What do you think?
Rate this book
The Chronicles of Castle Brass #1-3 omnibus
The Chronicles of Castle Brass
'War, albeit with the Dark Empire, was clean compared to this ...' Everything that Dorian Hawkmoon ever loved will be torn away from him, its very existence and memory wiped out for ever ... The Eternal Champion must test the limits of reality in a desperate bid to regain a lost love. But first Hawkmoon, Elric, Corum and others must pool their strength - and their swords - to bring about the most mighty change in the order of the multiverse. Contains Count Brass, The Champion of Garathorn and The Quest for Tanelorn
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
1 person is currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,210 books3,752 followersMichael John Moorcock is an English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels.
Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.
During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.
Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.
During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 10, 2023
Mislim da bi posle ove knjige trebalo da procitam knjige o Elriku.
Epska fantastika u kojoj heroji ubijaju bogove <3 Neki standard mora da se zna :D
Radnja je neloliko puta meandrirala, Murkok nas baca sa ideje na ideju.
Moglo je bolje, ali ovakve knjige su definicija fantastike.
Epska fantastika u kojoj heroji ubijaju bogove <3 Neki standard mora da se zna :D
Radnja je neloliko puta meandrirala, Murkok nas baca sa ideje na ideju.
Moglo je bolje, ali ovakve knjige su definicija fantastike.
Read
June 21, 2018Sequel to the earlier Hawkmoon series, which naturally has to begin by unpicking the ending of the previous books. In the first book this is done by questioning the nature of time and reality, if time is an illusion created by consciousness and if through a combination of science and sorcery it were possible to explore situations in which the cat in the box was both dead and alive, as well as dead, and alive separately could one create an optimal present Though one has to bare in mind that there is far more sword fighting than philosophising in the actual book. Anyhow. Be careful what you wish for.
The second book in the series might have chosen to explore issues of gender and character but instead opts for more guerilla warfare, sword fighting and riding about on giant flightless birds along the branches of mega trees. Which is mildly diverting. If all questions of gender were to be resolved and explored in this way plainly we'd need a lot more ostriches.
In the final story the hero has to save the multiverse, which is slightly less exhausting and demanding of one's time than one might expect either to perform in print or to read.
Perhaps slightly sadly I did not have the joy of hunting down copies of these stories in mysterious second hand book shops which only opened on alternate Tuesdays and only accepted the currencies of defunct countries after prolonged haggling, but instead found a single volume edition in a high street bookshop which tells us something about the state of the multiverse.
The second book in the series might have chosen to explore issues of gender and character but instead opts for more guerilla warfare, sword fighting and riding about on giant flightless birds along the branches of mega trees. Which is mildly diverting. If all questions of gender were to be resolved and explored in this way plainly we'd need a lot more ostriches.
In the final story the hero has to save the multiverse, which is slightly less exhausting and demanding of one's time than one might expect either to perform in print or to read.
Perhaps slightly sadly I did not have the joy of hunting down copies of these stories in mysterious second hand book shops which only opened on alternate Tuesdays and only accepted the currencies of defunct countries after prolonged haggling, but instead found a single volume edition in a high street bookshop which tells us something about the state of the multiverse.
March 16, 2011
MM writes fantasy (and everything else) like no other; I don't mean it's always better than anyone else, I mean he really is completely different to any other author. TCOCB is a wildly imaginative adventure once again filled with a bizarre array of characters playing out incredible scenes. Not everyone's cup of tea, but the library is a richer placer with MM in it.
October 31, 2017
UKUPNA OCENA (overall rating) ★★✫
Radnja (story) ★★★
Likovi (characters) ★★★
Pripovedanje (writing style) ★★
Okruženje (setting) ★★✫
Pozitivno (pros) - prva knjiga se nadovezuje na Viteza sudbine; kraj sage o Eternal Champion-u, zaokružuje priču sa bićem iz Stormbringera na kraju istoimene knjige o Elriku.
