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Moorcock's Multiverse
Featuring some of Moorcock's earliest works, MOORCOCK'S MULTIVERSE contains the seeds of the overarching concepts that tie all of his varied worlds together. Here, in THE SUNDERED WORLDS, THE FIRECLOWN and THE TWILIGHT MAN, the multiverse is introduced and various aspects of the eternal champion, Moorcock's great and enduring creation, are explored. In THE FIRECLOWN, a totalitarian regime is enraged by the appearance of the fireclown, a man from the lower levels of the great city whose pyroclastic displays threaten to enflame the subdued population. In THE SUNDERED WORLDS, we are introduced to the concept of the multiverse, as Count Renark von Bek seeks to save the human race from the collapse of the universe itself. And in THE TWILIGHT MAN, the last man born on earth dares to leave for the stars, in search of a cure for the malaise inflicting the remaining members of mankind.
576 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 19, 2021
The Sundered Worlds : 4 out of 5 stars.
In the past I've shrugged The Sundered Worlds off as a proto-New Wave SF book at best, a hint at where Moorcock would eventually lead the SFF writing community during his tenure as editor at New Worlds of Science Fiction magazine. However, this time around, I'm seeing things in the story that make it so much more than I realised.
There are threads in here that lead out to a whole host of Moorcock's other works, including the vast majority of his Eternal Champion/Multiverse creations. The two novellas that make up this fix-up novel were originally written and published around the same time as his earlier Elric stories, as well as the original novella version of The Eternal Champion, and it's hard not to draw parallels between the themes raised in those more recognisably fantasy works and those raised in the stories of Renark the Wanderer and Asquiol of Pompeii in this volume. It's also nigh on impossible to ignore the building blocks of the much larger multiverse that would ultimately grow out of Moorcock's later works.
And speaking of the multiverse, this books is cited as the first instance of the term being used in its current physics context, and Moorcock really does go out of his way to try and capture the insanity and chaos of the many-layered multiverse. The descriptions of Adam Roffrey's journey through the planet Roth are the very model of chaos in action; disturbing and disorienting and beautiful and poetic, all at the same time. This same pervading sense of chaos is then later projected onto both Asquiol and Mary as they begin to embrace their connection to the multiverse.
There's a lot to unpack in this short novel, especially if you read with one eye on the rest of Moorcock's work over the years, and while it's far from the best writing he's produced, it definitely sets the stage for much of what was to come after.
The Winds of Limbo : 4 out of 5 stars
The Winds of Limbo (originally published as The Fireclown) is less of a sci-fi adventure romp than The Sundered Worlds, and more of a socio-political thriller. Inspired (and by Moorcock's own admission quite heavily so) by Benjamin Disraeli's novel Coningsby, the main narrative follows protagonist Alan Powys has he investigates the mysterious Fireclown and tries to understand why his grandfather, political heavy-hitter Simon Powys, seems so determined to eradicate the Fireclown from existence.
Along the way there are various arguments discussing the pros and cons of the two primary political viewpoints, represented by conservatism in the form of the Solar Referendum party and liberalism in the shape of the Radical Liberal Movement, and it's not all that difficult to see connections here with Moorcock's wider views on the conflict between Law/Order and Chaos/Entropy as explored in his many other works. Indeed, it could almost be argued that conservatism plays the role of Law, being "...unable to see a change as progress...", with liberalism being akin to Chaos in its desire to "...progress in many directions, not just one!"
There are some aspects of this book that haven't aged well. The repeated use of the word negro when referring to a character of Zimbabwean origin feels especially uncomfortable fifty-five years down the line, even if it is a technically correct term. At least the word is no longer capitalised, as it was in the original 1965 edition. That said, even despite this and other less egregious anachronisms, the core of the narrative still holds up quite well.
In terms of its connection to the greater whole of Moorcock's multiversal tales, it doesn't really have all that much in common with them. The Fireclown does make a couple of offhand references to the multiverse, and in a couple of later works Moorcock does identify Alan Powys as an incarnation of the eternal champion, but apart from that it still feels more like a standalone work than a part of something much bigger.
