j d worthington
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 9, 2006
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Grimward posed an interesting (and seemingly simple) question in the "When Fantasy Is Just Too Dark" thread in response to one of my posts:
The answer, on the other hand, is anything but simple, unless you wish to answer the later bit with "Yes... and No."
Part of the problem is thinking of the Eternal Champion cycle as linear narrative or perhaps, more broadly, conventional narrative, in structure. Again, it is... and it isn't.
I'll give an example. In The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (and later, in The Vanishing Tower/The Sleeping Sorceress), there are several aspects of the Champion that unite to resolve a problem. But they are far from being most or all. They comprise a fairly manageable number (four in one case, three in the other), but the fact is that nearly all of Moorcock's fiction utilizes the Eternal Champion as its core. Here is what Moorcock says about it:
He goes on to include the Cornelius books, the Oswald Bastable books, the Dancers at the End of Time sequence, etc. He also adds this:
And, in one sense, Grimward is right. All the tales (or at least the series and novels) may be happening simultaneously. Then again, they may be happening at vastly different periods in relation to each other, and what may be the resolution of the entire series may have taken place long before the "first" story of the set.
Nonetheless... there is a certain degree of order (or at least development) to the series, as the Champion learns from his various incarnations, while at the same time Moorcock both broadened and deepened his handling of his various themes and their implications. My strongest suggestion would be to read the final three Hawkmoon books (also called the Castle Brass Trilogy -- Count Brass, The Champion of Garathorm, and The Quest for Tanelorn) at least well into your reading of the series, as it provides a resolution to the tale... but not the only one; The Dragon in the Sword provides another, equally fitting, and equally possible in Moorcock's multiverse of being "the" resolution to the Champion's dilemma.
Here's a post I made a long time ago on the subject of Moorcock's writing, which touches on this particular point to some degree:
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/207406-post7.html
The pertinent bit is this:
However, I would say, myself, that as far as the "major" aspects of the Champion (I use quotation marks because I'm referring to the "heroic fantasy" aspects, which totally ignores the fact that Jerry Cornelius is, after Elric, the major incarnation of the Champion) are concerned, Elric should probably be followed by Corum, then Michael Kane, then Dorian Hawkmoon. The cycle should probably be begun with John Daker/Erekosë/Urlik Skarsol/Clen of Clen Gar/Flammadin, with The Eternal Champion, which introduces the concept, followed by The Blood Red Game, which expands on his concept of the multiverse and the "Ghost Worlds".... You can go from there to Phoenix in Obsidian/The Silver Warriors and (if you have or can get a copy) The Swords of Heaven, the Flowers of Hell (though this one is not "necessary", it does develop certain ideas and themes, albeit it was chiefly written by his collaborator, Howard Chaykin, based on a quite detailed outline worked out between the two). Whether you proceed to The Dragon in the Sword or not is a matter of preference. It can be read as part of that sequence, or after The Quest for Tanelorn. (Or, for that matter, it can be read as part of the von Bek sequence!) Daker should be followed by Elric.
Incidentally, to prove my point about Cornelius: the first two Cornelius stories (the earlier parts of the novel The Final Programme, following the prologue) are retellings in contemporary terms of the first two published Elric tales, "The Dreaming City" and "While the Gods Laugh"; underlining the point that Cornelius is a version in the modern world of what Elric was in his.
As for how many aspects of the Champion there are... well, when you read The Eternal Champion (the novel), you'll find Erekosë having memories of all his various incarnations, with what amounts to a roll-call occurring in his dreams, backed by specific memories from various ones. The list is quite considerable. Here are a couple such moments you'll encounter:
These (and other such passages) include not only the protagonists of novels, but also of shorter works. And each one is, indeed, a true aspect of the Champion.
While I do have a preferred reading order of my own, I'm not sure that it would make much sense to anyone else, as it is a blending of a more-or-less chronological sequence of Moorcock's career, intermixed with entire series and thematic developments. Yet, as I've tried to indicate above, it does provide a very coherent picture of the amazingly complex concept that is the Eternal Champion Cycle... but it is by no means the only one. One can also read his work in the order it was published, and receive such a coherent picture, albeit enormously different in some ways. To me, that's one of the beauties of Moorcock's incredibly vast and varied tapestry -- However one reads it, a coherent picture emerges, but said picture may be quite different from reader to reader, yet each still addresses Moorcock's concerns and, in the end, presents (and this is addressing the points I was making in the other thread) a rather hopeful view that is filled with optimism for the future of the human race.
Perhaps, in the end, the best way to look at the "order" of Moorcock's cycle is a metaphor he himself uses now and again, and to simply view it (or through it) as a kaleidoscope....
