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Michael Moorcock

Author of Elric of Melniboné

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About the Author

Michael Moorcock, 1939 - Writer Michael Moorcock was born December 18, 1939 in Mitcham, Surrey, England. Moorcock was the editor of the juvenile magazine Tarzan Adventures from 1956-58, an editor and writer for the Sexton Blake Library and for comic strips and children's annuals from 1959-61, an show more editor and pamphleteer for Liberal Party in 1962, and became editor and publisher for the science fiction magazine New Worlds in 1964. He has worked as a singer-guitarist, has worked with the rock bands Hawkwind and Blue Oyster Cult and is a member of the rock band Michael Moorcock and the Deep Fix. Moorcock's writing covers a wide range of science fiction and fantasy genres. "The Chronicles of Castle Brass" was a sword and sorcery novel, and "Breakfast in the Ruins: A Novel of Inhumanity" uses the character Karl Glogauer as a different person in different times. Karl participates in the political violence of the French Revolution, the Paris Commune, and a Nazi concentration camp. Moorcock also wrote books and stories that featured the character Jerry Cornelius, who had no consistent character or appearance. "The Condition of Muzak" completed the initial Jerry Cornelius tetralogy and won Guardian Literary Prize in 1977. "Byzantium Endures" and "The Laughter of Carthage" are two autobiographical novels of the Russian emigre Colonel Pyat and were the closest Moorcock came to conventional literary fiction. "Byzantium Endures" focuses on the first twenty years of Pyat's life and tells of his role in the Russian revolution. Pyat survives the revolution and the subsequent civil war by working first for one side and then another. "The Laughter of Carthage" covers Pyat's life from 1920-1924 telling of his escape from Communist Russia and his travels in Europe and America. It's a sweeping picture of the world during the 1920's because it takes the character from living in Constantinople to Hollywood. Moorcock returned to the New Wave style in "Blood: A Southern Fantasy" (1994) and combined mainstream fiction with fantasy in "The Brothel of Rosenstrasse," which is set in the imaginary city of Mirenburg. MoorCock won the 1967 Nebula Award for Behold the Man and the 1979 World Fantasy Award for his novel, Gloriana. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Moorcock, Michael, b. 1939, British writer known primarily for science fiction/fantasy. He has written under many pseudonyms and his bibliography is very complex.
Be extremely careful when combining his works!

Image credit: Michael Moorcock à la librairie Charybde, Paris, France, le 14/10/2012 By Rmdolhen - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22073486