Definitely not as complex as The Sundered Worlds, but still a reasonably enjoyable read.
The Shores of Death: 3.5 of 5 stars
Originally published in 1965 as The Twilight Man, the final novel in this omnibus is perhaps the weakest of the three, and also seems to be the one with the least to offer in terms of links to Moorcock's other works. That said, there are a few themes common to his later work, including a main character who, much like Elric, Corum, and others, is presented as something of an unwilling leader of a dying race. There's also more than a few elements of this novel that are later echoed in the early Hawkmoon books, which were published only a year or two after this one.
The story itself is set on a tidally locked Earth, where most of the population lives in peace and happiness on the daylight side of the planet. Clovis Marca is a product of incest, born in the twilight lands that separate the daylight from the night. When Marca's father dies, he sets out for the daylight, and soon becomes accepted as a leader of sorts. However, when the few remaining human scientists discover that humanity has lost the ability to reproduce, Marca sets out to try and find a way of escaping the ordained end of the human race.
As with many of Moorcock's works, the sense of impending doom is a constant theme throughout the narrative, with an almost tragic protagonist trying desperately to find a way to avoid an inevitable fate. There's also once again a hint at the conflict between Law and Chaos, with Law this time being represented by the followers of Marca's rival and eventual enemy, Andros Almer, and Chaos represented by an apocalypse cult who call themselves the Brotherhood of Guilt. In retrospect it's easy to see the embryonic forms of many of Moorcock's more common themes hidden within a narrative that doesn't quite reach the standards of his later works.
That said, it's still an enjoyable read, and not just one for the completists out there.
In the past I've shrugged The Sundered Worlds off as a proto-New Wave SF book at best, a hint at where Moorcock would eventually lead the SFF writing community during his tenure as editor at New Worlds of Science Fiction magazine. However, this time around, I'm seeing things in the story that make it so much more than I realised.
There are threads in here that lead out to a whole host of Moorcock's other works, including the vast majority of his Eternal Champion/Multiverse creations. The two novellas that make up this fix-up novel were originally written and published around the same time as his earlier Elric stories, as well as the original novella version of The Eternal Champion, and it's hard not to draw parallels between the themes raised in those more recognisably fantasy works and those raised in the stories of Renark the Wanderer and Asquiol of Pompeii in this volume. It's also nigh on impossible to ignore the building blocks of the much larger multiverse that would ultimately grow out of Moorcock's later works.
And speaking of the multiverse, this books is cited as the first instance of the term being used in its current physics context, and Moorcock really does go out of his way to try and capture the insanity and chaos of the many-layered multiverse. The descriptions of Adam Roffrey's journey through the planet Roth are the very model of chaos in action; disturbing and disorienting and beautiful and poetic, all at the same time. This same pervading sense of chaos is then later projected onto both Asquiol and Mary as they begin to embrace their connection to the multiverse.
There's a lot to unpack in this short novel, especially if you read with one eye on the rest of Moorcock's work over the years, and while it's far from the best writing he's produced, it definitely sets the stage for much of what was to come after.
The Winds of Limbo : 4 out of 5 stars
The Winds of Limbo (originally published as The Fireclown) is less of a sci-fi adventure romp than The Sundered Worlds, and more of a socio-political thriller. Inspired (and by Moorcock's own admission quite heavily so) by Benjamin Disraeli's novel Coningsby, the main narrative follows protagonist Alan Powys has he investigates the mysterious Fireclown and tries to understand why his grandfather, political heavy-hitter Simon Powys, seems so determined to eradicate the Fireclown from existence.
Along the way there are various arguments discussing the pros and cons of the two primary political viewpoints, represented by conservatism in the form of the Solar Referendum party and liberalism in the shape of the Radical Liberal Movement, and it's not all that difficult to see connections here with Moorcock's wider views on the conflict between Law/Order and Chaos/Entropy as explored in his many other works. Indeed, it could almost be argued that conservatism plays the role of Law, being "...unable to see a change as progress...", with liberalism being akin to Chaos in its desire to "...progress in many directions, not just one!"
