Sojan is a swashbuckling sword-and-planet hero. Although human, he lives on the twin-sunned planet of Zylor, which was settled by humans fleeing (what they thought was) the dying Earth generations before. Sojan’s people have lost much of their technology, but they have retained technology of sorts: they have dirigibles, air guns, and steel. They divide themselves among civilized and barbarian nations, dodge air pirates, and untangle political intrigue. Still, their culture is dependent upon the sword and the steed (in this case, the reptilian myat). There is no magic or any tangible presence of deities in Zylor.

The dozen Sojan stories show much of the promise of action and creativity of Moorcock’s later works, but here his execution has yet to be perfected. Not surprisingly, the stories lack the sophistication that even good young adult fantasy has. Fight sequences and plot lines suffer from logical leaps, an excess of convenience or "luck," and abrupt endings. Some of the tales read more like sketches; for example, in one story, Sojan learns of and averts a civil war in just a few pages. Characterization is thin. Dialogue is infested with clichés and Moorcock’s voice sometimes slips into narrative "info-dumps." Still, some of the stories are complicated and ambitious (particularly given Moorcock’s age at the time they were penned), and a few of the themes and ideas reappear in Moorcock’s later works.

As "portraits of the artist as a young man," the Sojan stories remain of interest. The distinctions between Moorcock’s initial forays into fantasy and his masterpieces are lessons for aspiring fantasy writers. Summaries of each story are included here. The full stories were reprinted in Elric at the End of Time.

• Sojan the Swordsman: A Daughter of a Warrior King (originally published in Tarzan Adventures, Aug. 31, 1957)




This short story marks the debut of Sojan, a wandering mercenary from the planet Zylor. Sojan rides his myat (a steed vaguely reptilian) through the desert plains to the city of Vermlot, capital of the nation Hatnor, to offer his sword to Nornos Kad, WarLord of the Imperial Empire of Hatnor. Sojan quickly draws the attention of Nornos Kad after he bests one of the imperial soldiers. Nornos Kad immediately assigns Sojan to accompany him on a journey to the nation of Sengol on a mission to return the princess of Sengol, Il-that, to her home.

The Hatnorian air fleet is attacked by pirates of the nation of Veronlam. After a brief battle, the pirates destroy the Hatnorian fleet. The air ships plummet to the ground in flames. Believing he is the only survivor and a refugee within the Veronlam, Sojan hides his identity and struggles to the Veronlam city of Quentos. Again, Sojan displays his skills as a mercenary. Again, he is quickly given an elite assignment. He soon discovers that Nornos Kad and Il-that also survived the pirates’ attack and are captives in the Prison of Zholun.

Luckily, Sojan is assigned as a prison guard. When the other guard leaves due to family illness, Sojan rescues Nornos Kad and Il-that. The three battle to steal an air-ship. They are pursued and must ditch their ship after an aerial battle. They avoid capture and safely reach Sengol.

• Mission to Asno (originally published in Tarzan Adventures, Sept. 21, 1957)

In this very short story, Sojan is now second in command to Nornos Kad, WarLord of the Imperial Empire of Hatnor. He has been assigned to lead an air fleet to attack the Boitil, the capital city of the country of Asno. It is a pre-emptive attack; Hatnorian spies report that Asno is raising an army to attack one of its colonies. Sojan’s fleet catches the city off-guard and quickly defeats their forces. The king surrenders and becomes a vassal of Hatnor.

• Revolt in Hatnor (originally published in Tarzan Adventures, Nov. 23, 1957)




Sojan returns to Hatnor after his raid on Boitil only to discover that, in his absence, rebels have taken most of the empire. He hides the fleet in the jungles of Poltoon, home of old barbarian-mercenary friends.

• The Hordes Attack (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Dec. 21, 1957)

Sojan has waited for the moment of his attack upon the usurping tyrant of Hatnor. His fleet and Poltoonian mercenaries sweep into the capital of Vermlot and quickly seize the city. After a stand-off with the tyrant’s guards, Sojan cleverly rescues Nornos Kad.

• The Purple Galley (originally published Tarzan Adventures Feb. 22, 1958)




Nornos Rique, son of Nornos Kad, is missing. Searches of Hatnor convince Nornos Kad that his son is no longer in the empire. Sojan sets off to find him.

Sojan learns that an Uffjirian merchant named Parijh may be involved in the prince’s mysterious absence. Trailing him, he becomes entangled with Orfil, Captain of the Spies Guild in Rhan. Attacked by both Parijh and Orfil, Sojan escapes to follow Orfil’s trail.

• The Sea Wolves! (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Mar. 1, 1958)

Sojan has followed Orfil to the port of Minifjar in the country of Barj. In an inn, Sojan runs into Orfil, who leaves to seek re-enforcements to deal with Sojan. Luckily, however, Sojan’s old friend Red, captain of a cavalry squad, arrives at the inn before Orfil can return. After a pitched battle in the streets, Orfil captures Sojan.

• Sojan at Sea (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Mar. 8, 1958)

Sojan awakes on board a ship. To his surprise, Parijh and Nornos Rique command the ship. They explain that they have rescued him from the spy Orfil and fill him in on the plot that led to Nornos Rique’s mysterious disappearance.