Series

Works by Michael Moorcock

Elric of Melniboné (1972) 2,529 copies
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976) 1,620 copies
The Vanishing Tower (1978) 1,502 copies
Stormbringer (1965) 1,494 copies
The Weird of the White Wolf (1977) 1,389 copies
Behold the Man (1969) 1,278 copies
The Bane of the Black Sword (1977) 1,227 copies
Gloriana (1978) 1,097 copies
Corum: The Coming Of Chaos (1971) 1,094 copies
The Jewel in the Skull (1967) 912 copies
The History of the Runestaff: Box Set (1969) — Author — 855 copies
The Fortress of the Pearl (1989) 848 copies
The Cornelius Quartet (1968) 758 copies
The Mad God's Amulet (1968) 727 copies
An Alien Heat (1972) 712 copies
The Warlord of the Air (1971) 698 copies
The Runestaff (1969) 695 copies
The Sword of the Dawn (1968) 672 copies
The Silver Warriors (1970) 672 copies
A Nomad of the Time Streams (1971) 656 copies
The Revenge of the Rose (1991) 645 copies
The Hollow Lands (1974) 617 copies
The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001) 617 copies
Mother London (1988) 615 copies
The Knight of the Swords (1971) 609 copies
The Eternal Champion (1970) 603 copies
Count Brass (1973) 602 copies
The Champion of Garathorm (1973) 538 copies
The End of All Songs (1976) 535 copies
The Eternal Champion (1994) 533 copies
The Quest for Tanelorn (1975) 523 copies
The Land Leviathan (1974) 515 copies
The Queen of Swords (1971) 482 copies
The King of the Swords (1971) 462 copies
The Ice Schooner (1969) 448 copies
City of the Beast (1965) 439 copies
The Dragon in the Sword (1986) 438 copies
The Final Programme (1968) 388 copies
The Bull and the Spear (1973) 385 copies
Lord of the Spiders (1965) 374 copies
The Oak and the Ram (1973) 357 copies
Count Brass [Omnibus] (1973) 357 copies
The Sword and the Stallion (1973) 341 copies
Von Bek (1965) 326 copies
The Black Corridor (1969) 315 copies
The Masters of the Pit (1965) 314 copies
Byzantium Endures (1981) 311 copies
The Time Dweller (1969) 307 copies
The Winds of Limbo (1965) 301 copies
A Messiah at the End of Time (1977) 301 copies
The Sundered Worlds (1965) 300 copies
The Rituals of Infinity (1967) 300 copies
The Steel Tsar (1981) 300 copies
Breakfast in the Ruins (1972) 290 copies
The Skrayling Tree (2003) 285 copies
Legends from the End of Time (1977) 269 copies
Blood (1995) 267 copies
Elric (2001) 266 copies
The City in the Autumn Stars (1986) 265 copies
The Shores of Death (1966) 255 copies
The Stealer of Souls (1963) 254 copies
A Cure for Cancer (1971) 242 copies
Von Bek (1965) 241 copies
The White Wolf's Son (2005) 240 copies
Sailing to Utopia (1963) 234 copies
The English Assassin (1974) 227 copies
Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn (2008) 218 copies
The Laughter of Carthage (1984) 215 copies
The Whispering Swarm (2015) 207 copies
The Singing Citadel (1970) 205 copies
Legends from the End of Time (1993) 200 copies
The Eternal Champion (1992) 198 copies
King of the City (2000) 195 copies
The Golden Barge (1979) 192 copies
The Roads Between the Worlds (1965) 187 copies
Fabulous Harbours (1995) 184 copies
Earl Aubec and Other Stories (1993) 175 copies