There are some aspects of this book that haven't aged well. The repeated use of the word negro when referring to a character of Zimbabwean origin feels especially uncomfortable fifty-five years down the line, even if it is a technically correct term. At least the word is no longer capitalised, as it was in the original 1965 edition. That said, even despite this and other less egregious anachronisms, the core of the narrative still holds up quite well.
In terms of its connection to the greater whole of Moorcock's multiversal tales, it doesn't really have all that much in common with them. The Fireclown does make a couple of offhand references to the multiverse, and in a couple of later works Moorcock does identify Alan Powys as an incarnation of the eternal champion, but apart from that it still feels more like a standalone work than a part of something much bigger.
Definitely not as complex as The Sundered Worlds, but still a reasonably enjoyable read.
The Shores of Death: 3.5 of 5 stars
Originally published in 1965 as The Twilight Man, the final novel in this omnibus is perhaps the weakest of the three, and also seems to be the one with the least to offer in terms of links to Moorcock's other works. That said, there are a few themes common to his later work, including a main character who, much like Elric, Corum, and others, is presented as something of an unwilling leader of a dying race. There's also more than a few elements of this novel that are later echoed in the early Hawkmoon books, which were published only a year or two after this one.
The story itself is set on a tidally locked Earth, where most of the population lives in peace and happiness on the daylight side of the planet. Clovis Marca is a product of incest, born in the twilight lands that separate the daylight from the night. When Marca's father dies, he sets out for the daylight, and soon becomes accepted as a leader of sorts. However, when the few remaining human scientists discover that humanity has lost the ability to reproduce, Marca sets out to try and find a way of escaping the ordained end of the human race.
As with many of Moorcock's works, the sense of impending doom is a constant theme throughout the narrative, with an almost tragic protagonist trying desperately to find a way to avoid an inevitable fate. There's also once again a hint at the conflict between Law and Chaos, with Law this time being represented by the followers of Marca's rival and eventual enemy, Andros Almer, and Chaos represented by an apocalypse cult who call themselves the Brotherhood of Guilt. In retrospect it's easy to see the embryonic forms of many of Moorcock's more common themes hidden within a narrative that doesn't quite reach the standards of his later works.
That said, it's still an enjoyable read, and not just one for the completists out there.
December 30, 2016
The Sundered Worlds: A Space Opera nas mãos de Moorcock ganha uma intrigante dimensão de psicadelismo cósmico. Com a humanidade a espalhar-se por um universo que não parece conter outra forma de vida inteligente que não a humana, um dos guardiães da expansão começa a sentir uma ameaça difusa. Este homem, Conde Von Bek, com os seus sentidos sincronizados com as vibrações cósmicas das leis da física, intui que a ameaça de extermínio paira sobre o universo. Para a combater, e tentar salvar a humanidade, desafia tudo e todos e viaja até ao local mais enigmático do universo, uma zona do espaço onde, ciclicamente, surge um sistema solar que parece vir de um universo paralelo, perpendicular ao de Von Bek. O mergulho nesse sistema revelará mais do que esperado.
No centro, Von Bek encontrará um planeta que existe simultaneamente em todas as dimensões do multiverso, onde contactará seres que se apresentam como superintendentes das espécies inteligentes do multiverso. Aí é-lhe revelado o propósito da ameaça que paira sobre o universo habitado pela humanidade: transcender ou perecer, iniciando um longo caminho que permitirá à espécie inteligente capaz de transcender os limites do seu universo vir a tomar o lugar destes alienígenas envelhecidos. O multiverso é composto por camadas de universos possíveis, e aqueles que não são inóspitos à vida são habitat exclusivo de uma única espécie. Fugindo do seu universo em derrocada, numa enorme frota de refúgio, a humanidade descobre-se noutro universo, e tem de lutar pela sobrevivência contra os seus habitantes nativos, uma espécie com um profundo código de honra que não pode ser derrotada militarmente. Resta um jogo cósmico de sensações e ilusões, e apenas aqueles que exploraram o planeta que existe simultaneamente em todos os universos terão a capacidade mental para infligir a derrota e garantir o futuro da humanidade.
