'm not sure I agree with the definition. There's a ton of futuristic tech, but electricity generally plays the key role. Also, airships--giant combat dirigibles, made of a strange new alloy that made them viable and hundreds times safer, allowing them to become and remain practical. Bastable is quite fascinated with them, so we hear about them a lot.

Aside from the technology, the book's great for its themes--being an exploration of alternative history of the 20th century, it deals heavily with imperialism, racism, struggles for equality and the revolutionary movement, as well as faith, the role of scientific advances and prosperity and whether it's enough to mitigate the warlike human nature. While not overly deep--the philosophizing is never so deep as to distract from the action--it can, nevertheless, be quite thought-provoking.

Overall, an incredibly enjoyable adventure romp, especially for those who like historical fiction.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:19 PM

[Mentalist]

Book 7: Kane of Old Mars. (thought I posted this yesterday, but I apparently I forgot to click "post"

A quick confession: I've not read the Burroughs' classics, nor any other Victorian "Cities on Mars" fiction. "Kane of Old Mars"is an obvious and loving tribute to those works. As I've not had a chance to read what's being paid tribute to, I judge them on their own merits.

On their own merits, it is a trilogy about a human scientist, who finds himself transported to another time and place--Ancient Mars, back when it was inhabitable, before its people had to abandon the dying world and come to Earth. Having been trained by a fencing master as a child, the titular Michael Kane finds himself right at home in the pulpy warrior society of Old Mars, falls in love, and gets to go on many adventures.

This is definitely a popcorn read by modern standards. It's mostly fantasy, there's no magic, but there's ancient, sometimes incomprehensible technology that sometimes seems like magic. Lots and lots of travelling, lots and lots of sword-fighting, clear villains, no real ties to the rest of the multiverse.

The last story, "Barbarians of Mars" tries to get thematic and philosophical, as Kane faces a threat to Mars that comes from a new dogma, rather than from a defined villain. Personally, I felt it wasn't all that effective, but that's just me, others may find themselves liking it.

So, overall, a fairly quick heroic fiction fix. Nothing's too special about the setting, or the characters, or the action. Enjoyable, as it doesn't overstay its welcome, but bland.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:20 PM

[Gnaw]

Mentalist, on 11 March 2015 - 01:13 AM, said:

Book 7: Kane of Old Mars. (thought I posted this yesterday, but I apparently I forgot to click "post"

A quick confession: I've not read the Burroughs' classics, nor any other Victorian "Cities on Mars" fiction. "Kane of Old Mars"is an obvious and loving tribute to those works. As I've not had a chance to read what's being paid tribute to, I judge them on their own merits.

On their own merits, it is a trilogy about a human scientist, who finds himself transported to another time and place--Ancient Mars, back when it was inhabitable, before its people had to abandon the dying world and come to Earth. Having been trained by a fencing master as a child, the titular Michael Kane finds himself right at home in the pulpy warrior society of Old Mars, falls in love, and gets to go on many adventures.

This is definitely a popcorn read by modern standards. It's mostly fantasy, there's no magic, but there's ancient, sometimes incomprehensible technology that sometimes seems like magic. Lots and lots of travelling, lots and lots of sword-fighting, clear villains, no real ties to the rest of the multiverse.

The last story, "Barbarians of Mars" tries to get thematic and philosophical, as Kane faces a threat to Mars that comes from a new dogma, rather than from a defined villain. Personally, I felt it wasn't all that effective, but that's just me, others may find themselves liking it.

So, overall, a fairly quick heroic fiction fix. Nothing's too special about the setting, or the characters, or the action. enjoyable, as it doesn't overstay its welcome, but bland.

Not having read Burroughs is sooooo neg rep worthy!

[Mentalist]

Part 8 -End of Time I

This entry's a bit different, since I followed the Guide, and read 2/3s of the "Dancers at the End of Time" and 2 short stories from the "Tales from the End of Time" books, respectively.