Kane of Old Mars (1965) 174 copies
The Brothel in Rosenstrasse (1982) 171 copies
The Condition of Muzak (1977) 167 copies
Elric: Duke Elric (2009) 163 copies
Silverheart (2000) 161 copies
Moorcock's Book of Martyrs (1976) 158 copies
The War Amongst the Angels (1996) 148 copies
Jerusalem Commands (1992) 146 copies
Elric: Swords and Roses (2010) 132 copies
Elric: In the Dream Realms (2009) 131 copies
The Vengeance of Rome (2006) 123 copies
The Time of the Hawklords (1976) 120 copies
The Best of Michael Moorcock (2009) 120 copies
The New Nature of the Catastrophe (1993) — Editor — 119 copies
The Dreaming City (1972) 113 copies
The Chinese Agent (1970) 111 copies
New Worlds: An Anthology (1983) — Editor — 105 copies
The Entropy Tango (1981) 94 copies
London Bone (2001) 86 copies
The Metatemporal Detective (2007) 84 copies
New Worlds Quarterly 2 (1971) — Editor — 77 copies
Modem Times 2.0 plus... (2011) 75 copies
The Russian Intelligence (1980) 71 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds (1967) — Editor — 70 copies
New Worlds Quarterly 1 (1971) — Editor; Introduction — 69 copies
England Invaded (1977) — Editor; Introduction — 68 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 4 (1969) — Editor — 64 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 2 (1966) — Editor; Contributor — 63 copies
Sojan (1977) 61 copies
Casablanca (1989) 60 copies
The Wrecks of Time / Tramontane (Ace Double H-36) (1967) — Author — 59 copies
A Cornelius Calendar (1993) 58 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 3 (1968) — Editor; Contributor — 55 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 5 (1969) — Editor — 55 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 6 (1970) — Editor; Contributor — 55 copies
The Traps of Time (1970) — Editor — 55 copies
The Distant Suns (1975) 53 copies
New Worlds Quarterly 4 (1972) — Editor — 52 copies
Elric at the End of Time (1897) 52 copies
New Worlds Quarterly 3 (1972) — Editor — 52 copies
New Worlds 6 (1973) — Editor — 50 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 8 (1974) — Editor — 45 copies
New Worlds 5 (1973) — Editor — 43 copies
The Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell (1979) — Author — 38 copies
Best SF Stories from New Worlds 7 (1963) — Editor — 36 copies
Letters From Hollywood (1986) 34 copies
Le cycle d'Elric (1999) 33 copies
Von Bek (2002) 30 copies
The Sunday Books (2010) 29 copies
Sojan the Swordsman & Under the Warrior Star (1977) — Author — 28 copies
Nomad of Time (1869) 27 copies
Elric: The Moonbeam Roads (2014) 25 copies
Firing the Cathedral (2002) 25 copies
Tales of the Texas Woods (1997) 23 copies
The Woods of Arcady (2023) 23 copies
Moorcock's Multiverse (2014) 21 copies
The Deep Fix (1963) 20 copies
The Jewel in the Skull (Graphic Novel) (1979) — Writer — 19 copies
Travelling to Utopia (2014) 19 copies
Tales from the End of Time (2014) 18 copies
The Jade Man's Eyes (1973) 18 copies
The Best of New Worlds (1965) — Editor — 16 copies
The Elric Saga (Part 1 & 2) (1984) 14 copies
The Shattered Isle (1987) 12 copies
