Favourite Eternal Champion??

[speedingslug]

I was going to say Hawkmoon but now think Corum.
It's been many years since reading them, I read mos but just didn't fancy the Jerry Cornelius ones

 

[j d worthington]

I'll have to go for Elric, I suppose, though J. C. is a very close second (and why not? the first chapters of The Final Programme were rewritings in contemporary terms of the first published Elric stories -- "The Dreaming City" in Science Fantasy for June, 1961; and "While the Gods Laugh" in Science Fantasy for October, 1961). However, it should be noted that virtually all Moorcock's fiction has been subsumed into the cycle at this point, not simply his fantasy work, nor even fantasy and sf. This tends to complicate things for people new to his work, but I think I understand why he has done it. And his versatility is, to me, one of the fascinating things about what he writes; one can never quite predict what his next piece will be like, except that he has grown into an excellent novelist over the years (Mother London, Blood, The Brothel in Rosenstrasse, the Pyat novels). Sometime I'd like to start a nice discussion of how he's handled some of his themes as his views have changed -- and even his non-fiction writings are closely tied in with the issues he explores in his fiction. Been a while since I visited Moorcock extensively, and I haven't read anything he's published in the last 2-3 years, so I ought to buckle down and start that again. As they say, so many books, so little time......

 

[Snowdog]

It used to be Hawkmoon. I liked the Hawkmoon books most when I was younger, but later it became Corum because his story is so tragic.

 

[Brys]

Cornelius takes it for me without a thought! The Cornelius Chronicles are the only works by Moorcock that threaten to become more than just entertaining and could be argued are real literature.

I haven't read these, but I'd heard that Mother London (and its sequel), Gloriana (which I have read), the Pyat Quartet and the Cornelius Quartet all deserve to be considered real literature - though they're only loosely linked to the multiverse and eternal champion.

Hawkmoon is probably my favourite of the Eternal Champion series at the moment.

 

[j d worthington]

I haven't read these, but I'd heard that Mother London (and its sequel), Gloriana (which I have read), the Pyat Quartet and the Cornelius Quartet all deserve to be considered real literature - though they're only loosely linked to the multiverse and eternal champion.

Hawkmoon is probably my favourite of the Eternal Champion series at the moment.

Gloriana isn't a sequel to Mother London, though, as said, nearly all Moorcock's work is interconnected. But, yes, these I'd say do fit the bill.

 

[Brys]

I know Gloriana isn't - but I can't remember the title of Mother London's sequel - I wasn't particularly clear, but Gloriana is one of those that can be considered real literature.

 

[j d worthington]

The title you're probably looking for is King of the City, which is touted as a sequel to Mother London, though Moorcock has denied it being so. I haven't yet had a chance to read that one (or, for that matter, anything else he's published in the past 3 years or so), but the little I have read would seem to support his claim; although (obviously) it is centered around the same themes/concerns as the rest of his work and, since it's set in contemporary London, perhaps that's what earned it this description.

 

[Tau Zero]

I love them all, really. But Corum was always my favorite. I think he relied on his own powers (and a couple Gods') to accomplish his tasks. Elric, a close seond, had the wonderful device of Stormbringer. Who was master? The Sword or Elric? Part of the fun, of course, but i think that's why i liked Corum just a little bit better.

 

[gudspud]

Mine has to be Dorian Hawkmoon. It not him as the main character but Baron Meladius and the rest of the English lords. I must admit I have a fondness for the eternal champion as he was a staple deit in my youth but the image of a wolf helmed maniac ridding across a war torn europe still stirs the imagination

 

[j d worthington]

Mine has to be Dorian Hawkmoon. It not him as the main character but Baron Meladius and the rest of the English lords. I must admit I have a fondness for the eternal champion as he was a staple deit in my youth but the image of a wolf helmed maniac ridding across a war torn europe still stirs the imagination

Did you ever see the comic version with illustrations by James Cawthorn? He did several things with Moorcock, including a juvenile Jerry Cornelius titled The Distant Suns. His art is a very interesting and appropriate interpretation of Moorcock's fantasy.

