Corum: The Coming Of Chaos

Unlike several of the volumes in this collection, the Corum novels are three linear, sequential adventures covering the aforementioned hero's struggle against a Chaos invasion of his home world. It's good old-fashioned sword and sorcery, complete with magic limb replacements, gods good, evil, and capricious, a wisecracking sidekick with a flying cat, a cardboard cutout love interest, etc. All the basics.

It's solid stuff, although I found Corum himself a little flat - Moorcock hit a home run with the Eternal Champion concept, because it means he can put the same broody hero into any possible situation and have a ready-made conflict, but the heroes themselves, with the notable exception of Elric, tend to all blur together. But that multifaced hero has definitely grown on me. ( )

The Knight of Swords: http://www.librarything.com/review/85471577
The Queen of Swords: http://www.librarything.com/review/25465906
The King of Swords: http://www.librarything.com/review/85471601

I first read these books as a twelve year old. I was fascinated by the darkness they contained. My previous experience in the genre was limited to Terry Brooks and J.R.R. Tolkein - so reading Moorcock was a significant departure. I read Elric and then Corum. Elric was just very depressing and more cerebral. Corum, though, was right up my alley - swords, fighting, revenge. I still remember reading about "the gaping maw of Chaos". That particular image is still the one I see in my head when I read the word "maw". Rereading it now as a forty year old, I still find a lot to like about this particular incarnation of the Champion. For all that he's not human, he's very human - full of doubt, hate, rage, lust for revenge, a penchant for sloth and arrogance... Very human. His torture at the hands of the Mabden was gruesome and another vivid image. But he refuses to lie down. When a challenge presents itself, he steps up. He's a man of action, and I very much appreciate that. ( )

I really struggled with this book, and abandoned it fairly quickly. I found a lot of interesting ideas and characters, but somehow this and the plot was vicious and overblown. Perhaps I just was not in the mood for a heroic yet depressing revenge saga with gore, torture and flowery prose. It's pretty damning about people in general. I could see no hope and no reason to carry on reading, after I picked this up again. I did manage to get through the Elric omnibus when I was younger - somehow - possibly the angst was manageable, and the horror intermittent and mercifully not always easy to imagine. Who knows? I was evidently not feeling strong-minded enough when I tried to read this one. ( )

Excellent series! I loved the first book of the this saga best perhaps, although the exploration of the traditional Celtic mythos is quite exciting in itself!

Corum is my favorite of the Eternal Champions. He's not as evil or twisted or conflicted as Elric, nor does he carry around a soul sucking sword (usually). He's also not quite as damned as Dorian Hawkmoon. In fact, in this trilogy he's determined to get revenge for his people, and wipe out the deities that are Elric's patrons! ( )