Fantastic. No. 187 (August 1975) (1975) — Contributor — 11 copies
Pegging the President (2018) 10 copies
New Worlds SF 154, September 1965 (1965) — Editor — 10 copies
The Retreat from Liberty (1983) 10 copies
The Flame Bringers (1962) 9 copies
Pale Roses [novelette] (1974) 9 copies
Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology) (2011) — Contributor — 9 copies
New Worlds SF 167, October 1966 (1966) — Editor — 9 copies
Kings in Darkness (1962) 9 copies
The Nature of the Catastrophe (1971) — Editor; Contributor — 9 copies
Sword and runestaff (2015) 8 copies
New Worlds SF 162, May 1966 (1966) — Editor — 8 copies
Renegade Swords II (2021) 8 copies
New Worlds SF 155, October 1965 (1965) — Editor — 7 copies
New Worlds SF 163, June 1966 (1966) — Editor — 7 copies
New Worlds SF 158, January 1966 (1966) — Editor — 7 copies
Master of Chaos (1964) 7 copies
Il campione eterno (1999) 7 copies
While the Gods Laugh (1961) 6 copies
New Worlds SF 145, November-December 1964 (1964) — Editor — 6 copies
New Worlds SF 165, August 1966 (1966) — Editor — 6 copies
Flux (1963) 6 copies
New Worlds SF 152, July 1965 (1965) — Editor — 6 copies
New Worlds SF 161, April 1966 (1966) — Editor — 6 copies
New Worlds SF 149, April 1965 — Editor — 6 copies
The Greater Conqueror (1963) 5 copies
New Worlds SF 170, January 1967 (1967) — Editor — 5 copies
Elric. La saga (2019) 5 copies
The Sleeping Sorceress (2020) 5 copies
Stormbringer 5 copies
New Worlds SF 151, June 1965 (1965) — Editor — 5 copies
Sea Wolves 5 copies
White Stars 4 copies
Elric I (2013) 4 copies
Escape From Evening (1965) 4 copies
Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #6 (1975) — Contributor — 4 copies
New Worlds SF 157, December 1965 (1965) — Editor — 4 copies
The Stone Thing 4 copies
Colour [short fiction] (1991) 3 copies
Wolf (1966) 3 copies
New Worlds SF 159, February 1966 (1966) — Editor — 3 copies
Eis o Homem (2007) 3 copies
Star*Reach #6 — Author — 3 copies
Tom Strong #32 — Author — 3 copies
Ancient Shadows 3 copies
Mission to Asno 3 copies
Crimson Eyes 3 copies
Dead Singers 3 copies
Wheel of Fortune (1989) 3 copies
New Worlds Fair (2008) 2 copies
Elric III (2015) 2 copies
Elric II (2014) 2 copies
Constant Fire 2 copies
New Worlds SF 172, April 1967 (1967) — Editor — 2 copies
The Ruins (1966) 2 copies
La Maison de Rosenstrasse (1982) 2 copies
Black Petals 2 copies
Caribbean Crisis (1962) 2 copies
Gloriana T1&2 (1900) 2 copies
New Worlds S.F. #160 (1966) 2 copies
Niki Hoeky — Editor — 2 copies
Elriko kronikos 2 copies
Sojan at Sea 2 copies
Epic Pooh (1978) 2 copies
Consuming Passion (1966) 2 copies
SF Reprise 2 (1966) 2 copies
Robot 24 2 copies
Blitz Kid 2 copies
Mars [short fiction] (1988) 2 copies
New World's Fair (1999) 1 copy
Revolutions 1 copy
Phase Three 1 copy
Free States [novella] (1994) 1 copy
Le cycle d'Elric (1976) 1 copy
New Worlds 1 copy
Furniture 1 copy
London Flesh 1 copy
Tout corum 1 copy
My Life 1 copy
Ravenbrand 1 copy
New Worlds SF 142, May-June 1964 — Editor — 1 copy
Going Home 1 copy
New Worlds SF 171, March 1967 — Editor — 1 copy
Elric Series 1 copy
Modem Times 1 copy
SF Reprise 1 1 copy
Islands 1 copy