Negativno (cons) - dosadan stil pisanja, jedan deo je ista priča o Agaku i Gagaku iz sage o Elriku; vidi se da je u kasnijim delima Murkok veštački pokušavao da sve likove poveže u isti Multiverse.
Radnja (story) ★★★
Likovi (characters) ★★★
Pripovedanje (writing style) ★★
Okruženje (setting) ★★✫
Pozitivno (pros) - prva knjiga se nadovezuje na Viteza sudbine; kraj sage o Eternal Champion-u, zaokružuje priču sa bićem iz Stormbringera na kraju istoimene knjige o Elriku.
Negativno (cons) - dosadan stil pisanja, jedan deo je ista priča o Agaku i Gagaku iz sage o Elriku; vidi se da je u kasnijim delima Murkok veštački pokušavao da sve likove poveže u isti Multiverse.
December 1, 2021
An ok collection of Hawkmoon stories, complete with an Avengers style Eternal Champion teamup story.
September 20, 2019
ok. world building based on multiverse theory. characterizations ok.
April 9, 2024
"when god's die, self-respect buds"
"God's are for children, for little, fearful people, for those who would have no responsibility to themselves or their fellows."
"God's are for children, for little, fearful people, for those who would have no responsibility to themselves or their fellows."
September 4, 2017
Очень неординарная фэнтази. Когда-то именно Муркок открыл мне идею параллельных миров, реинкарнации, абсолютного зла и добра, вечного долга, фатума и т.д. Столбовые идеи веры грамотно поданы без теологической мути.
Перечитав через 25 лет, я с удивлением обнаружила, что это несколько больше чем "подростковая литература". Плоскость персонажей и театральность декораций... играет не в минус, а в плюс. Романы воспринимаются как постановочное шоу, как пародия и сарказм на нашу жизнь: тёмная империя выживает только за счёт развала других стран, выкачивая из них ресурсы; лица политиков и сливок общества - маски; история переписана; простой люд превращен в фанатичную тупую толпу...
P.S. Особо тронул пассаж в сторону Украины. В "Укрании" появился враг и вырезает целые районы с мирным населением. Земли опустели, страна развалена и перестала существовать. Но по другую сторону Карпат никого это особо не трогает.
"Я просто бежала. Вот и всё. Я рассказала мою историю тем, кто хотел слушать, но не думаю, что это что-нибудь даст. Люди по сути своей эгоистичны и близоруки. Их мало заботит то, что происходит в отдалённых землях, по крайней мере до тех пор, пока это не начинает касаться их лично. Даже если допустить, что они мне верят..."
Перечитав через 25 лет, я с удивлением обнаружила, что это несколько больше чем "подростковая литература". Плоскость персонажей и театральность декораций... играет не в минус, а в плюс. Романы воспринимаются как постановочное шоу, как пародия и сарказм на нашу жизнь: тёмная империя выживает только за счёт развала других стран, выкачивая из них ресурсы; лица политиков и сливок общества - маски; история переписана; простой люд превращен в фанатичную тупую толпу...
P.S. Особо тронул пассаж в сторону Украины. В "Укрании" появился враг и вырезает целые районы с мирным населением. Земли опустели, страна развалена и перестала существовать. Но по другую сторону Карпат никого это особо не трогает.
"Я просто бежала. Вот и всё. Я рассказала мою историю тем, кто хотел слушать, но не думаю, что это что-нибудь даст. Люди по сути своей эгоистичны и близоруки. Их мало заботит то, что происходит в отдалённых землях, по крайней мере до тех пор, пока это не начинает касаться их лично. Даже если допустить, что они мне верят..."
Read
May 5, 2009Count Brass 27fl by Michael Moorcock (1985)
Read
August 25, 20101ST EDITION OF THE COLLECTION. CONTAINS THE NOVELS: COUNT BRASS (C 1973); THE CHAMPION OF GARATHORM (C 1973); THE QUEST FOR TANELORN (C 1973)
Read
December 14, 2009The champion of Garathorm by Michael Moorcock (1976)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews