If I had to name a favourite fantasy novel, it might very well be this book. The Worm Ouroboros is a magnificent tale completely unlike anything else I have ever read. The language is absolutely a delight to read, although it may prove a bit difficult at first. The peoples are named Demons, Witches, and Goblins, which is a bit distracting and the Induction can be completely disregarded, but the rest of the book is splendid, from the lofty peaks of Koshtra Pivrarcha and Koshtra Belorn to the colourful characters. The Demons - Juss, Brandoch Daha, Mevrian, and others - are all a bit too good to be true. The Witches - Corund and Corinius and Corsus and the rest - are generally more interesting. The women - Prezmyra, Mevrian, and even Sriva - are not merely decorative but are strong and interesting characters. And then there is Lord Gro, who must be one of literature's most unforgettable traitors and I think is one of the more sympathetic characters. Reading The Worm Ouroboros is a journey into a world of bright colours, heroic deeds, and dark magic, and it is a book I always enjoy re-reading over and over again. ( )

Unique- and if you don't know what that means, don't read it, because you'll be disappointed. The language is florid, but no more difficult than that in "A Clockwork Orange". The Worm Ourobouros (the dragon that eats its own tail) is a symbol of infinity- the last chapter of the story is the same as the first, and the very first time I read this book, when I (reluctantly) reached the end, I opened it up again and re-read it. I have since re-read it 8 or 10 times, and I know that I'm not alone. BTW, the virtues are NOT all military- loyalty and bravery do not require war.... ( )

This is a 'classic'. A lot of high-powered writers liked it. I tried several times to make it through it before I managed it. The language is almost constructed - it doesn't flow for me as much as writhe around before I finally pin it down. It's in an odd style (Elizabethan?) with a story that reminds me of the Iliad or the Odyssey. Great story, sucky style. Why he writes such long, convoluted sentences with archaic words in such a stilted style is beyond me. All the critics like it, but I doubt it will ever be popular with the masses.Once I got past the style, the story was a lot of fun. It's an imaginative world where the inhabitants are demons, witches & the politics are as bad as those of the Iliad. Heroes abound & they journey about committing deeds of bravery. ( )

To enjoy The Worm Ouroboros, one must accept the glorification of war, just as one must accept magic spells and E.R. Eddison's invented, pseudo-archaic language. Once you get used to the style, it is mostly unobtrusive and occasionally delightful.

Eddison's heroes are not very clearly drawn. The one exception is the dandy and berserker Brandoch Daha -- and now I've told you everything about him. Eddison often does a better job with the villains, such as King Gorice the nth (take your pick) and the aptly-named Corsus. The most nuanced and interesting character is the principled traitor Lord Gro.

As you might expect from a tale weak on characterization, events are plot-driven. The plot concerns the invasion of Demonland by the forces of Witchland under King Gorice, which includes the supernatural kidnapping and rescue of Goldry Bluszco, one of the lords of demonland. Despite the carefully constructed, symmetrical plot -- or maybe because of it -- the tale seems episodic. Actions are driven by a scheme external to the story, rather than growing from character.

At the end of the novel, the glorification of war becomes explicit. This -- and the nature of the ending itself -- rather broke the spell for me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book, and plan to read Eddison's Zimiamvia trilogy. ( )

I read all four books, one after the other, in the late 1960s. Each establishes characters and plots that will be furthered in subsequent books. In truth, there are no sympathetic characters in the books. But it is an astonishing feat of baroque writing, as the castle is revealed in great detail, along with creepy illustrations by the author. I thought it was amazing, a writhing mass of strange characters, some mad, some evil, some soft-headed. It isn't for people who want crisp action, a clean plot, and a hero to identify with. ( )

I found this to be one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. The further I read, the more impressed I became. ( )

Odd. Quite good in places but let down by some continuity errors, and some truly confusing writing.

The prologue "Introduction" bears no relevance to anything at all of the rest of the book, and it seems to serve merely as a device to introduce the foreign world in which we find ourselves. A world inhabited by demons, goblins, pixies, witchland (humans?) and diverse others, that is not hell - despite the demons. It seems that the king of Witchland deems himself King of all this world, but the King of Demonland acknowledges no overlord, and so the two tribes go to war. Our human/dream observer vanishing without further comment we get to follow the Demon chiefs and various confusingly similarly named Witch-generals over a couple of campaigns. It isn't really clear (at least until more than halfway through) which side if any are supposed to be the 'good' guys, indeed it isn't really clear what the point of the whole thing is - the Worm Ouroboros doesn't make any apperance in the story at any time.

The writing is oft-times flowery and full of description - pillared rooms are lavishly described, not only the walls and hangings, but the pillars and carvings and the jewels and gems and the way the light reflects from them. Ad nauseum. I skipped several sentences each time this occurred. Generally though the prose is very readable, the pacing quite well controlled and generally non-intrusive. There are a few jumps in voice, which I always find disconcerting - especially between two uncles and three nephews, all of whose names were similar! - until that is we get to the letters. For some reason three times in the story there appears to be a necessity to quote a letter that various characters have written, verbatim. And those characters, can't spell, or write. And hence, we the reader, can't understand what happened in whatever battle it was that they were reporting on. Almost totally unintelligible, and completely breaks the flow.

The good bits? Well there must be some, it's a nicely imagined world, with varied terrain and interesting inhabitants. The battles are well choreographed. The mountain climbing section was superb, unusually sounding like the author actually had experience of being out in the ice and snow.

Overall though it's difficult to get into and ultimately un-rewarding when you do so, probably of more account for it's cultural significance than any particular literary merit.

.......................................................................................................... ( )

This is a vastly overrated book, though it has some impressive writing. The various nations are called Demons, Witches, Goblins, Imps, etc., but all are just people, all physically the same. There are many things which just don't fit; in a fantasy world set on Mercury, the inhabitants follow the Greek pantheon and quote Shakespeare and British folk songs.

What's worst is that only military virtues figure into the book: bravery, physical prowess, and courtesy toward enemies; and only the top rulers and generals are worth any notice, except for one chapter in which a common soldier describes the battle while praising the top rulers and generals. In the final chapter, the winning side laments the coming of peace, saying life just isn't worth living without an enemy to fight, and finds a way to have war without end.

I realised after 50-odd pages of faux medieval prose that I could not face another 450 and so gave up. ( )

I purchased this book for my husband after reading the author was one of J.K. Tolkein's favorite descriptive writers. I thought who in he world would J.K. Tolkein look up to? But I can see why! My gosh this is the most rich, enormous, decadent tapestry of descriptive prose and mythical plot I have ever drooled over in bed. Whenever someone is sick in this house and wants to be distracted from the flu or some other misery, out comes this book, which must be read slowly as the sentences are complex and beg to be savored. I would be so bold as to say that I had only thought I had read amazing fantasy and science fiction books, until I read this one. This is what they all really aspired to write, but fell short. This is no Harry Potter or Goldenn Compass series, while those are nothing to sneeze at, I'll give you all that. But it surpasses the Lord of the Rings somehow not in plot, but in world building. Have your notecards or notbooks out to keep track of the lineage of deamons you'll start to obsess about, and plan on staying up late. But whatever you do, don't sleep in Lotus Room! ;) ( )

The language is a bit difficult but the story keeps you interested. When all was said and done and I reached the well-done ending, I realized that I had never warmed to any character in the book. I doubt I'll reread it, but fantasy fans should certainly give it a try. ( )

An absolutely amazing book. It's kind of a cross between fantasy and a story of the days of old when knights were bold. To be honest, there were times that I thought I'd move on to something else because of the archaic language (which can be somewhat distracting), but I'm really happy that I stayed with it. I must say, I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it.

To try to provide you with a brief synopsis is somewhat impossible, but I'll try.

Eddison begins his story in more or less the present time, in which a man goes into a special place wherein he is visited by a martlet, a kind of bird. This martlet allows him to gaze off into time and space, and he is caught up in the saga of the lords of Witchland and Demonland. It seems that Gorice XI, Witchland's king, has decreed that Demonland's lords must pay him tribute, thus recognizing him as their king. The Demonland contingent will not do this, so it is decided that the king will wrestle with Demonland's Lord Goldry Bluszco, and the outcome will decide whether or not the king will have his way. Gorice dies, but unsatisfied, the Witchlanders decide that this is an affront to their honor & make a plot to kill their enemies. The new King, Gorice XII, does a "sending" or magical spell that takes Lord Goldry away to a far-off prison. The rest of the book focuses on the battle between Witchland and Demonland, and the search for Lord Goldry by the two bravest warriors of Demonland. I won't say more because this book is definitely worth reading for yourself.

As I noted above, the author's use of very archaic language is a bit off-putting at times, but stick with it -- you will become so engrossed in the story that you will not want to put it down. Also, please note that it seems that although the author tells us that the book takes place on Mercury at the outset, you can tell that this is not to be an interplanetary adventure but a very Earth-based story, set in days of old.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy story.

A tough read, but well worth it! ( )

Amazon suggested this while I was looking at the page for Gormenghast. Sounds interesting...

...Interesting to read. Seems to be trying to be almost Homeric. Lots of epithets and poetic description. I found it a little slow...

...I think I've given up on this. I keep starting other books instead of finishing it (always a bad sign), and I've noticed that when I do read it, I'm skimming over most of the description to get to the plot. Since there's a huge amount of description and fairly little plot, the exercise seems pointless... ( )

this book is said to have inspired Tolkein to write Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings has inspired the structure of most synthetic worlds to date. ( )

The Worm Ouroboros is a high fantasy adventure, and most definitely archaic in style. Some people will probably find that quite impenetrable, as opposed to amusing. It is certainly worth a look for those interested in the origins of the genre. Warriors and warlords abound, here. Eddison is an author worth taking a look at.

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602...

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2006/12/wo... ( )

http://www.fireandsword.com/Reviews/w...

Unlike the reluctant and self-conscious heroes of Lord of the Rings, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, or even Harry Potter, the Lords Juss, Goldry Bluszco, Spitfire, and Brandoch Daha are bona fide sword-swinging adventurers. They are Conans who’ve been to Eton. They need every bit of their mighty sword arms and their wits to defeat the evil king Gorice of Witchland in his drive to build an empire. ( )