Associated Works

Fahrenheit 451 (1953) — Introduction, some editions — 52,356 copies
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) — Introduction, some editions — 13,106 copies
The Gormenghast Trilogy (1967) — Introduction, some editions; Introduction, some editions — 4,337 copies
City of Saints and Madmen (2002) — Introduction, some editions — 1,951 copies
Dangerous Visions: 33 Original Stories — Foreword, some editions — 1,874 copies
McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (2002) — Contributor — 1,451 copies
Stories: All-New Tales (2010) — Contributor — 1,359 copies
Steampunk (2008) — Contributor — 816 copies
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories (2011) — Foreword — 796 copies
The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2009) — Contributor — 760 copies
The Time Traveller's Almanac (2013) — Contributor — 537 copies
Ill Met in Lankhmar [collection] (1970) — Introduction, some editions — 519 copies
The New Weird (2008) — Contributor — 514 copies
The Flying Sorcerers: More Comic Tales of Fantasy (1997) — Contributor — 500 copies
The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures (1997) — Contributor — 500 copies
The Big Book of Science Fiction (2016) — Contributor — 400 copies
Michael Moorcock's Elric: Tales of the White Wolf (1994) — Contributor — 388 copies
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighth Annual Collection (1991) — Contributor — 370 copies
Fast Ships, Black Sails (2008) — Contributor — 306 copies
Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery (2010) — Contributor — 282 copies
The Space Opera Renaissance (2007) — Contributor — 280 copies
The Hopkins Manuscript (1939) — Preface, some editions — 274 copies
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment (1988) — Contributor — 258 copies
Year's Best SF 3 (1998) — Contributor — 256 copies
Year's Best SF 8 (2003) — Contributor — 253 copies
Redshift: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction (2001) — Contributor — 248 copies
The Aerodrome (1941) — Introduction, some editions — 232 copies
Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians (1977) — Contributor — 208 copies
Flashing Swords! #2 (1973) — Contributor — 196 copies
Cities (2003) — Contributor — 194 copies
The Apocalypse Reader (2007) — Contributor — 190 copies
Old Mars (2015) — Contributor — 188 copies
Epic: Legends of Fantasy (2012) — Contributor — 182 copies
The Rose (Collection) (1953) — Introduction, some editions — 176 copies
Nebula Award Stories Number Three (1968) — Contributor — 170 copies
The Mammoth Book of Sorcerers' Tales (2004) — Contributor — 157 copies
The Sword & Sorcery Anthology (2012) — Contributor — 151 copies
The Mammoth Book of Fantasy (2001) — Contributor — 144 copies
Elsewhere: Tales of Fantasy (1982) — Contributor — 143 copies
Nebula Award Stories 4 (1969) — Contributor — 142 copies
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume 2 (2008) — Contributor — 141 copies
The Swordsman of Mars (1933) — Introduction, some editions — 138 copies
The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories (2015) — Contributor — 132 copies
The Best of the Nebulas (1989) — Contributor — 127 copies
The Best Science Fiction of the Year #4 (1975) — Contributor — 122 copies
Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories (2007) — Contributor — 119 copies
World's Best Science Fiction: 1967 (1967) — Contributor — 118 copies
Voyagers in Time (1967) — Contributor — 116 copies
Tombs (1995) — Contributor — 113 copies
Futures from Nature (2007) — Contributor — 113 copies
The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 109 copies
The Big Book of Modern Fantasy (2020) — Contributor — 103 copies
Tom Strong: Book Six (2006) — Writer — 102 copies
Pawn of Chaos: Tales of the Eternal Champion (1996) — Contributor; Introduction — 97 copies
Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction (2010) — Contributor — 97 copies
The Spell of Seven (1965) — Contributor — 94 copies
Nebula Awards Showcase 2009 (2009) — Contributor — 91 copies
Lambda I and Other Stories (1964) — Contributor — 85 copies
Other Edens (1987) — Contributor — 83 copies
The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats (1983) — Contributor — 81 copies
England Swings SF: Stories of Speculative Fiction (1968) — Contributor — 79 copies