Reading these reinforced my belief that Moorcock's much better as a Sci-fi writer than a fantasy one. The End of Time books aren't exactly complex--like most of Moorcock's works, they are actually quite short by today's standards--but they are well-written. Moorcock plays with the abstract, with the absurd, with the grotesque--and manages to entertain, while making the reader think. Personally, the Tales seemed slightly weaker (I was able to tell the twist coming in "Pale Roses". I suppose it may work better if read right after "An Alien Heat"), but overall it works. I can't say I see the logic in why this sequence was broken up like this, but we'll see as we go on, I suppose.

So, anyway. The End of Time is a setting in the far-off future Earth. The inhabitants are few, and they are, for all intents and purposes, gods. Immortal and omnipotent (though not omniscient), they exist only for pleasure and pursuit of new experiences and their only enemy is boredom. Being able to change the world around them, as well as themselves at a whim means they do not know the meaning of morality. History is likewise lost to them, though they sometimes try to piece together the millions of years of their past, with...interesting results.

In this world, the incarnation of the Eternal Champion is Jherek Carnelian, a human, who is the only resident of Earth to have been born--wheres the rest have been artificially created as adults, Jherek was actually a product of a true biological birth and went through childhood--although it was a long time ago. Perhaps that's why he's got such a fascination with the past.

Jherek crosses paths with Mrs. Amelia Underwood, a British woman from the 19th century, who ends up travelling in time to the End of Time. He falls in love, and thus begins his story of time-travel, as fate conspires to separate him from her. He makes several sojourns to 1896 England--and you can imagine the stir he causes.

The sequence is heavy on themes, and the novels (in "Dancers") are focused around the issues of morality, as Jherek earnestly tries to understand morality and social norms--with very mixed results. The End of Time as a setting is amazing-given it can be virtually anything, Moorcock does a great job writing the absurd and making it believable--his imagination really shines in these.

Big picture stuff- there's some foreshadowing concerning the state of the Multiverse and of some momentous things happening there in "The Hollow Lands". "Tales" feature "notes from the Auditor" sections, that make consistent references to another character I've met in one of the previous volumes. Also, I'm not sure about it, but the Knight in Black and Gold may have had a cameo.

Definitely recommended. Minor caveat- because we're dealing with decadence, lots of sex mentioned. Nothing explicit, but there's casual "incest", so if that bothers you, be forewarned.

Going back to numbers ratings: 4.5/5

Next, I'll be dipping my toe into Elric stuff: "Elric of Melniboné and other stories"

[Mentalist]

Part 9- "Elric of Melniboné and other stories"

Ok. The original. The proto-Rake. The super-origin story.

It's a weird book. There's a collection of essays that puts the whole "Elric" phenomenon in its historical and cultural perspective. Which is cool, albeit a bit lost on me since I'm no English major.

Then there's "Master of Chaos", which is a very short story featuring Earl Aubec (yet another Eternal Champion incarnation) that's kind of, sort of the prequel for the setting.

Then there's the "Elric: Making of a Sorcerer" "graphic novel". Which is more like "a script for a graphic novel". Reading it was this really weird experience--like reading a play in high school English class, only with more asides about art direction and description of the setting. Basically, the novel is the "origin story"--It introduces Elric and other characters in Melniboné, back when Elric was still a prince in his father's court and had to prove himself worthy of being the next Emperor. Since it turns out that Melniboné itself is heavily influenced by Native American themes, Elric earns his right by surviving "dreams"--basically vision quests where he replays an earlier part of Melniboné history. Whatever knowledge he gains he then retains on a sub-conscious level.

This works really well as an exposition device since the "Elric" novel that follows skimps on description (it wasn't apparently the first Elric book to be written), so reading "Making of a Sorcerer" first gives a really good idea of the context. It also has interesting tidbits about the Black Sword(s), and general world-building.

The actual novel "Elric of Melniboné" is a fairly standard heroic fantasy read by modern standards. The characterization's solid, but the plotting can be weak. Also, the theme of "destiny" is handled a bit heavy-handedly for most of the book, only to be downplyed at the end- I found that inconsistence jarring, give earlier Elric does several rather dumb things "because he's supposed to be a tragic hero". I suppose that since "Elric" was pretty much supposed to be Moorcock's reconstruction of the archetypical "hero" it HAS to be overplayed. But taken at face value, Elric just isn't a very smart hero.

