Moorcock Recommendations

[pwilson]

I found a seemingly good stash of his works at a local used bookstore but must admit I am completely unfamiliar with his work. I have heard many people here on the forum recommend him so I was wondering if any of the works listed below are worth picking up. Basically are any of these "must-own" Moorcock? Thanks!

Warlord Of The Air
Vanishing Tower
Sword Of The Dawn
The Dragon In The Sword
Lord Of The Spiders
Mad God's Amulet
Sailor On The Seas Of Fate
Revenge Of The Rose
Quest Of Tanelorn
King Of The Swords
Bane Of The Black Sword
Stealer Of Souls
Secret Of The Runestaff
Weird Of The White Wolf
Knight Of The Swords
City Of The Beast
Vanishing Tower
Eternal Champion
The War Hound
Alien Heat
Jewel In The Skull
Winds Of Limbo
End Of All Songs
Dreamthief's Daughter

 

[Zolipara]

I recommend the Elric books.

 

[pwilson]

I recommend the Elric books.

Thanks, Zolipara. I've had my eye out for those. I'd like to find a collection of them in one book someday. In the meantime I was just trying to pick through this gigantic stack but I might just have to take a stab and hope for the best.

 

[Oponn]

I advise against the Runestaff books, but any of the Elric books are worth buying.

 

[Zolipara]

You should read them in order. Although the books can be read as standalone books you miss out on some important events in the main storyline. If i remember right the first book is called "Elric of Melnibone". There are several collections of the elric books available. If you cant find them in your local store i'm sure amazon has them.

 

[magemanda]

I advise against reading any Moorcock, but that's because I can't stand his writing. Boring as sin.....

 

[Ainulindale]

I like his Elric novels, some more than others and Moorcock is one of the genre's most influential, and greatest authors ever. However, most of the books you picked up are his sword/sorcery work, (including Elric), and IMHO thsoe represent his worst novels (which are still good).

Moorcock has stated on several occasions that he wrote these novels because they were popular, so he can fund his more literate works. Moorcock has written some 100 nvoels and these are hsi best IMHO:

1. Mother London

2. Behold the Man

3. King of the CIty

4. The Cornelius work which includes:

-The Final Programme
-The English Assassin
-A Cure For Cancer
-The Condition of Muzak
-The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius
-The Entropy Tango
-The Adventures Of Una Persson And Catherine Cornelius In The Twentieth Century: A Romance

The first 4 are collected in the Cornelius Quartet)


5. Gloriana

6. Von Bek, which include:

-The Brothel in Rosenstrasse
-The War Hound and the World's Pain (
-The City in the Autumn Stars


7. The Dancers at the End of Time, which include:

-An Alien Heat
-The Hollow Lands
T-he End of All Songs
-Legends from the End of Time
The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming

(or collected in The Tales from the End of Time)

8. Pyat novels, which include:

- Byzantium Endures
- The Laughter of Carthage
- Jerusalem Commands

Book 4, The Vengeance of Rome is forthcoming

 

[pwilson]

Thanks Zolipara. I probably will try to track an Elric collection down on Amazon and just start at the beginning.

Ainulindale, I was hoping you would chime in. I had seen several of his books on your Top 200 list but of course none of the ones that were available to me. Luckily, I haven't actually bought all these books, I just saw them at the local used bookstore and was trying to figure out which ones to go with. From what you've said, I might just wait until I come across some of his other works. Besides, they also had several Gene Wolfe books I've had my eye on for a long time...

 

[Ainulindale]

I was pressed for time earlier:


-

Warlord Of The Air

This is the first book in a trilogy thats called Oswald bastable sequence - it's a alternative history/fantasy that has some very inetresting appearances by historical figures. This is colelcted in a Nomad of Timestream. The other 2 books are The Land Leviathan and thw Steel Csar.


-

Sailor On The Seas Of Fate
Vanishing Tower
Weird Of The White Wolf
Bane Of The Black Sword

Is book 2, 3, 4, and 5 of The Elric Saga



-

-Jewel In The Skull
Mad god's Amulet (aka Sorceror's Amulet)
Sword Of The Dawn
Secret Of The Runestaff

History of the Rune Staff (aka Hawkmoon) complete series



-

City Of The Beast (aka Warriors of Mars)
Lord Of The Spiders (aka Blades of Mars)

Warlords of Mars series I, and II, your missing book III, Barbarains of Mars (aka Masters of the Pit)

-

Revenge Of The Rose

Is a novel about Elric, read after The Elric Saga.