Mammoth Book of Short Fantasy Novels (1986) — Contributor, some editions — 77 copies
The New Tomorrows (1971) — Contributor — 77 copies
Fowlers End (1957) — Introduction, some editions — 75 copies
Time Travel: Recent Trips (2014) — Contributor — 71 copies
Alan Moore: Storyteller (2011) — Foreword, some editions — 69 copies
The Golden Strangers (1956) — Introduction, some editions — 69 copies
Leviathan Three (2002) — Contributor — 68 copies
The Furthest Horizon: SF Adventures to the Far Future (2000) — Contributor — 67 copies
Time Travelers (Fiction in the Fourth Dimension) (1997) — Contributor — 63 copies
The New SF (1969) — Preface; Contributor — 62 copies
Confederacy of the Dead (1993) — Contributor — 60 copies
Year's Best Fantasy 7 (2007) — Contributor — 59 copies
Forbidden Planets (2006) — Contributor — 58 copies
Tarot Tales (1989) — Contributor — 58 copies
The Best of British SF 2 (1977) — Contributor — 57 copies
Timescapes (1997) — Contributor — 57 copies
The Dark Island (1952) — Introduction, some editions — 54 copies
Science Against Man (1970) — Contributor — 52 copies
The Great Captains (The Epic Romance of King Arthur) (1956) — Introduction, some editions — 52 copies
New Worlds 1 (1991) — Introduction; Contributor, some editions — 52 copies
New Worlds 8 (1975) — Contributor — 51 copies
Mars Probes (2002) — Contributor — 50 copies
New Worlds (New Anthology Series , Vol 1) (1997) — Author — 47 copies
New Worlds 2 (1992) — Afterword — 47 copies
Twelve Collections and the Teashop (2006) — Introduction — 47 copies
Year's Best Fantasy 8 (2007) — Contributor — 46 copies
New Worlds 4 (1994) — Afterword — 45 copies
Fantasy for Good: A Charitable Anthology (2014) — Contributor — 43 copies
Blue Motel (1994) — Contributor — 42 copies
Tales From the Forbidden Planet (1987) — Contributor — 40 copies
Other Edens 2 (1988) — Contributor — 39 copies
Baker's Dozen: 13 Short Fantasy Novels (1984) — Contributor — 39 copies
The Shape of Sex to Come (1978) — Contributor — 37 copies
New Worlds 3 (1993) — Afterword — 37 copies
New Worlds 7 (1974) — Contributor — 37 copies
Curse of the Full Moon: A Werewolf Anthology (2010) — Contributor — 36 copies
New Worlds 10 (1976) — Contributor — 36 copies
Quark/4 (1971) — Contributor — 36 copies
New Worlds 9 (1975) — Contributor — 33 copies
Weird Shadows From Beyond (1965) — Contributor — 33 copies
Velhojen valtakunta (1989) — Contributor — 31 copies
Warlocks and Warriors (1971) — some editions — 29 copies
Breaking Windows: A Fantastic Metropolis Sampler (2003) — Contributor — 28 copies
Swords Against Darkness (2016) — Contributor — 26 copies
SF: Authors' Choice 3 (1971) — Contributor — 25 copies
Bad Moon Rising (1973) — Contributor — 23 copies
Sexton Blake: Detective (2009) — Introduction, some editions — 23 copies
Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard (2006) — Foreword — 21 copies
Rayguns Over Texas (2013) 21 copies
Realms of wizardry (1976) — Contributor — 20 copies
The Babylonian Trilogy (2009) — Introduction — 20 copies
Exploring the Horizons (2000) — Contributor — 20 copies
Spaced Out (1977) — Contributor — 19 copies
The New Awareness: Religion Through Science Fiction (1975) — Contributor — 15 copies
A Feast of Stories (1996) — Contributor — 14 copies
Postscripts Magazine, Issue 15: Worldcon 2008 Special (2008) — Contributor, some editions — 13 copies
The Final Programme [1973 film] (1973) — Original book — 13 copies
Gutshot (2011) — Contributor — 12 copies
The Robert E. Howard Reader (2010) — Contributor — 11 copies
Höhenflüge (1982) — Contributor, some editions — 11 copies
Fantastic. No. 186 (June 1975) (1975) — Contributor — 7 copies
SF Impulse 11 (1967) — Contributor — 7 copies
Fantastic. No. 167 (February 1972) (1972) — Contributor — 6 copies
Zenith Lives!: Tales of M.Zenith, the Albino (2012) — Contributor — 5 copies
Bifrost n°29 (2003) — Contributor — 5 copies
SF Impulse 10 (1966) — Contributor — 4 copies
Gefangen im Jenseits. Neue Fantasy-Storys. (1979) — Author — 3 copies
Elric et la Porte des Mondes (2006) — Foreword — 2 copies
Infinity plus two (2002) — Contributor — 2 copies
Supernovæ (1993) — Contributor — 2 copies
Millemondi Inverno 1996 — Contributor — 2 copies
Factions (1974) — Contributor — 2 copies
Locus Nr.492 2002.01 — Contributor — 1 copy
Kämpfer wider den Tod (1975) 1 copy
Science Fantasy 62, December 1963 — Contributor — 1 copy