I know that some of the later Elric stuff gets much better, (and I particularly want to see just where his life's gone all wrong), but this entry, it's not great. It works, mostly, but it's not spectacular.

4.25/5

Moving on: "Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl"

[Mentalist]

Part 10- "Elric: The Fortress of the the Pearl"

When we last left Elric, he just succeeded in defeating his cousin and rival Yyrkoon, confirmed his right to rule Melniboné, saw reunited with his lost love and claimed the soul-sucking sword Stormbringer. And then he decided to throw it all away, go travel among mortals, and leave the defeated Yyrkoon in charge while he's travelling the world and learning things he hoped may have him improve Melniboné. Leaving aside the commentary on how no one ever knows what happiness is until it's gone, we now fast-forward a few adventures. Elric is now stuck in the northern edge of the known world, in a desert city of Quarzhasaat, dying, because he's out of the drugs that he needs to sustain himself. He is approached by a local power, who saves his life, but demands something in exchange...

So begins another Elric story. Largely a fetch quest-Elric is tasked with following a legend to find The Pearl at the Heart of the World--no one actually knows what this is. The story's got a desert-y setting, but really the whole thing is a framing device to describe yet another "group" that does multiverse-hopping (like the time-travellers in "The Nomad of the Time Streams")-the dream-thieves. There's also a cameo from a character we've already seen in Corum...
-Overall, the story's decently entertaining sword and sorcery romp. The value's all about the dream-thieves, and it's a concept neat enough to carry the story. It's only about 200 pages long, but it works. 4/5

Next up: "Elric: Sailor on the Seas of Fate"

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 06 December 2015 - 12:42 AM

[Mentalist]

Part 11: "Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate"

This is a collection. It is not really a sequel to the "Fortress of the Pearl". At least I didn't spot any references to it.
The actual set "Sailor on the Seas of Fate" makes up only the first portion of the book. As we go on, we get to learn just how Elric got all those awful names he's known for. Classic tragic hero stuff.

After The Dreaming City , which is really an info-dump of "listen ye to the sad tale of the downfall of Elric and all that he cared about", the next 2 stories When The Gods laugh and The Ssinging Citadel are slightly more interesting. Still, it's all fairly standard sword & sorcery stuff, nothing I found particularly exciting. Elric gets himself a travelling companion who i understand is important for the "epic" bits of the Elric saga. Nevertheless, on their own merits, these stories are fairly standard stuff.

IN terms of "big picture" links: there's a bunch. Sailing to the Future teams Elric with 3 other incarnations we've met before, and re-introduces the Dark Ship we've already seen in The Dragon in the Sword (part 3 of The Eternal Champion ) Some of the other stories feature Arioch dropping heavy hints on how what Elric is doing will have dire consequences and trigger the resumption of the ancient conflict b/w Law and Chaos. But nothing's really ever told clearly.

Given we are now leaving Elric behind for a while, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. There's no lesson learned here, no real resolution to anything. Yet, given Elric is meant to be a deconstruction of heroic fantasy, I suppose it makes sense. Still in terms of rating... 3/5

Watch this space next year, for my first-ever foray into the Jerry Cornelius novels, beginning with The Cornelius quartet

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:25 PM

[Mentalist]

Part 12: "The Cornelius Quartet"

This is a large, dense tome. There's crazy amount of stuff going on. Instead of trying to make one coherent impression of it, I thought it'd be best to keep a running commentary, diary style.

I started this on Jan 27th, reading only during my commute. It took 3 weeks and 2 days....

...Finished "The Final Programme". At first I was seeing these weird Elric overtones in the Cornelius family drama. Then it just got weird, and carried on. And then it was over. I'm still not sure what the message was. There's entropy, and the "end of history"; but beyond that, it's one big WTF. Must be what taking drugs is like. The language is designed to overwhelm, the pages turn... but there's no enlightenment in the end. But of course, this isn't the end, so who knows?