Moorcock usa com gosto os elementos clássicos da Space Opera. Temos intrigas, aventuras em planetas exóticos, grandiosas batalhas espaciais. Mas, ao contrário do habitual no género, estes elementos são adereços e não a razão de ser do livro. Moorcock delicia-se com uma visão de colisão entre as teorias da física e o psicadelismo, descrevendo um conceito de multiverso finito mas gigante, composto por camadas simultâneas de universos, acessíveis apenas àqueles cuja percepção espacial e temporal é alterada por forças cósmicas.
The Winds of Limbo: Moorcock nunca se interessou por absolutos. Os seus personagens icónicos têm tanto de herói como de vilão, de vítima como de vitimizadores. Neste Winds of Limbo, tudo se foca na bizarra personagem do Fireclown, um homem que sobreviveu a um acidente cuja nave se aproximou demasiado do sol. Tendo as suas percepções alteradas, compreende para lá do espaço e do tempo, tornando-se capaz de criar tecnologia que ultrapassa as limitações físicas das viagens espaciais. Fá-lo para responder a uma questão muito pessoal, tentando perceber as vantagens da inteligência sobre a consciência. Se tudo o que este personagem tem a oferecer à humanidade poderá acelerar o progresso, aquilo que realmente procura ameaça a sua existência.
Mas não mergulhamos nos dilemas e lutas deste personagem singular. Aliás, apesar do romance girar à sua volta, não é o seu principal protagonista. Acompanhamos um jovem ligado às famílias mais poderosas da democracia global que, centrada na cidade que se ergue nas montanhas da Suíça, controla os destinos de um sistema solar pelo qual a humanidade cautelosamente se expande. O aparecimento do Fireclown vai despertar numa sociedade tranquila e complacente anseios e pulsões que se julgavam há muito esquecidos, enterrados sob a civilização progressista. Entre o efeito galvanizador do personagem junto das populações e os desejos de poder por parte das elites, a democracia fica em perigo, no limiar da ditadura. Uma conspiração entre traficantes de armas e políticos ambiciosos que, utilizando a estranheza do Fireclown como pretexto, geram medo na sociedade e exploram-no para atingir o poder. Grande parte deste livro de FC passa-se em deslindar de intriga política, bem dentro daquela visão clássica do futuro como progresso tecnocrático, rumo à estabilidade e união global, com fugas ocasionais para o lado cósmico e psicadélico que associamos ao autor.
The Shores of Death -A humanidade parece estar a viver os dias do seu ocaso. Uma estranha invasão alienígena teve curiosas consequências. A rotação do planeta foi parada, passando a estar dividido entre zonas continuamente na luz ou na penumbra. A radiação alienígena provocou alterações biológicas que, se a natureza conseguiu adaptar-se, na humanidade se traduz numa esterilidade terminal para a espécie. Os humanos deste fim dos tempos, de longas vidas que culminarão na extinção, adaptam-se como podem. Uns procuram construir antenas de rádio para enviar uma última mensagem para as estrelas, outros naves espaciais para investigar rumores de uma colónia humana em Titã. A sociedade perfeita de um futuro sem escassez começa a desmoronar-se sob pressão de seitas e autoritarismos. Resta ao último homem nascido descobrir a solução para esta crise terminal, procurando um cientista cujas pesquisas poderão tornar a humanidade imortal.
É a capacidade literária de Moorcock que segura este romance que, nas mãos de outros escritores, seria um pastelão patético e ilegível. O notável na história é a minúcia com que Moorcock transpõe para as páginas aquelas visões utópicas e algo elitistas do futuro perfeito dos anos 60, com grupos elegantes de gente próspera e esclarecida, nas suas leves túnicas, a viver em casas luxuosas cheias de tecnologias inimagináveis num planeta verdejante, sem resquícios de pobreza, sobre-população ou outros dos males que historicamente assolaram a humanidade.