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Common Knowledge

Legal name
Moorcock, Michael John
Other names
Barclay, William
Barclay, Bill
Barrington, Michael
Bradbury, Edward P.
Colvin, James
Colvin, Warwick, Jr. (show all 11)
Harris, Roger
Moorcock, Mike
Moorcock, M. J.
Reid, Desmond
Renegade
Birthdate
1939-12-18
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Country (for map)
England, UK
Birthplace
London, England, UK
Places of residence
Texas, USA
Paris, France
Occupations
science fiction writer
editor
musician
fantasy writer
Relationships
Hilary Bailey (ex-wife)
Linda Steele (wife)
Organizations
Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America
Awards and honors
Nebula Award (Novelette, 1967) - Behold the Man (Novelette ∙ 1967)
August Derleth Award (1972) - The Knight of the Swords (1972)
August Derleth Award (1973) - The King of the Swords (1973)
British Fantasy Award (Best Short Story, 1974) - The Jade Man's Eyes (Best Short Story ∙ 1974)
August Derleth Award (1975) - The Sword and the Stallion (1975)
August Derleth Award (1976) - The Hollow Lands (1976) (show all 13)
Guardian Fiction Award (1977) - The Condition of Muzak (1977)
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1979) - Gloriana (1979)
World Fantasy Award (Best Novel, 1979) - Gloriana (Best Novel ∙ 1979)
British Fantasy Award (Committee Award ∙ 1993)
World Fantasy Award (Lifetime Achievement, 2000)
Prix Utopiales "Grandmaster" Lifetime Achievement Award (2004)
Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award (literary fantasy and science fiction ∙ 2008)
Disambiguation notice
Moorcock, Michael, b. 1939, British writer known primarily for science fiction/fantasy. He has written under many pseudonyms and his bibliography is very complex.
Be extremely careful when combining his works!

Members

Discussions

Reviews

This is the first in the Count Brass series, but follows the previous series about the Runestaff. I read that many years ago and no longer have it, so it's just as well that this begins with a summary and drops in various other aspects of the back story as the book goes on.

Duke Dorian Hawkmoon is enjoying a quiet life ruling the Kamarg, a marshy area with its own unique wildlife such as horned horses (and based on the real-life area of France, known as the Camargue). The setting is an alternative Europe, seemingly in the far future after a period where a technological society - possibly ours - collapsed. Five years before the story begins, Hawkmoon and his friends were instrumental in overthrowing a tyrannical regime known as the Dark Empire, based on a reborn technology and operating from their version of Great Britain. The rulers of the regime supposedly all perished at the Battle of Londra (London) or just before, yet Dorian's tranquil existence, married to the daughter of Count Brass (who also died in the battle), and enjoying family life with her and their son and daughter, begins to be blighted when local people start to eye him with disapproval.

He discovers that rumour is rife that the ghost of Count Brass is out in the marshes at night telling passersby that Dorian betrayed him and led him to his death. Determined to quash this, he rides out to meet the apparent imposter, but discovers things are not that simple. This man is a younger version of the Count, and soon he brings younger versions of Dorian's other close friends to meet him, who also died in the struggle against Granbretan. They have been brought there by someone they term the oracle, who has told them they are in a netherworld - for them, it is endless night - but that they will be restored to their former lives if they kill Dorian who otherwise will lead them all to their deaths. Luckily, he persuades them to doubt the oracle, and when the creature reappears in a strange pyramidal device which can appear and disappear, it transpires he is one of the supposedly deceased ex-rulers of the former Dark Empire. Dorian and the others set out on an epic journey to find out what is going on and why this man is having to work through intermediaries to kill him. The answers when they come lead to heartbreak for Dorian.

This is a short page-turning read, not a profound story, but colourful and with a zany cast of characters including a villain who wears a mask with a working and chiming clock in it. The ending is the best part, as Dorian truly pays a terrible price and yet is left wondering whether the past he remembers is real or imaginary.
… (more)
 
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kitsune_reader | 5 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |
In this final volume in the Chronicles of Castle Brass, Dorian and his wife Yisselda have returned to Castle Brass where a month or so has passed. Yisselda's father, Count Brass, is still finding it hard to believe that his two grandchildren really existed, although he has accepted the return of his daughter who was believed killed at the battle of Londra, five years previously. Both Dorian and Yisselda pine for their children and decide to visit Queen Flana in Londra, in case her scientists can help them in their quest to find the children.

They set off, but when they reach the Silver Bridge which joins their version of Calais to the coast of Granbretan, as it is known in this dimension, Dorian is snatched into another existence where he is confronted by a strange and threatening being. He falls into the sea, but is rescued by Jhary-a-Conel, one of the incarnations of the Companion to the Eternal Champion (as he is an incarnation of the Champion himself). Jhary rows him to the shore of a misty, seemingly deserted, land. They are accosted by the menacing being who abducted Dorian, whose ramblings don't make much sense. Afterwards, they find a group of people they recognise, who have been brought from different realities to advise them, and on their directive, return to the shore where a mysterious ship arrives.

