[Midus]

Minor Spoilers.

I've always had mixed feelings about Mister Moorcock. Having read the Elric saga, along with some Corum, von Bek, and Erekose, I can say I've never found a skilled author more annoying. Moorcock couldn't find a plot to save his life, his stories are repetitive, his characters transparent, and his worlds shallow.

But. His characters and environments are poorly developed because they are distilled down to philosophical abstractions. The characters and conflicts are repetative because characters are not people but symbols of their philosophical stance.

Moorcock dreams up some moral dilema, and then cloths his ideas in improbible forms. So you get things like Nazi Soldiers fighting anamorphic philosophers beneath Germany during World War Two (Dream Theif's Daughter). This sort of thing made me quit reading his books.

Moorcock does have some great ideas though. Lucifer searching for redemtion and Elric walking around England with Stormbringer in an electric guitar case is all very cool.

[This message has been edited by Midus (edited February 09, 2002).]

[Corwwyn]

He also has penned some great quotes/lines.

The ending to the Elric series (before the later books) was brilliant. The only time Stormbringer speaks, yet what a statement.

The ending of King of Swords, the last of the first books of Corum was so cool.

Like many authors though, he both writes more books in series after they've finished (and these tend to be of reduced standard), and his different works vary in quality.

[Mithfânion]

Midus, I think I agree with you. I started reading moorcock's works on some very strong recommendations by other posters. The Elric omnibus was the first one up. Elric is an intriguing character. The last sorcerer emperor of Melnibone. But his world felt muddled and too dark for my taste. And , as you say, it was repitive, Elric's battle scenes especially. Also some distrubing inconsistencies, for instance I learn in one story that the Actorios (the scarlet ring he wears) doesn't have any power at all and is merely the symbol of the Melnibonean Emperors, while in another story this same Actorios is stolen from him and he goes on a desperate quest to retrieve it because it diminished his sorcerous abilities quite considerably.

Corwwyn named a good scene though. Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer were the best anyway. But his Elric saga doesn't get more than 6 out of 10 for me.

Corum was more likable, read his trilogy, called "Corum;Coming of chaos". Good fantasy, better than Elric. Though Elric himself has that cool edge Corum and other heroes lack.

[Rob B]

I saw Moorcock lauded for a while before I finally enjoyed his writing. It took my 3rd try on Elric to "get it" and since then, I have really been enjoying what I've read by him.

Elric is really good and his most well known.

Von Bek is very good too. In the US Omnibus, the first novel The War Hound and the World's Pain is one of the best things I've ever read, but the rest of the books in the omnibus fell short.

Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed Hawkmoon. Though I can understand the whole repetitveness thing since each hero is an incarnation of the Eternal Champion.

[Limor]

Moorcock is actually one of the authors who got me hooked on fantasy, I read the Elric saga when I was about 13 right after what ever Amber (Zelazny) books I could get my hands on at the time.
I'm not sure I understood it all at that age but I still loved it.

I have managed to read the whole of Amber series again (this time as an adult) but the only Moorcock book I read since was Dancers at the end of time. And though it's only borderline fantasy I enjoyed it very much.

[The Iron Orchid]

Moorcock can be frustrating to read; he has been extremely prolific from a very young age and that has at times been to his detriment. In some of his earlier writings in particular, there is a slapdash "gotta keep the bill collectors at bay" feel that is highly distracting. And his complex inter-related cosmos of stories, created over a 40-year period, will never have internal consistancy and coherence. And yet ... I find it easy overlook his shortcomings.

He is an important innovator. Few writers have worked as hard as Moorcock to shake things up and experiment with the (often stale) conventions of sf and fantasy. Even at his sloppiest, his imagination is unflagging.

One of his major influences is C.G. Jung. Moorcock tries to create characters and situations that resonate deeply with the subconscious mind. This gives the best of his work a haunting quality, full of powerful, archetypal images that stay with you long after you have finished reading.

But most of all, his stuff is just plain fun! Shudder as Elric's Black Sword drinks the souls of men ... gasp as Corum defies the Lords of Chaos ... long to join the gloriously hedonistic revellers at the End of Time ... great pulp fiction with a soul, what more could you ask for?

[Vitriol]

... long to join the gloriously hedonistic revellers at the End of Time

I dunno, when I read the books, I felt this was far closer to hell than heaven; they may have near-infinite power, but they are so few, and they have lost almost all true emotion. They spend their time playing games and care for nothing. I felt that there would have been fewer world I would rather have lived in (though it would be fun to visit).

[The Iron Orchid]

I dunno, when I read the books, I felt this was far closer to hell than heaven; they may have near-infinite power, but they are so few, and they have lost almost all true emotion. They spend their time playing games and care for nothing. I felt that there would have been fewer world I would rather have lived in (though it would be fun to visit).

Yes, but they are also utterly innocent, like Adam and Eve before the Fall. I wouldn't care to be trapped there, but if I had to choose between them and Amelia Underwood's Victorians ... !!

[astrianna]

'Utterly innocent hedonistic revelry' made me giggle.
I've read some Moorcock, he came very, very highly recommended. I think perhaps the recommendation was what spoiled it for me, I expected perfection and was left confused and slightly bothered. I'd give him another try eventually, but I haven't since. Elric was, granted, very cool. But the series didn't hook me (I read one of the omnibus things. I can't remember what it was called but it was all about Elric and there were, oh, four? five? stories.)

[The Fire Clown]

Like Limor, Moorcock was my introduction to fantasy, save it was a few years ago when I was 36. After reading The Eternal Champion I was hooked and read straight through to Legends from the End of Time. I enjoyed each and every book immensely.

Whether or not one likes Moorcock's writing or that of any other writer, is, obviously, just one of those things. I have a difficult time finding books that engage me. I put down more than I keep on with.

I concur with what The Iron Orchard has stated, particularly in his last two paragraphs. I've always felt drawn in, deeply. Often the intensity of situations were overwhelming. I've heard some say that Moorcock is too "dark." He does an excellent job of expressing the agonia of each character, like Elric or Corum, as they journey and battle. It's the dark, tragic side of the Moorcockian hero that keeps me closer to him throughout the story.

I can recognize the deep struggles and perseverence of a Tanis half-eleven or a Raislan, but I do not feel it. I enjoy the Dragonlance stories, but not with the intensity that Moorcock exudes.



[This message has been edited by The Fire Clown (edited February 10, 2002).]