No centro, Von Bek encontrará um planeta que existe simultaneamente em todas as dimensões do multiverso, onde contactará seres que se apresentam como superintendentes das espécies inteligentes do multiverso. Aí é-lhe revelado o propósito da ameaça que paira sobre o universo habitado pela humanidade: transcender ou perecer, iniciando um longo caminho que permitirá à espécie inteligente capaz de transcender os limites do seu universo vir a tomar o lugar destes alienígenas envelhecidos. O multiverso é composto por camadas de universos possíveis, e aqueles que não são inóspitos à vida são habitat exclusivo de uma única espécie. Fugindo do seu universo em derrocada, numa enorme frota de refúgio, a humanidade descobre-se noutro universo, e tem de lutar pela sobrevivência contra os seus habitantes nativos, uma espécie com um profundo código de honra que não pode ser derrotada militarmente. Resta um jogo cósmico de sensações e ilusões, e apenas aqueles que exploraram o planeta que existe simultaneamente em todos os universos terão a capacidade mental para infligir a derrota e garantir o futuro da humanidade.
Moorcock usa com gosto os elementos clássicos da Space Opera. Temos intrigas, aventuras em planetas exóticos, grandiosas batalhas espaciais. Mas, ao contrário do habitual no género, estes elementos são adereços e não a razão de ser do livro. Moorcock delicia-se com uma visão de colisão entre as teorias da física e o psicadelismo, descrevendo um conceito de multiverso finito mas gigante, composto por camadas simultâneas de universos, acessíveis apenas àqueles cuja percepção espacial e temporal é alterada por forças cósmicas.
The Winds of Limbo: Moorcock nunca se interessou por absolutos. Os seus personagens icónicos têm tanto de herói como de vilão, de vítima como de vitimizadores. Neste Winds of Limbo, tudo se foca na bizarra personagem do Fireclown, um homem que sobreviveu a um acidente cuja nave se aproximou demasiado do sol. Tendo as suas percepções alteradas, compreende para lá do espaço e do tempo, tornando-se capaz de criar tecnologia que ultrapassa as limitações físicas das viagens espaciais. Fá-lo para responder a uma questão muito pessoal, tentando perceber as vantagens da inteligência sobre a consciência. Se tudo o que este personagem tem a oferecer à humanidade poderá acelerar o progresso, aquilo que realmente procura ameaça a sua existência.
Mas não mergulhamos nos dilemas e lutas deste personagem singular. Aliás, apesar do romance girar à sua volta, não é o seu principal protagonista. Acompanhamos um jovem ligado às famílias mais poderosas da democracia global que, centrada na cidade que se ergue nas montanhas da Suíça, controla os destinos de um sistema solar pelo qual a humanidade cautelosamente se expande. O aparecimento do Fireclown vai despertar numa sociedade tranquila e complacente anseios e pulsões que se julgavam há muito esquecidos, enterrados sob a civilização progressista. Entre o efeito galvanizador do personagem junto das populações e os desejos de poder por parte das elites, a democracia fica em perigo, no limiar da ditadura. Uma conspiração entre traficantes de armas e políticos ambiciosos que, utilizando a estranheza do Fireclown como pretexto, geram medo na sociedade e exploram-no para atingir o poder. Grande parte deste livro de FC passa-se em deslindar de intriga política, bem dentro daquela visão clássica do futuro como progresso tecnocrático, rumo à estabilidade e união global, com fugas ocasionais para o lado cósmico e psicadélico que associamos ao autor.
The Shores of Death -A humanidade parece estar a viver os dias do seu ocaso. Uma estranha invasão alienígena teve curiosas consequências. A rotação do planeta foi parada, passando a estar dividido entre zonas continuamente na luz ou na penumbra. A radiação alienígena provocou alterações biológicas que, se a natureza conseguiu adaptar-se, na humanidade se traduz numa esterilidade terminal para a espécie. Os humanos deste fim dos tempos, de longas vidas que culminarão na extinção, adaptam-se como podem. Uns procuram construir antenas de rádio para enviar uma última mensagem para as estrelas, outros naves espaciais para investigar rumores de uma colónia humana em Titã. A sociedade perfeita de um futuro sem escassez começa a desmoronar-se sob pressão de seitas e autoritarismos. Resta ao último homem nascido descobrir a solução para esta crise terminal, procurando um cientista cujas pesquisas poderão tornar a humanidade imortal.