...I'm not quite done "A Cure for Cancer"- tomorrow, I think. Just a few general thoughts. First of all, I'm reminded of a novella by H.G.Wells (I forget the name), about an American (I think) businessman who decided to destroy Europe. It goes into detail about just how he did it (Scandinavians all fell asleep. Netherlands drowned, I think)... and it's this kind of tone that's the backdrop of the story.
Second- sex. lots and lots of it. It's the 70s and (almost) everyone is doing it with (almost) everyone else. It's the most mundane thing in the world.
Third- Moorcock keeps name-dropping lots and lots of musicians. I have no idea if these are real or made up, and I'm too caught up in the ride to wiki and check. I'm sure if I was a music aficionado, I'd get more out of this, and may even understand the "flow" better.
Overall, to use my own musical allegory, the main impression is that of a CACOPHONY.There's this whirlwind of action, sex, globe-trotting spy action, and in and out jumps the rehash of the Cornelius family drama (again)... You're trying to reconcile what happened in "The Final Programme" and does this have any bearing on here and now (there's hints pointing yes), all the while Jerry questions the nature of time and space, almost as if winking to you across the 4th wall. You try to slow down to assemble the facts, but the flow is getting stronger, and the nihilistic noise rises to a pitch, and you can't stop. The chapter titles are obscure, and sometimes they're describing exactly what'll happen and at other times they leave you stumped as to how on earth can the title and the content have anything in common? Some chapters are a few pages, others a few paragraphs. Nothing is certain.

...And done with "Cure for Cancer". it really IS like a piece of music- it just fades after hitting a crescendo.I'm no closer to understanding anything about Jerry, or anything else, but I'm dragged along and it's impossible to stop.


... "The English Assassin" is insane. The book makes no sense, it's being told out of order (I think, after being about halfway through). At first I thought it was a direct sequel-ish to "Cure for Cancer", because that's what the global political situation seemed like. But now that I read more of it, and some more names got dropped, I'm almost getting "Nomad of Time" cross-over vibes. And still, very little makes sense. But the imagery is awesome, and I keep trying to grasp the plot, not to mention reconcile it with the previous parts of the quartet... Even if it turns out to be all in vain, it's a hell of a ride.

... Ok, 3/4 into "English Assassin". Peace Talks section was mindblowing (cool cameos: I may have been right about my hunch last time...and Beesley is WHO?) Also, my head hurts trying to figure out how these sequels work... or don't.. or is this the multiverses screwing everything up? Forget Erikson's timeline issues, Moorcock questions the very existence of a timeline.... but for once my OCD re: timeline is undisturbed. I'm not sure it's possible to make sense. I'm not sure I want to.

...finished "The English Assassin". Um, ok. So, really, it' "builds" on what happened at the end of "Cure for Cancer", just with bigger cast and... lots more...entropy. And it gets really metaphysical with all the multiverse-s... Seriously, trying to follow it would drive me crazy: Just need to take it as an array of themes. And images. And life-stories. And... just what the hell happened between the Cornelius kids? Figuring out the Tiste is easy by comparison.
This is like abstract art, only literature. With the flow defined by an internal music piece. And dressed in trappings of Absurdist post-apoc in lots of places. I don't know.

...Roughly one third into "The condition of Muzak" and things are slowly clicking into place. Clever is the only word to describe the whole thing. I'm trying to think of what I can compare this with. it's a little bit like Amberghris trilo, but taken to a whole other level.

... Getting to the end of "Condition for Muzak". Still lost, just gone back to being a sequence of episodes. I keep feeling that I'm about to grasp it, but I'm not. Now they've introduced the allegory, waiting to see if it's actually deconstructed properly so that my feeble mind can "get it"

... 100 pages left. There's entire (short) chapters explaining stuff, and then lots more episodic fragments of shattered histories. Increasingly more philosophizing, as the other players' motivations throughout this kaleidoscopic merry-go-round ride are being revealed.

