Edition: Grafton, 1986
Review number: 514
The last of the Swords of Corum trilogy is very similar to the last of Hawkmoon's adventures in The Quest for Tanelorn. Corum, last of the Vadagh race, faces a renewed attack by the Chaos gods, led by Mabelode, King of the Swords, brother of the less powerful gods destroyed by Corum in the earlier books of the trilogy. This time the attack, again mediated by the barbaric Earl Glandyth, is more subtle, involving sorcery rather than military force. His minions have created a potion which causes distrust and dissension, so that those affected by it destroy each other.
Battling the tensions this psychoactive gas causes within their party, Corum, his wife Rhalina and their friend Jhary set out on a quest to destroy Mabelode, which they soon discover is only possible after Corum travels to Tanelorn with two other aspects of the Eternal Champion to perform a task at the Conjunction of a Million Spheres, an event which can affect every one of the infinite number of parallel worlds.
The joining together of different versions of the Eternal Champion in a quest for Tanelorn is exactly the same as the Dorian Hawkmoon plot. The atmosphere of The King of the Swords is as strong as in any of Moorcock's novels, it just has a re-used plot. (This is, of course, part of the point of the idea of the Eternal Champion; it does, however, rather reduce the interest of this novel.)
Showing posts with label Swords of Corum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swords of Corum. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 May 2000
Thursday, 4 May 2000
Michael Moorcock: The Queen of the Swords (1971)
Edition: Grafton, 1986
Review number: 492
The Queen of the Swords, the second of Moorcock's Corum series, is a similar story to the first. The Chaos-led Mabden are once again undertaking an invasion threatening Corum and those he loves. This is again inspired by one of the gods of Chaos, seeking to overcome toe forces of Law in Corum's world (in this case Xiombarg, Queen of the Swords and sister of Arioch, killed by Corum in the first book of the series).
Though Corum and his beloved Rhalina find new allies in this book, what really matters is the combat between Corum as manifestation of the Eternal Champion and the forces of Chaos, which here included a Chaotic equivalent of the Eternal Champion. The major new character is the Champion's companion, Jhary a-Conel, who makes his first entry into this series though he had already appeared elsewhere (in the Runestaff novels, for instance). The most interesting part of the novel is the journey undertaken by Corum, Rhalina and Jhary through the realms ruled by Xiombarg, where the triumph of Chaos has been so extensive that not only have normal physical laws been set aside but the creativity that is the positive side of Chaos has exhausted itself (needing to be rooted in the order of Law). This series sees the dichotomy between Chaos and Law which strongly interested Moorcock in the seventies perhaps most fully worked out, in a traditional swords and sorcery style setting.
Review number: 492
The Queen of the Swords, the second of Moorcock's Corum series, is a similar story to the first. The Chaos-led Mabden are once again undertaking an invasion threatening Corum and those he loves. This is again inspired by one of the gods of Chaos, seeking to overcome toe forces of Law in Corum's world (in this case Xiombarg, Queen of the Swords and sister of Arioch, killed by Corum in the first book of the series).
Though Corum and his beloved Rhalina find new allies in this book, what really matters is the combat between Corum as manifestation of the Eternal Champion and the forces of Chaos, which here included a Chaotic equivalent of the Eternal Champion. The major new character is the Champion's companion, Jhary a-Conel, who makes his first entry into this series though he had already appeared elsewhere (in the Runestaff novels, for instance). The most interesting part of the novel is the journey undertaken by Corum, Rhalina and Jhary through the realms ruled by Xiombarg, where the triumph of Chaos has been so extensive that not only have normal physical laws been set aside but the creativity that is the positive side of Chaos has exhausted itself (needing to be rooted in the order of Law). This series sees the dichotomy between Chaos and Law which strongly interested Moorcock in the seventies perhaps most fully worked out, in a traditional swords and sorcery style setting.
Thursday, 13 April 2000
Michael Moorcock: The Knight of the Swords (1971)
Edition: Grafton, 1986
Review number: 479
The background myth of the two series Moorcock wrote about Prince Corum is that of the elves, as a noble race displaced by mankind. Corum is the last of his Vadagh race; their cultured, elegant and complacent life destroyed by the barbarous Mabden. All who remain of the elven kind are a few of the hereditary enemies of the Vadagh, degradingly enslaved by the Mabden and helping them find the remaining Vadagh for rape, murder and destruction.
Through the intervention of the bearlike, mythical Beast of Llyr, Corum escapes from Mabden torture having lost and eye and a hand. Vowing vengeance on the Mabden leader, he begins a life of adventure.
Corum is another manifestation of Moorcock's Eternal Champion, dedicating hiself to restoring the balance between Chaos and Law, destroyed when the god of the Mabden, known as the Knight of the Swords, overwhelmed the god of the Vadagh. This particular novel is a fairly straightforward adventure story, though Corum is a well realised non-human character and the atmosphere is as strongly created as in any of Moorcock's writing.
Review number: 479
The background myth of the two series Moorcock wrote about Prince Corum is that of the elves, as a noble race displaced by mankind. Corum is the last of his Vadagh race; their cultured, elegant and complacent life destroyed by the barbarous Mabden. All who remain of the elven kind are a few of the hereditary enemies of the Vadagh, degradingly enslaved by the Mabden and helping them find the remaining Vadagh for rape, murder and destruction.
Through the intervention of the bearlike, mythical Beast of Llyr, Corum escapes from Mabden torture having lost and eye and a hand. Vowing vengeance on the Mabden leader, he begins a life of adventure.
Corum is another manifestation of Moorcock's Eternal Champion, dedicating hiself to restoring the balance between Chaos and Law, destroyed when the god of the Mabden, known as the Knight of the Swords, overwhelmed the god of the Vadagh. This particular novel is a fairly straightforward adventure story, though Corum is a well realised non-human character and the atmosphere is as strongly created as in any of Moorcock's writing.
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