É a capacidade literária de Moorcock que segura este romance que, nas mãos de outros escritores, seria um pastelão patético e ilegível. O notável na história é a minúcia com que Moorcock transpõe para as páginas aquelas visões utópicas e algo elitistas do futuro perfeito dos anos 60, com grupos elegantes de gente próspera e esclarecida, nas suas leves túnicas, a viver em casas luxuosas cheias de tecnologias inimagináveis num planeta verdejante, sem resquícios de pobreza, sobre-população ou outros dos males que historicamente assolaram a humanidade.
March 11, 2016
This is another collection of novels, just like "Sailing to Utopia"
Just like "Sialing to Utopia", these are sci-fi novels.
Unlike "Sailing for Utopia", these are generally darker works, with quite an emphasis on politics and the future of society. The central theme is essentially a commentary of how artificial society is, and how easily it unravels in time of crisis.
And each novel presents such a crisis. They are supposed to be "framing" the broader Multiverse framework, but I was having a hard time seeing this "really big picture", since I was fairly engrossed in following the society in each of the three novels to its devolution.
"The Sundered Worlds" is probably the weakest of the bunch, despite attempting to be something of a space opera. In some ways, I actually felt it was similar to "The Wrecks of Time" from "Sailing to Utopia" (and I may need to re-read that one soon), but then it got too caught up in its own message towards the end.
"The Winds of Limbo" (Also known as "The Fireclown") is probably my favorite. I disagree with the blurb which describes the society in the book as "totalitarian"- rather, the society starts to become that way due to things in the book--and it shows how media hysteria can make society unravel in days- a chillingly contemporary commentary from a book written decades ago.
"The Shores of Death" is actually, maybe, kind of, a sequel to "Winds of Limbo"- as there's a few story parallels. But I'm not sure of that. It's story structure is actually quite similar, with a few twists in the end. The twists are clever, but the tropes they rely on are a bit cliche, which is why my preference goes to "Winds of Limbo" (whose story is also typical as far as intrigue goes, I might add; but it plays it straight, and it's the process, not the plot that matters; while "Shores of Death" is clearly character-focused, so the cliche sticks out a lot more.)
Just like "Sialing to Utopia", these are sci-fi novels.
Unlike "Sailing for Utopia", these are generally darker works, with quite an emphasis on politics and the future of society. The central theme is essentially a commentary of how artificial society is, and how easily it unravels in time of crisis.
And each novel presents such a crisis. They are supposed to be "framing" the broader Multiverse framework, but I was having a hard time seeing this "really big picture", since I was fairly engrossed in following the society in each of the three novels to its devolution.
"The Sundered Worlds" is probably the weakest of the bunch, despite attempting to be something of a space opera. In some ways, I actually felt it was similar to "The Wrecks of Time" from "Sailing to Utopia" (and I may need to re-read that one soon), but then it got too caught up in its own message towards the end.
"The Winds of Limbo" (Also known as "The Fireclown") is probably my favorite. I disagree with the blurb which describes the society in the book as "totalitarian"- rather, the society starts to become that way due to things in the book--and it shows how media hysteria can make society unravel in days- a chillingly contemporary commentary from a book written decades ago.
"The Shores of Death" is actually, maybe, kind of, a sequel to "Winds of Limbo"- as there's a few story parallels. But I'm not sure of that. It's story structure is actually quite similar, with a few twists in the end. The twists are clever, but the tropes they rely on are a bit cliche, which is why my preference goes to "Winds of Limbo" (whose story is also typical as far as intrigue goes, I might add; but it plays it straight, and it's the process, not the plot that matters; while "Shores of Death" is clearly character-focused, so the cliche sticks out a lot more.)
August 12, 2018
An odd assembly of earlier SF from Moorcock, with tangential references to the concepts of the Multiverse. The Fireclown shows its age, The Twilight Man heralds themes from The End of Time and other Eternal Champion conceits, and The Sundered Worlds welcomes the first Von Bek quests. Not entirely without attraction, but not entirely necessary either.
November 3, 2025
This was a fantastic introduction to the works of Michael Moorcock.