... less then 30 pages to go (of "the Coda"). Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?" © I don't know, Freddy. Can't say I really care, either.
I'm not sure if there's anything really clever left to find in here. The Ride itself- was exhilarating. Trying to piece stuff together is tantalizing. Whether there's any satisfaction to be found in solving the puzzle (or not- I STILL don't know!) is, imho, irrelevant at this point.
At any rate, the Quartet takes that quintessential experience in every "nerdy" person's life where they populate their dream-scapes with people from their life--and goes abso-fucking-edibly wild with it. This maybe a spoiler, maybe not. I'm 30 pages from the end, and STILL guessing-that's how "obtuse" the Quartet is. But I loved it.

...Ok, done. "clever" is still probably the best word for it. Not a whole lot to add that hasn't been said yet. I think it's safe to say I recommend this to just about anyone. with interest in sci-fi, who's not turned off by the myriad references to sex. And some incest.
5/5

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:29 PM

[Mentalist]

Part 13: "Moorcock's Multiverse"

This is another collection of novels, just like "Sailing to Utopia"

Just like "Sialing to Utopia", these are sci-fi novels.

Unlike "Sailing for Utopia", these are generally darker works, with quite an emphasis on politics and the future of society. The central theme is essentially a commentary of how artificial society is, and how easily it unravels in time of crisis.

And each novel presents such a crisis. They are supposed to be "framing" the broader Multiverse framework, but I was having a hard time seeing this "really big picture", since I was fairly engrossed in following the society in each of the three novels to its devolution.

"The Sundered Worlds" is probably the weakest of the bunch, despite attempting to be something of a space opera. In some ways, I actually felt it was similar to "The Wrecks of Time" from "Sailing to Utopia" (and I may need to re-read that one soon), but then it got too caught up in its own message towards the end.

"The Winds of Limbo" (Also known as "The Fireclown") is probably my favorite. I disagree with the blurb which describes the society in the book as "totalitarian"- rather, the society starts to become that way due to things in the book--and it shows how media hysteria can make society unravel in days- a chillingly contemporary commentary from a book written decades ago.

"The Shores of Death" is actually, maybe, kind of, a sequel to "Winds of Limbo"- as there's a few story parallels. But I'm not sure of that. It's story structure is actually quite similar, with a few twists in the end. The twists are clever, but the tropes they rely on are a bit cliche, which is why my preference goes to "Winds of Limbo" (whose story is also typical as far as intrigue goes, I might add; but it plays it straight, and it's the process, not the plot that matters; while "Shores of Death" is clearly character-focused, so the cliche sticks out a lot more.)
4/5, due to the strength of the second and third books.

[Mentalist]

Part 14: "Jerry Cornelius: His Lives and His Times"

This is a collection of short stories about Jerry Cornelius. The stories range from the 60s to the 90s. If you liked "The Cornelius Quartet", this is more of the same. Lots of absurdity, some philosophizing, some action, but a lot of the same seemingly disjointed stream of consciousness that made up the bulk of the Quartet, with a few flashes of "is there a big picture?"

Roughly, I'd divide the stories in 3 categories. The first, early stories have Jerry travel the world, doing things, driven by some strange logic. The second sub-set reads almost like a Saturday Morning Cartoon where Jerry Cornelius and the Time Centre Crew foil evil time-manipulators. Here, villains and heroes switch regularly, and lots of the cast of the Quartet makes appearances.

The third sub-set, set in roughly modern times, deals with some early 21st century themes and may get a bit preachy at points. But it also has the best story imho, "the Spencer Inheritance"

There are multiple points of interest here, including many generous nods to the Multiverse, a superb shout out to "Nomad of the Time Streams", as well as hints where Stross' ideas of computational demonology came from.

N.B.: I am aware that there aren't ALL of the Cornelius stories. I suspect the rest of them are packed away in the 3 volumes of "best short fiction" that also make up parts of the Collection, but which I have not purchased (yet)

overall, a solid 4/5

Next up will be the second Corum set, "The Prince with the Silver Hand"

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:30 PM

[Mentalist]

Part 15: "Corum: The Prince with the Silver Hand"

WARNING: this review will probably contain SPOILERS for "Corum: The Prince in the Scarlet Robe", being a direct sequel




When we last left Corum, he defeated the Sword Rulers, and was living happily ever after with his human bride and the non-psychotic humans.

