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Sword & Sorcery
Flashing Swords
Pitch Black Books
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Reviewed by Dave Hardy
I’d like to begin this review by saying The Eternal Champion has a fantastic introduction. Which is not to say that the stories are no big deal, but simply that Michael Moorcock’s introduction is a fine bit of common sense literary criticism. It reminds me of Raymond Chandler’s The Simple Art of Murder, a declaration of independence for popular fiction and blast at pretentiousness. Like Chandler, Moorcock also lists some of the greats that influenced him, C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Jack Williamson, and Edmond Hamilton.
The Eternal Champion is three short novels and a novella rolled into one volume. These stories were originally published from the 1960s to 1970, and may have been revised since then. Moorcock created a framework to unify his many fictional heroes with the many layers of the Multiverse he created. He doesn’t bang you over the head with it (let’s not start asking, “What was the Eternal Champion doing between Sailor on the Seas of Fate and The Bull and the Oak?”, just read the book). Rather he lets the themes of the stories demonstrate their connection.
“The Eternal Champion” follows John Daker, a 20th century man who awakes to find he is the incarnation of Erekose, a hero of another world where mankind is under attack by hordes of sinister demons from the realm of magic. The only problem is that Erekose finds that not everything is clear cut in his fantasy world, sorting out who is good and evil involves heartbreaking choices. It is a simple story (Moorcock says it is one of his simplest). Yet it takes on a very complex task, that of undermining the dichotomy of good and evil. However, even while attempting this, it swings a little too far and reaffirms them. Still, in a genre dominated by simple ideas, this was a very daring stab at complexity, it is also one that still manages to remain true to its fantasy roots. No one leads an “equal rights for elves” march, or talks about “raising consciousness”, instead they act like people in a heroic world.
“The Sundered Worlds” is space opera--one meets exotic alien races, heroes undertake perilous quests and race against time and space while humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. Renark von Bek and his friends seek out a mysterious solar system that travels across dimensions. What they find is a planet of outlaws and outcasts and a secret that will determine the fate of humanity. That’s just the first half. Renark’s comrade, Asquiol, leads mankind on a massive exodus to find, not just a new planet, but a new universe. In true space opera style, they play for the biggest stakes, since they’ve discovered that man can no longer be content to master space, he must learn to travel between dimensions and achieve his true potential. It gets a little complicated when it turns out that other universes already have inhabitants and don’t necessarily want to share. Moorcock’s heroes wind up in a bizarre gambling game where contestants battle with psychic power and bet their sanity.
“Phoenix in Obsidian” (also published as “The Silver Warriors”) brings back Erekose, forcibly called into another of his incarnations. While the story is perhaps a slight one compared with “The Eternal Champion”, it has a memorable setting, a dying Earth, its seas are frozen and thick with salt. Men harness seals and polar bears to draw their conveyances and strange animals dwell under the ice. The story also forcibly unites the Eternal Champion with the Eternal Sword. Just as Elric and Erekose and Corum are echoes of Roland and Arthur and Achilles, so is the Runesword the echo of Durandal, Excalibur, and other legendary swords. In its raw form it is a particularly bloodthirsty weapon. For readers familiar with the Elric saga, this is an entertaining adjunct, though those who haven’t read Elric may wonder what Moorcock is getting at.
“To Rescue Tanelorn” closes the volume. It is a tale of Rakhir the Red Archer, a minor character in the Elric saga, who has found peace in Tanelorn where weary heroes find rest and ease for the soul. But the Beggar hordes of Nadsokor have been incited by Chaos to destroy Tanelorn, and Rakhir must summon help or see his adopted land fall prey to the Demon gods he once served. Moorcock gives us a one-paragraph background telling just enough of Rakhir’s strange origins in the land of Yeshpotoom-Kahlai to make one hunger for more. That’s what good writing does, it leaves you wanting more. And that’s how Mr. Moorcock left me.
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| Friday, May 16, 2008 Copyright 2008, SWORDandSORCERY.org |