Admittedly, I found the first few chapters of the Sundered Worlds to be slow reads. Not because little to nothing happened in them, but because, as a book that was originally published in 1965, the writing style is different enough from those common today as to take some adjusting to. However, once those adjustments were made, the rest of this collection was incredible. Moorcock's sparse style is perfect for such high concept sci-fi because it largely leaves the details to the reader's imagination. Aside from a few differences in where technology was headed in the 60s and where it is headed now, there weren't any chunky, green-screened computer mainframes to giggle about, or fin-equipped cigar-shaped spaceships to take me out of any of the stories.
Plus, the characters we meet in each of the stories, however broad they may appear upon their introduction (or how familiar certain tropes or types may be to us now), are given at least some development through the course of these stories so that they are given at least some depth. Along with the ideas explored in each of the three books here (such as the multiverse, the governability of humanity, and our response in the face of explicit existential crisis), these elements rival and in some cases surpass their current counterparts.
Of course, I will admit, that it is possible that some of my praise comes from lowered expectations. It is, after all, early sci-fi. And although it is usually ascribed more to the genre in the 50s than the 60s, old genre fiction in general has a reputation for, whatever the reason, being outdated and difficult to go back to. What's more, some time before reading this collection I had heard about others struggling with Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné stories because they showed their age in various ways.
However, as best as I can tell, Moorcock's work escapes the fate of other works from the same decade and, slight reading adjustments aside, seems to be timeless. If you're at all curious about masterful sci-fi storytelling from an earlier decade, find this collection and read it.
Admittedly, I found the first few chapters of the Sundered Worlds to be slow reads. Not because little to nothing happened in them, but because, as a book that was originally published in 1965, the writing style is different enough from those common today as to take some adjusting to. However, once those adjustments were made, the rest of this collection was incredible. Moorcock's sparse style is perfect for such high concept sci-fi because it largely leaves the details to the reader's imagination. Aside from a few differences in where technology was headed in the 60s and where it is headed now, there weren't any chunky, green-screened computer mainframes to giggle about, or fin-equipped cigar-shaped spaceships to take me out of any of the stories.
Plus, the characters we meet in each of the stories, however broad they may appear upon their introduction (or how familiar certain tropes or types may be to us now), are given at least some development through the course of these stories so that they are given at least some depth. Along with the ideas explored in each of the three books here (such as the multiverse, the governability of humanity, and our response in the face of explicit existential crisis), these elements rival and in some cases surpass their current counterparts.
Of course, I will admit, that it is possible that some of my praise comes from lowered expectations. It is, after all, early sci-fi. And although it is usually ascribed more to the genre in the 50s than the 60s, old genre fiction in general has a reputation for, whatever the reason, being outdated and difficult to go back to. What's more, some time before reading this collection I had heard about others struggling with Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné stories because they showed their age in various ways.
However, as best as I can tell, Moorcock's work escapes the fate of other works from the same decade and, slight reading adjustments aside, seems to be timeless. If you're at all curious about masterful sci-fi storytelling from an earlier decade, find this collection and read it.
November 23, 2020
2stars for the Sundered Worlds. It all felt flat and unengaging, things happened because they did
3.5stars for the Winds of Limbo. Suddenly I was engaged. I cared about Alan and how his world worked. More a political novel but very enjoyable
5stars for the Shores of Death. Again, I cared for Marca, and the world he lived in. It felt a bit like Zardos with the last few survivors on Earth all having nearly everything they want, but then coping with the thought of it all ending. Genuinely fascinating.
3.5stars for the Winds of Limbo. Suddenly I was engaged. I cared about Alan and how his world worked. More a political novel but very enjoyable
5stars for the Shores of Death. Again, I cared for Marca, and the world he lived in. It felt a bit like Zardos with the last few survivors on Earth all having nearly everything they want, but then coping with the thought of it all ending. Genuinely fascinating.
July 10, 2024
I know that this is probably not the best place to start but it is the one that I owned and whilst I may have missed a lot of Easter eggs, I was able to understand it. I think I am going to enjoy Moorcocks books if this is anything to go by!
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