Fast forward 100+ years. Corum's beloved died of old age at 96. Corum grows distraught and increasingly melancholy, drifting ever closer to madness.

Then, as usually happens to the Eternal Champion, he is summoned to another place and time. In this case, far into the future of the same world, to fight with the descendants of his wife's people against the monsters from Limbo, who use the elemental Cold to subdue humans and kill the world.

This is a very by-the-numbers straight-up heroic fantasy, with a heavy Celtic flavour. Since the main villains are clear from the beginning, the story is much more grounded than "The Prince in the Scarlet Robe", which was all over the place. This time it's decently clear cut- collect lost magical treasures, use them to defeat evil.

The story is not without its twists and turns (with a few cliches that will seem obvious to a modern reader), but for the most part it's hard to call Corum's latest adventures anything "original".

Unlike last time, Corum is now a willing hero fully accepting of is role as the Eternal Champion--which serves to make his character far less interesting. Instead of having Corum come to grips with/challenge his destiny, this time he's being a rote hero with nary a complaint. Although the story remains entertaining, I feel that this Corum is little different from Hawkmoon, who is the blandest hero in Moorcock's roster.

In terms of overall cosmology- there's a few references to things happening in other continuities, but they're quite brief.

Overall, it's an okay book, and if you're looking for a straight-up heroic fantasy and have some reference points in Celtic mythology (I don't), it should be an enjoyable read.

Personally, I found it a bit disappointing as follow-up to the original Corum trilogy. 2.5/5

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 12 April 2020 - 08:32 PM

[Mentalist]

Part 16: The End of Time- Part II

Taken from the reading order list:
Ancient Shadows (ss) (in Tales from the End of Time omnibus)
The End of All Songs (in The Dancers at the End of Time omnibus)
Constant Fire (aka The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming/A Messiah at the End of Time) (in Tales from the End of Time omnibus)
Elric at the End of Time (ss) (in Tales from the End of Time omnibus)

(I've also finished Tales by reading the last short story, "Sumptuous Dress", which is actually part of a different sequence- because I wasn't gonna leave the book unfinished with only 30 pgs to go- but I won't mention it in the review)

The second half of the End of Time sequence is really all about "The end of All Songs" - the conclusion of the "Dancers at the End of Time" trilogy about Jherek Carnelian and his beloved Amelia Underwood. The short stories flow around that.

"Ancient Shadows" is really the odd one of the bunch. At the very least, I can't place it in the sense that I'm not sure what is it a crossover with. It's pretty much set-up for "Constant Fire", And I think I recall mentions of the culminating character from it in one of the other novels from "Dancers", but the context is lost on me. Nevertheless, it does a very good job of establishing the thematic framework for the rest of the short stories- time/space traveller with a rigid code arrives at the End of Time, moralities clash, philosophising occurs, a lesson is learned (somehow, by someone). Oh, and time streams get messed with, usually.

"The End of All Songs" is THE novel to go to for some answers on the Multiverse. To date, it's the one novel that answers the most questions and draws the most connections, actually making the whole disparate Eternal Champion sequence kind of, sort of, resemble a somewhat coherent whole. At the very least, it ties together, the Jerry Cornelius sequence, the Nomad of Time and the End of Time quite conclusively. The latter 2 short stories also throw in the alt-history from "Winds of Limbo" (and maybe "Shores of Death"), as well as throwing in Elric just for the hell of it--and leaving open the possibility of a HUGE mindfuck, which is hinted at, but not confirmed or denied.

In terms of style, it's more of the same- that is to say, absurdist in the extreme, with overtones of vaudeville and slapstick. Moorcock continues playing with the language, and the action is hilarious for the most part. Pacing is quite good, although there were moments in "The End of All Songs" where things threatened to bog down a bit in feelings and philosophizing, but it recovered well, delivering a good finish that kept me guessing to the end. The last 2 short stories were fun little crossover pieces, without too much meaning to them- cool connections drawn, but easy on the brain.

4.5/5

Up next is "Gloriana"