 

[Nesacat]

It's a close tie between Elric of Melnibone and Ulrich von Bek but I'll go with Elric first. The Elric books were my first proper introduction to Moorcock and it was him that made me look out for the rest of them.

He's such a different sort of hero. An albino prince who is doomed and who's motives are often less than noble. Has a sword without which he's absolutely weak and you wonder who exactly is the master in this relationship. There's some of the old sword and sorcery magic of writers like Robert Howard but you also have a much more human hero.

I met Ulrich von Bek in Warhound and the World's Pain. An old friend had given me the book in my first year of law school and I remember being very drawn to the story and the role of Lucifer. But Lovecraft and his works happened and I went back to Von Bek only after reading Elric.

 

[Krystal]

Well, I haven't read the others but after reading Elric's books I don't think I will choose another. I just enjoy so much Elric's saga.

 

[Jack]

Erekosë, I like the morbid depression of the character as he is forced to remember each reincarnation.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

Corum for me. Just a personal preference. I got a lot out of those books and they influenced me for a long time. Well, they probably are still influencing me. A classic of scifi/fantasy as far as Im concerned.

 

[GOLLUM]

I picked Elric....

 

[Eoghann]

I had to pick Hawkmoon. Elric is probably the superior literary creation, but he's just too damn depressing for my personal tastes.

I find it interesting that it was noted above that Elric is Moorcock's favorite and Hawkmoon his least favorite. That probably explains why I really don't enjoy most of Moorcock's work.

I can see the merit in it, but I don't enjoy it. The first Hawkmoon series I really liked, the second not so much. I seem to recall enjoying the Corum books too, but its been a long time, probably 15 years or so now.

 

[Blue Tyson]

Hawkmoon, for me.

 

[Perssonicus]

My favorite would be Corum Jhalen Irsei, the Vadhagh Prince in the Scarlet Robe. Possibly because "The Swords Trilogy" was the first of the Moorcock books I read, possibly because he was the last of his kind (for the most part), but most likely because the device of the Hand and Eye and his summoning his last enemy to fight his next enemy.

Initially, I didn't like the following three books as well, but after a few years I began to read all six together as a complete story instead of as the original three and the derivations. I am drawn to his personal tragedy, as someone said earlier.

Elric is close, close, close second. I was intrigued with the glimpse of him (and Erokese, and Hawkmoon) in the scenes of The Vanishing Tower, and was really drawn to the idea of Stormbringer and the tragedy inherent in elric's saga.

Actually, I think some of the big "unifying moments" for the Eternal Champion are in the first three Corum books, not only with the three incarnations fighting together at the Vanishing Tower, but as Corum and Jhary pass through universes projected like quickly-changing movie screens looking into the lives of different incarnations.

I highly recommend reading the Corum books again.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I've just finished my first Michael Moorcock book. I found Elric of Melnibone in a second-hand store. It was quite short and read more like a morality play or a myth that is handed down verbally through generations than a regular novel. Most of the characters seemed one-dimensional and the story was simplistic. However, for all that, I quite enjoyed my little foray into the struggle between Law and Chaos. I will probably have to see about finding the rest of the tales of Elric and possibly some of the others. At the very least it was light and easy reading and I read it in a total of about an hour (doing chores in the house all day and when I got to certain points my reward was to sit and read for a bit ).

The first one,Elric he wrote in two days, that was why it is so short that and being stoned.

 

[stellspalfie]

For me its Corum, but I gotta say Runestaff is my favorite of the books. Count Brass ( for some reason i always think of Sean Connery) is better than any of the champions and so is Jharry-a-Connell, ooohh and D'averc. Which poses the question. Who is the best companion? also, who is the best champions token totty?