On the ship are warriors taken from different realities, and two other incarnations of the Eternal Champion, Erekose and Corum. Soon afterwards, a third is taken onboard: Elric of Melnibone. The mysterious blind Captain tells them their mission: the Conjunction of the Million Spheres is about to take place when the whole multiverse is subject to change, and this has allowed the intrusion of two powerful sorcerors from a different reality who intend to suck all the energy out of the multiverse and kill everything. They must somehow kill them and burn the building in which they reside, in the ruins of Tanelorn the fabled city which both Dorian and Erekose have been seeking: Dorian, because he hopes his lost children are there, and Erekose because his wife whom he has been trying to find for aeons, might be there.

I won't say any more about the plot at this point only than to say that, in effect, the book has two climaxes, as the final third concerns events of even greater momentum for not only the hundreds of incarnations of the Champion, but also the multiverse itself, and provides an explanation for, among other things, the precise nature of the Black Sword which Elric and other heroes have carried, and the Black Jewel which Hawkmoon once had forcibly inserted into his head to control him (in the previous Runestaff books).

In one sense, this book provides a wrapping up of the whole saga of connected stories about Hawkmoon, Erekose, Elric and Corum, though I believe some aspects of it are revisited in other books written later, such as The Sailor on the Seas of Fate in the Elric series which I have yet to re-read.

The aspect which figured more strongly in the previous books in this trilogy, but is lost here, is characterisation. There are a lot of minor characters - the other soldiers aboard the ship who help the four Champions, for a start - and characters who have appeared in other series which I read too long ago to recall, such as Orland Fank, servant of the Runestaff - and none of them are more than ciphers. The important thing in this book is the concept of the multiverse, the nature of gods, whether there should be an imposed balance between order and chaos, and the nature of humanity and whether we create our own gods and can dispense with them as easily, and can create our own paradise. So there is quite a strong philosophical component driving the narrative, rather than straightforward action as in the previous volumes. It was interesting, but also rather mind-boggling at times.
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kitsune_reader | 7 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |
A survey of epic fantasy through the lenses of the author's biases, stated in various places. He is scathing about the Inklings: Tolkien, C S Lewis and Charles Williams. One of the things he dislikes about Tolkien is the latter's supposedly small minded environmental concerns and yet this is one of the aspects that probably appeals the most to modern readers given the ongoing loss of habitat and biodiversity. He views them as Oxford snobs. As someone who obsessively re-read Lewis ' Narnia series as a child, despite being working class myself, that all went over my head at the time and I just enjoyed the stories and characters. I've yet to re-read them but doubt I'll develop the antipathy towards them that the author demonstrates.

He highly rates the late Fitz Leiber, as do I, having discovered his work when at high school, and he points out the male dominated nature of the genre and the good work being done by women at the time of publication (my copy is the first edition). But a singular omission in his discussion of women fantasy writers of the period is Tanith Lee who was very prolific at the time although her early work was published in the States since she couldn't get UK publishers interested. I found it odd - she wasn't even mentioned in passing, unlike Katherine Kurtz who at least had her surname included, though frustratingly nothing more. Another odd omission is that despite discussing some of the work of André Norton, he fails to even mention her Witch World series, her biggest contribution to the genre.

A lot of the book consists of quotes from various works but with not much critical input. He also states up front that he has excluded his own writing so anyone hoping for insights into the development of the Eternal Champion canon will be disappointed. Given the uneven nature of the book, for me it rates an OK 2 stars
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kitsune_reader | 3 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |
Sehr lang, das erste Buch gefällt mir am Besten, vielleicht weil das Setting noch frisch ist. Wird später langweilig mit generischen Fantasy-Geschichten.
 
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Maxim2 | Nov 15, 2023 |

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