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Title: The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock, Tom Canty ISBN: 1-56504-191-7 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: February, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (19 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Tolkien-esque hero story fans need not apply.
Comment: The most important thing about this book is the first story out of the four in this book. Originally published in the 1950's, it was a very different type of fantasy writing than the L.O.T.R. and Conan the Barbarian style that was and remains insanely popular. The Eternal Champion features a hero who is at times scared, unwilling, and most importantly, evil. The protagonist does not fully agree with his own actions and this presents a hero who is *gasp* human.
This seriously rocked the boat when held up against the other fantasy and sci-fi of the day. Has the anti-hero concept been more skilfully rendered since? Of course, several have done it better, and Moorcock himself has improved upon his early writing greatly, which is to be expected since he was 17 when he wrote The Eternal Champion.
The stories in the book are interesting enough, but the real value of this volume is the way it changed the rules for a genre of fiction and the fairly complete introduction to a decent series of books it provides. The series is well worth the read if you have a couple of months or years to get through it all and you want to see fantasy done with more of a human realist perspective.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great read.
Comment: This review is for only the story "The Eternal Champion"
Moorcock wrote this story in less than a week when he was seventeen and it is the only one by him written in first person (at least that I know of). The story is simple: A man called to champion the human race in a war against ?the evil Eldrin? finds that the Eldrin are not evil at all; that the evil is all a projection of humanity?s own shortcomings. The hero then betrays humankind and champions the Eldrin. In the Eldrin he finds kindness, dignity, restraint, spirituality, and beauty (all the things seventeen year old men want, but lack in adolescence). In the end the very qualities of humanity he detests (anger, revenge, myopia, self interest) overtake him and he launches a genocide against mankind.
The story is told in broad strokes, and the writing is inconsistent; weak at times, strong at others. But the magic of this story is seeing how Moorcock?s young mind is trying to come to grips with really powerful ideas. Most of the struggles in our life are actually quite simple: who am I; what do I believe; to whom am I loyal and why; how do I reconcile what I want be with who I actually am; what does my choice of enemies say about me; how well do I really understand my enemies; etc... In the end the hero is not Eldrin (whom he admires), he is human (what he detests),and so he ends up all alone in the middle (again an adolescent fantasy: I refuse to be like the world, but I fail to be what I want, and therefore I am nowhere and all alone...).
This may all sound simple, but compared to much of the sci-fi/fantasy claptrap out there this is Dostoyevsky by comparison. And Moorcock is brilliant at filling in a fantasy world, and keeping the narration at high speed. This is a sparse tale; not a lot of wasted words here. What is left unsaid is equally important as what is said. This book is not a complex masterpiece. It is a simple, yet competent work by a young brilliant author just realizing his skill in story telling and thought. In the end the simplicity is betrayed by an honest existential sadness.
I first read this book in sixth grade twenty years ago and have read it several times since. Each time I like this tale more. Great short read. Enjoy.
Rating: 5
Summary: You might want to ask questions about yourself
Comment: This book might put you in a philosophical mood and make your question your value.
The story itself is great, but its presentation could be better. I've read the book without putting it down. Several realms are presented with a common line through all of them.
This is a big story with multiple storylines, and they all make sense in the later works by Michael.
I think you'll enjoy it.
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Title: Von Bek (Eternal Champion Series, Vol. 2) by Michael Moorcock, Janet Avlisio ISBN: 1565041925 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: May, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Hawkmoon (Eternal Champion Series, Vol. 3) by Michael Moorcock ISBN: 1565041933 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: A Nomad of the Time Streams: A Scientific Romance by Michael Moorcock, Chris Meuller ISBN: 1565041941 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: May, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Vanishing Tower by Michael Moorcock ISBN: 0425064069 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: November, 1983 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
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Title: Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock ISBN: 0425065596 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: March, 1984 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
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