The answer, on the other hand, is anything but simple, unless you wish to answer the later bit with "Yes... and No."
Part of the problem is thinking of the Eternal Champion cycle as linear narrative or perhaps, more broadly, conventional narrative, in structure. Again, it is... and it isn't.
I'll give an example. In The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (and later, in The Vanishing Tower/The Sleeping Sorceress), there are several aspects of the Champion that unite to resolve a problem. But they are far from being most or all. They comprise a fairly manageable number (four in one case, three in the other), but the fact is that nearly all of Moorcock's fiction utilizes the Eternal Champion as its core. Here is what Moorcock says about it:
-- The Eternal Champion (Am. omnibus ed.), p. viii
He goes on to include the Cornelius books, the Oswald Bastable books, the Dancers at the End of Time sequence, etc. He also adds this:
-- ibid., p. vii
And, in one sense, Grimward is right. All the tales (or at least the series and novels) may be happening simultaneously. Then again, they may be happening at vastly different periods in relation to each other, and what may be the resolution of the entire series may have taken place long before the "first" story of the set.
Nonetheless... there is a certain degree of order (or at least development) to the series, as the Champion learns from his various incarnations, while at the same time Moorcock both broadened and deepened his handling of his various themes and their implications. My strongest suggestion would be to read the final three Hawkmoon books (also called the Castle Brass Trilogy -- Count Brass, The Champion of Garathorm, and The Quest for Tanelorn) at least well into your reading of the series, as it provides a resolution to the tale... but not the only one; The Dragon in the Sword provides another, equally fitting, and equally possible in Moorcock's multiverse of being "the" resolution to the Champion's dilemma.
Here's a post I made a long time ago on the subject of Moorcock's writing, which touches on this particular point to some degree:
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/207406-post7.html
The pertinent bit is this:
However, I would say, myself, that as far as the "major" aspects of the Champion (I use quotation marks because I'm referring to the "heroic fantasy" aspects, which totally ignores the fact that Jerry Cornelius is, after Elric, the major incarnation of the Champion) are concerned, Elric should probably be followed by Corum, then Michael Kane, then Dorian Hawkmoon. The cycle should probably be begun with John Daker/Erekosë/Urlik Skarsol/Clen of Clen Gar/Flammadin, with The Eternal Champion, which introduces the concept, followed by The Blood Red Game, which expands on his concept of the multiverse and the "Ghost Worlds".... You can go from there to Phoenix in Obsidian/The Silver Warriors and (if you have or can get a copy) The Swords of Heaven, the Flowers of Hell (though this one is not "necessary", it does develop certain ideas and themes, albeit it was chiefly written by his collaborator, Howard Chaykin, based on a quite detailed outline worked out between the two). Whether you proceed to The Dragon in the Sword or not is a matter of preference. It can be read as part of that sequence, or after The Quest for Tanelorn. (Or, for that matter, it can be read as part of the von Bek sequence!) Daker should be followed by Elric.
Incidentally, to prove my point about Cornelius: the first two Cornelius stories (the earlier parts of the novel The Final Programme, following the prologue) are retellings in contemporary terms of the first two published Elric tales, "The Dreaming City" and "While the Gods Laugh"; underlining the point that Cornelius is a version in the modern world of what Elric was in his.
As for how many aspects of the Champion there are... well, when you read The Eternal Champion (the novel), you'll find Erekosë having memories of all his various incarnations, with what amounts to a roll-call occurring in his dreams, backed by specific memories from various ones. The list is quite considerable. Here are a couple such moments you'll encounter:
-- ibid., p. 6
-- ibid., p. 63
These (and other such passages) include not only the protagonists of novels, but also of shorter works. And each one is, indeed, a true aspect of the Champion.
While I do have a preferred reading order of my own, I'm not sure that it would make much sense to anyone else, as it is a blending of a more-or-less chronological sequence of Moorcock's career, intermixed with entire series and thematic developments. Yet, as I've tried to indicate above, it does provide a very coherent picture of the amazingly complex concept that is the Eternal Champion Cycle... but it is by no means the only one. One can also read his work in the order it was published, and receive such a coherent picture, albeit enormously different in some ways. To me, that's one of the beauties of Moorcock's incredibly vast and varied tapestry -- However one reads it, a coherent picture emerges, but said picture may be quite different from reader to reader, yet each still addresses Moorcock's concerns and, in the end, presents (and this is addressing the points I was making in the other thread) a rather hopeful view that is filled with optimism for the future of the human race.
Perhaps, in the end, the best way to look at the "order" of Moorcock's cycle is a metaphor he himself uses now and again, and to simply view it (or through it) as a kaleidoscope....
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