-

Eternal Champion
Quest Of Tanelorn
The Dragon in the Sword

Eternal Champion works read in that order

Knigh of Swords
King of Swords

Book I, and III of his [ICorum [/I] work


-

Stealer Of Souls

Collection of Elric stories - you can actually probably read this before the Elric saga.


-

The War Hound

Is this The War Hound and the World's Pain? If so it's book one of the Von Bek work and is phenominal IMHO.



-

Alien Heat
End of All songs

Dancers at the End of Time book I and III


-

Winds Of Limbo

This is also called in some editions, Fireclown. I don't own this so I have no idea

Dreamthief's Daughter

This is pretty recent, and star of the last Elric, or Eternal Champion arc Moorcock will ever do, it's sequel Skrayling Tree is out as is the the just recently released White Wolf's Son.

 

[pwilson]

Ainulindale, thanks for yet another thoughtful and detailed response. I think I'll pick up War Hound And The World's Pain and maybe Dream Thief's Daughter and try to find the City In The Autumn Stars some other time. Definitely sounds like an intriguing premise. Just searching around the internet and looking at your post I can't believe how prolific Moorcock is!

 

[Ainulindale]

Whats maddening about Moorcock is that a lot of his novels tie into the Eternal Champion storyline, and the nature of those stories and Moorcock's revisitng of them make chronological reading a pain.

That and the renaming of many of his works makes it somewhat confusing.

 

[pwilson]

Whats maddening about Moorcock is that a lot of his novels tie into the Eternal Champion storyline, and the nature of those stories and Moorcock's revisitng of them make chronological reading a pain.

That and the renaming of many of his works makes it somewhat confusing.

It is pretty confusing, as I've found while trying to decide where to start. I've also heard complaints that sometimes his attempts to tie so many books together can hurt otherwise excellent works.

 

[Leyland]

I've bumped this thread in the hopes that any experienced Moorcock reader who checks it out can help me find a title. Over twenty years ago I read a Moorcock novel that included a main character that was a witch (?) named Luna or Sybil, but I can't remember. There were two other main characters, one of them a young man. Does this remind anyone of a particular Moorcock work? I liked it enough to know I want to read it again. Thanks!

 

[fluffy bunny]

I advise against the Runestaff books, but any of the Elric books are worth buying.

I found the Runestaff books to be a decent enough average read, and easier to get into than Elric. Granted they cover very similar subject matter and Elric at its best is very difficult to beat. However, Runestaff was written in less than 2 years rather than the long writing period for Elric where Moorcock jumped back and forth in chronology. As a result, the writing styles in Elric can vary greatly from story to story.

Moorcock's written a number of different story types over the years so it really depends what you're into. Behold the Man explores theology but pulls no punches and can offend a few if read in the wrong way. Gloriana is on the grittier side of the fence with vindictive characters lurking in hidden corridors with their own schemes each willing to commit nefaroius deeds to get ahead. The atmoshpere from this book is on a par with Gormenghast.

Still have Mother London on my to read shelf.

 

[Litany]

I've got the Fantasy Masterworks Elric. I've read nearly half of it and I would chew my own arm off rather than read any more of it.

 

[fluffy bunny]

I've got the Fantasy Masterworks Elric. I've read nearly half of it and I would chew my own arm off rather than read any more of it.

Personally, I enjoyed the first story (Elric of Melnibone - all the stuff about dabbling with dark forces which exact a price, the setting up the world and the interplay of the characters) then the saga got very dull then picked up, then tailed off etc. There are good stories in the series- you just need someone to point out the best ones (a lot of which aren't in the very abridged Fantasy Masterworks edition). The issue with reading Elric is that often Moorcock recaps the plot again and again, and a number of the stories are virtually the same with only minor differences. The sheer length of Elric's voyage works against it IMHO and considering that Elric's character doesn't change much it can be a long slog at times.

It may be worth having a look at some of Moorcock's non-swords and sorcery work (Hawkmoon, Elric and Corum aren't too dissimilar from each other) before discounting his work completely though.

 

[Flossie]

I liked the Elric ones so much that I never got rid of them, however I've never been able to get into anything else of his. Kinda disappointing.

 

[thischarmingman]

no mnetion iof the john carter series?