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! ( )

(Alistair) Well, sometimes I like some good, old-fashioned sword-and-sorcery, and having the two Corum trilogies sitting about on the shelves previously unread by me, I turn to these. One thing I have noted in the past about Moorcock's work is that the worldbuilding is generally both pretty decent and interesting, which is not, I suspect, generally the case for the plenitude of genuine pulp sword-and-sorcery I also have sitting about on the shelves.

It's also good for my regular dose of Humans Are Bastards, because in this trilogy, man ("who in those days, called his race Mabden"), are pure bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling, to quote a quotation from the above-linked TV Tropes page. This trilogy drops us right in the middle of what in so many fantasy worlds is implied or backstory, the time at which the humans largely wipe out the older races, and while the more civilized folk of Lywn-an-Esh provide some counterpoint to this, our lovely human envy and xenophobia are shown in full, ugly flower. Anthropophiles be warned.

Anyway, this book is an omnibus, containing the first of the two Corum trilogies, The Knight of the Swords, The Queen of the Swords, and The King of the Swords. It is part of the Eternal Champion cycle, and as such concerns itself with part of the ongoing and eternal struggle between Law and Chaos (as represented by the three eponymous Sword Rules, each of whom governs five of the Fifteen Planes through which the setting of these books moves, and each of whom is eventually overthrown in the appropriate book).

They are, of course, somewhat reminiscent of the Elric books (the primary other part of the Eternal Champion cycle which I have read), but frankly, while I did enjoy Elric's books, I nevertheless prefer these; much as I understand the reasons for it, Elric's angst does not make him terribly good reading for me, and this is a condition Corum does not suffer from, despite having at least as much reason to. This makes it, while still harsh in plenty of places, significantly more enjoyable reading overall.

Recommended for those who like this particular fantasy subgenre.

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/ce... ) ( )

Michael Moorcock is my favorite writer, especially of fantasy. In this collection of three tales of Corum, the Scarlet Prince, Moorcock takes us on a journey through a world in which man are slowly wiping out fair folk. Corum, the last of his elfin people, sets out on a quest to seek vengeance for what mankind did to his castle, his family, and his people.

Losing his hand and his eye to a band of warriors, Corum is rescued by a mysterious creature who takes him to an area where the humans are sympathetic to his people. There he learns of the great battle between Chaos and Law, and how the Lords of Law have lost this realm, as well as two others, to three Chaos Lords. It is up to Corum, occasionally aided by a friend, to defeat these Chaos Lords and bring Balance back into the realms.

If you are a fan of other work by Moorcock, particularly Elric of Melnibone, you will greatly enjoy Corum: The Coming of Chaos. Additionally, if you prefer Swords & Sorcery to Epic Fantasy (authors such as Fritz Lieber or Jack Vance), you will probably enjoy the works of Moorcock more so than you would the works of Tolkien. ( )

An omnibus edition from Millenium the Tale of the Eternal Champion 4, with an introduction.

Moorcock notes that this is one of the only times he used a historical type of setting for a series, because he was stuck with a not so good Cornish-English dictionary, partly.

Corum Jhaelen Irsei, the Prince in the Scarlet Robe, is one of the last of the Vhadhagh, a race that is a precursor to the Mabden, or man.

The Lords of Chaos are not too pleased with Corum, as he is siding with the men, which could do bad things to their power base. You would not expect any less from The Eternal Champion, though.

4 out of 5

Corum has gained himself a new moniker in this book, The Prince of the Silver Hand, thanks to a bit of an accident with one of his arms that required some mystical aid to restore an arm to usefulness.

He is moving up the ladder, and has to take on the Queen this time, to try and protect his own plane. The ever faithful Companion to Champions is with him, pet included.

3.5 out of 5

Another important installment of the Eternal Champion series, and the third book in the first Corum trilogy.

Corum Jhaelen Irsei, ever resourceful, has taken out the Queen of the Swords, and now has to face the most powerful of this suit, the King.

An omnibus that includes the Swords trilogy, with an introduction.

He is most definitely not without help and resources, as here, he joins to become the ultra-hero Three-Who-Are-One, with both Elric and Erekose.

5 out of 5

http://superprose.blogspot.com/2006/1... ( )

Corum is my favorite incarnation of the Eternal Champion. I like him a bit less in the Coming of Chaos series, which I read as Del Rey books years ago. It is Michael Moorcock at some of his best. The monsters, the descriptions, the, if you'll excuse the term, chaotic nature of the Lords of Chaos is pretty interesting. ( )