Part 2: The Chronicles of Castle Brass

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by S. C. Bryce

Michael Moorcock’s hero, Dorian Hawkmoon, continues his adventures in “The Chronicles of Castle Brass.” This second series, however, has a very different tone from “The History of the Runestaff.” The first Dorian Hawkmoon series focused on straightforward, worldly adventures. The second series deals far more with time traveling, the multiverse, the Eternal Champion, battles between Law and Chaos, and other ideas standard in Moorcock’s sword-and-sorcery tales. Indeed, the series is arguably less about Hawkmoon and his friends than it is about these themes, mythos, and artifacts. Much of the fast, pulpy action of the first series is absent from the second.

Hawkmoon becomes less distinctive a character in the second series than he is in the first. (This is particularly true after Count Brass, the first book in “The Chronicles of Castle Brass.”) Hawkmoon is more than less distinctive; he is different. Caught up in these inter-dimensional and cosmic events, Hawkmoon loses much of his practicality, rebelliousness, and decisiveness. He no longer takes the initiative; stories advance as he reacts. He is little more than a pawn of the Runestaff, its servants, and other forces.

The world is also different. The intriguing mix of sword and science-sorcery that characterized Hawkmoon’s world is gone (in large part because little of the second series is spent in that world), and more standard sword-and-sorcery fare replaces it. The unique culture of the Dark Empire has also disappeared, replaced by less imaginative fare. Hawkmoon quickly descends into the category of a hero trapped going from one adventure to the next, most of which have little to do with him directly. He is used by first one power than the next, never certain of why or how—nor does he seem to care enough. Again, Hawkmoon’s only goal is to be a peaceful family man, leaving the rule of both his homeland and adopted land to others.

Because of these differences, readers who enjoyed the adventures of “The History of the Runestaff” will not necessarily enjoy “The Chronicles of Castle Brass,” and vice versa. In fact, the two series are so different it is not even necessary for a reader to read both. Much of the backstory of “The History of the Runestaff” is unnecessary to read the second series; knowledge of Moorcock’s mythos will certainly increase enjoyment.

(Editor's Note: The book cover at the top of this review is from an omnibus edition, titled Count Brass, that contains all the "books" reviewed below. The book covers at the beginning of each "book" reviewed below are from the actual separate books of each of these stories, which appeared years before this omnibus. And finally, the cover at the end of this review is from another omnibus, titled The Chronicles of Castle Brass, composed of these same "books".)

Rumors that Count Brass’s ghost has appeared in the swamps of the Kamarg undermine Hawkmoon’s reputation, for the ghost claims that Hawkmoon betrayed the old count at the Battle of Londra. Disturbed and convinced that the ghost is a cruel fabrication, Hawkmoon confronts the ghost, who tells him that he has returned in order to slay the traitorous Hawkmoon.

At the same time, Hawkmoon receives word from Queen Flana of Granbretan that old adherents to the beast orders have formed an underground movement. When he learns that the ghosts of other slain comrades have returned as well, Hawkmoon becomes convinced that the ghosts determined to kill him are connected with the resurgence of the beast orders. Has some Dark Empire scientist captured the souls of his comrades and turned them against him?

Thus, Hawkmoon learns that not all his old Dark Empire enemies died as he believed. He retraces many of his steps from “The History of the Runestaff,” determined to convince the ghosts of his true friendship and to discover who from his past escaped the downfall of the Dark Empire. The only way to accomplish this, it seems, is to follow his enemies through time and dimensions.

Hawkmoon is more like the protagonist of “The History of the Runestaff” here than he is in any of the following books. He remains strong, practical, and decisive. However, the type of story deviates greatly from the first series. Absent in the first series is the philosophizing over time, space, the multiverse, and fate, which creep into the Hawkmoon story for the first time. Still, Count Brass both begins and ends with a jolt.

Then renowned commander Katinka van Bak appears at Castle Brass with tales of a ravenous army on the other side of the Bulgar Mountains. Her story intrigues Hawkmoon and rouses him from his contemplations long enough for him to follow her through the countryside. Along the way, they encounter Jhary-a-Conel (a familiar incarnation of the Companion of Champions) and his winged cat, who join their group.

Katinka leads them through a twisting cave that leads between dimensions. There, Hawkmoon comes face to face with the reality that he is but one manifestation of the Eternal Champion. There in the cave, lies another—Ilian of Garathorm, whose soul was driven from her body. Have Katinka and Jhary tricked Hawkmoon here in order to put his soul in Ilian’s empty body? Yet Hawkmoon will be rewarded with evidence that proves his fears about Yisselda’s fate were well founded.

Fully half this book is spent with Hawkmoon-as-Ilian who, with Katinka and Jhary’s help, seeks to save her land from the hordes of Chaos led by the brutal Ymryl of the Yellow Horn (an avatar of Elric’s Horn of Fate in “Doomed Lord’s Passing,” in Stormbringer, Book Six of the Elric Saga). The Ilian storyline, however, is crafted in true Moorcock fashion, with sword-swinging mixing with philosophy. Again, this is a very different Hawkmoon from the protagonist of “The History of the Runestaff.” Thus, readers looking for another Hawkmoon adventure in that vein might be disappointed.

Orland Fank appears at Castle Brass, seeking to discuss with Hawkmoon his own observations of changes in the multiverse and the disappearance of the Runestaff. Neither is able to give the other much information, but Fank does advise Hawkmoon to seek his missing children in the fabled city of Tanelorn.

Hawkmoon is sucked into Limbo, where he meets again Jhary-a-Conel and his winged cat. They stumble into a meeting of the servants of the Runestaff then, once again, Hawkmoon finds himself alone in Limbo with few instructions and fewer expectations. It is not until he meets a ship that any insight is gained—and that information proves to be more confusing than none at all. The ship proves to be the same one on which sail three other incarnations of the Eternal Champion (Corum, Erekosë, and Elric), and Moorcock tells the story of Agak and Gagak (which also appeared in “Sailing to the Future” in The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Book Two of the Elric Saga) from Hawkmoon’s perspective. A substantial chunk of this last book is, therefore, familiar to those who have read the Elric Saga. Other portions and references will be familiar to readers of the Corum and Erekosë stories.

It is the aftermath of this tale that will be more interesting for fans of Moorcock’s Eternal Champion, for it shows how the Eternal Champion is released from his seemingly unending damnation, ties to incarnations of Stormbringer (Elric’s famed runeblade), obligations to the Runestaff, and the Balance between Order and Chaos. The purposes of the Runestaff and other talismans are also revealed, as well as how many of these objects and ideas interconnect. Because of all these ideas and because it is billed as the “end of the long story of the Eternal Champion,” this last book is the most philosophical of the three. Even with some familiarity with Moorcock’s Eternal Champion and multiverse ideas, this volume can be confusing. And, of course, more Eternal Champion stories were written after this one.

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