Spies from Uffjir learned that the priests of Rhan were planning to bring forth an ancient power. Using this power, the priests hoped to rule over the planet. Fearing open confrontation would push the priests to swifter action, Uffjir appealed to Nornos Rique in secret. Hearing of the threat, he immediately set off with the Uffjirians toward Rhan. Parijh had acted as a sort of rear guard, protecting Nornos Rique. Once they knew Sojan’s true identity, they rescued him from the bowels of Orfil’s docked ship and set sail for their allies hiding in Rhan.

• The Sea of Demons (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Mar. 15, 1958)

Will Sojan and his friends reach Rhan in time to foil the plot of the priests to take control of the planet? Or will Orfil reach Rhan first and set the priests’ plan into action before Sojan can stop them?

Sojan, Parijh, and Nornos Rique decide their ship must dare the Sea of Demons if they are to have a chance of beating Orfil’s faster ship to Rhan. Their ship is assaulted on all sides by the strange mermen, but Sojan battles through and at last the ship reaches port in Rhan.

Sojan is immediately brought to the hiding place of Hatnorian spies. There, he discovers that his friend Red, who had also been captured by Orfil, has made his own strange way to Rhan.

• Prisoners in Stone (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Mar. 22, 1958)




Red has learned how the priests of Rhan plan to conquer the world. They intend to use the power of the Old Ones, who populated the planet of Zylor before human refugees landed. To foil the plot, they must break into the Great Temple through abandoned (but guarded) tunnels beneath the complex. One man – Sojan – is elected to go.

In the tunnels, Sojan defeats the strange guardians. Disguised as a priest, he makes his way to the heart of the Temple where, in a shadowed room, he meets the Old Ones. To his surprise, he learns that the Old Ones are the captives of the priesthood. The Old Ones explain that they are entities of mind only, very nearly immortal. They helped humans when humans came to Zylor. But, eventually, the humans turned on them in fear. Most of the Old Ones left the planet; few stayed behind. Some humans worshipped the Old Ones as gods; the Old Ones, in their vanity, did not refuse. But those worshippers too turned on the Old Ones, capturing them in blocks of blue jade. Now, the Old Ones have been promised freedom to join their brethren if they help the priesthood conquer the planet. They have agreed.

Sojan, however, learns from the Old Ones that he too can free them. And so he does. The Old Ones take their vengeance upon Rhan as Sojan and his friends flee in their ship.

• Sojan and the Plain of Mystery (originally published Tarzan Adventures, May 31, 1958)

Sojan and his friends, Red, Nornos Rique, and Parijh, are returning to Hatnor after saving the planet from the priests of Rhan. Their airship, however, is caught in a storm and driven inland over the continent of Shortani. While attempting to repair damage to their steering system, they are attacked by a dragon-like creature. They are forced to ditch the airship in a forest.

Stranded, they come across an ancient airport. The airfield is quickly surrounded by angry locals, furious that Sojan and his friends have violated the control tower. In desperation, Sojan and his friends enter a ship and start pulling levers. They are saved: the ship shoots into space, coming down in the familiar nation of Poltoon. Shocked Poltoonians meet the heroes and transport them back to Hatnor.

• Sojan and the Sons of the Snake-God (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Jun. 21, 1958)

A remarkable year has passed since Sojan first arrived in Hatnor and now he has taken his leave of Nornos Kad to seek his fortunes elsewhere. He chooses the city of Dhar-Im-Jak, which he hears is on the verge of war with its neighbor and long-time ally Forsh-Mai. After offering his services to Dhar-Im-Jak, Sojan is captured by swordsmen of Forsh-Mai, who want their services for themselves. The priests of Forsh-Mai explain to Sojan that they have invented a religion worshiping the Snake God in an effort to launch a Holy War against their neighbors. With their plan exposed, Sojan quickly dispatches the leaders of the plot and averts the war.

• Sojan and the Devil Hunters of Norj (originally published Tarzan Adventures, Jul. 12, 1958)

Sojan is once again a wandering mercenary. In the Valley of Norj, he stumbles across a battle. Out of curiosity, Sojan launches himself into the fray to aid the losing side. His skills turn the tide and his new allies are able to flee into the forest.

There, Sojan learns that humans settled in the Valley of Norj only to learn that another nocturnal, race (the Cergii) already lived there. Believing the two races could live in harmony, the human stayed. However, the Cergii began to capture humans, only to release them so that they could enjoy the sport of hunting the humans down. Aggression between the two races increased until the free human population dwindled. Worse, some of the humans had joined the Cergii as hirelings. The battle Sojan had stumbled upon was the Cergii attempting to kill a group of escaped humans.

It turns out, however, that the number of Cergii has dwindled as well – only 10 remain. Sojan swears to aid the human Norjians against the Cergii. Sojan and Jarg hatch a plan.

Sojan is captured by the Cergii henchmen. He is used that night as the quarry in their hunt. But he leads the Cergii into a trap: Jarg and his men lay in wait. The Cergii are slaughtered. Sojan, Jarg, and their warriors return to the Cergii castle to free the captives and slay the traitorous hirelings.