Eternal champion

[Kevin]

I'd like to start the above series by Michael Moorcock, but I'm completely confused as to the order and where to start. If anyone could list or provide a link to a good (maybe chronological) reading order for these books, I'd appreciate it. Thanks a bunch.

Kevin

 

[The Iron Orchid]

You don't have to read the various cycles that make up the Eternal Champion mythos in any particular order. As long as you start with The Eternal Champion and finish off with the Chronicles of Castle Brass (the last of that series being The Quest for Tanelorn) it will all more or less fall into place. White Wolf published a fifteen volume set that has most of the Eternal Champion stuff and a lot of stuff that's tangentially related, but even that doesn't cover what Moorcock has written since that was published. The important parts of it are The Eternal Champion, Phoenix in Obsidian, the Elric series, the Hawkmoon series (including the Brass series), and the Corum series. Other major works are the various Von Bek books and the Dancers at the End of Time books (personal favorites of mine). This is all actually less confusing than it sounds. All of Moorcock's work is sort of loosely interconnected anyway, no one could ever untangle the whole complicated mess; it's best to just sit back, start reading and enjoy.

 

[Rob B]

You can also check out www.multiverse.org
Moorcock's official Web site.

Elric is probably the most famous of the Eternal Champions.

Von Bek is an excellent part of the cycle as well

 

[Mithfânion]

I own two Elric omnibus volumes, one called Elric of Melnibone, which has the same stories as Song of the Black sword, which is the US omnibus. Are there any other loose Elric volumes? Bane of the black sword perhaps? The second omnibus I have is called "Stormbringer"and includes "Caravan of dreams", "Revenge of the Rose, "Stealer of souls" and "Stormbringer", "caravan of forgotten dreams" and "Sleeping sorceress".

Anyone?

 

[Rob B]

The most recent Elric book:
The Dreamthief's Daughter which also features von Bek. I think this book picks up where Fortress of the Pearl leaves off. It's on the pile, unread.

The Elric books have gone through a couple of incarnations at the least.
I have the Science Fiction Book Club Omnibuses
The Elric Saga, I
The Elric Saga, II

I also got the White Wolf omnibuses for Christmas
Bane of the Black Sword
Stealer of Souls

What is interesting is that Fortress of the Pearl & I think Revenge of the Rose do NOT appear in my SFBC volumes but do appear in the White Wolf omnibuses.

[This message has been edited by FitzFlagg (edited March 12, 2002).]

 

[Mithfânion]

What is interesting is that Fortress of the Pearl & I think Revenge of the Rose do NOT appear in my SFBC volumes but do appear in the White Wolf omnibuses.

Aren't those the two volumes written much later, around 1990?

 

[Rob B]

Don't know off the top of my head, but the link I posted to www.multiverse.org has the details, including which omnibus versions contain which stories.

 

[Hobbit]

Yes, Mithfânion - they were. The story of the publishing of these stories is very very complicated....

Fitz - recently read Dreamthief's Daughter and enjoyed it a lot. There's an interesting view when tyou take the idea of chaos and order and extend them - when does order become fascism? There's an interesting take on the Nazism view about relics too - sort of Indiana Jones/Raiders of the Lost Ark style.

I'm still amazed how Moorcock manages so many ideas in so brief a wordage.

Enjoyed it a lot - but you probably have to read the rest of the Elric first, IMO.

Hobbit

 

[Hobbit]

.....And I've just heard from the man himself!!!!

Mike is off into hospital on Monday for an operation. I thought I'd wish him all the best.

Hobbit

 

[Rob B]

Yeah, Hobbit, I've got to pick out those two novels FOTP and ROTR before reading Dreamthief.

 

[Cicero]

Yes, Mithfânion - they were. The story of the publishing of these stories is very very complicated....

Fitz - recently read Dreamthief's Daughter and enjoyed it a lot. There's an interesting view when tyou take the idea of chaos and order and extend them - when does order become fascism? There's an interesting take on the Nazism view about relics too - sort of Indiana Jones/Raiders of the Lost Ark style.

I'm still amazed how Moorcock manages so many ideas in so brief a wordage.

Enjoyed it a lot - but you probably have to read the rest of the Elric first, IMO.

Hobbit

Elric Tales of the White Wolf. an anthology that came noun around 1994 , I think In this book other author. got to to do Elric stories for example A Gothic Touch by Karl Edward Wagner brings together Kane the Mystic Swordsman and Elric, moongloum and Strombringer . It as also Wager last Kane the Mystic Swordsman story.

 

[Cicero]

Will they ever be reissuing the ans will Michael Moorcock ever add new chapters to this wonderful saga?

 

[Cicero]

The very first novel I read by him was The Phoenix in Obsidian. andI really didn't like from opens but I read it. it was okay at the time dint know that it was sequel to his The Eternal Champion which read years later and actually. The some year went by and picked up The Swords Trilogy which felt out floored me It terrific stuff ! and I did read the sequel The Chronicles of Corum a few years later . The n the Elric saga whichI alos liked , I read The Ice Schooner , The War Hound and the Worlds Pain, Behold the Man , The first book of the Dancer as the End of Time , The Final Program the first book of Cornelius saga. I dint like either one of those. The Golden Barge , The Runestaff Series , The Castle Brass series .

 

[Hobbit]

Back in the 80's here in the UK, Mike was one of the few Fantasy writers I could get hold of relatively easy. But Mike was British, and his work has a certain British tone.

Here I think it was Elric first, but really got into Mike's books with The Runestaff & Corum. War Hound is, I think, one of his best; Behold the Man is short but memorable.

(These then led to Donaldson's Thomas Covenant, Eddings' Belgariad, Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara and Raymond Feist's Magician.)

 

[Cicero]

Back in the 80's here in the UK, Mike was one of the few Fantasy writers I could get hold of relatively easy. But Mike was British, and his work has a certain British tone.

Here I think it was Elric first, but really got into Mike's books with The Runestaff & Corum. War Hound is, I think, one of his best; Behold the Man is short but memorable.

(These then led to Donaldson's Thomas Covenant, Eddings' Belgariad, Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara and Raymond Feist's Magician.)

Some of best fans ive ever read.