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The Elric Saga #10-12
Элрик: Лунные дороги
Когда нацизм охватывает Фатерланд, альбинос Улрик фон Бек вступает в борьбу, чтобы не позволить Адольфу Гитлеру овладеть оккультным мечом Равенбранд. Когда нечеловеческая армия окружает вечный город Танелорн, легендарный альбинос Элрик, последний из рода чародеев-королей из Мелнибонэ, сражается, чтобы вернуть Черный меч, попавший в руки Гейнора Проклятого. По всей мультивселенной финальная битва Хаоса с Законом подходит к концу в последнем томе цикла об Элрике. В него входят романы «Дочь сновидений», «Брат судьбы», «Сын Волка».
- GenresFantasy
864 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
4 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,209 books3,759 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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 30, 2017
Elric's dream body joins with his albinoid 1930's Germany era counterpart Ulrich Von Bek and they hack their way out of a Nazi concentration camp with Stormbringer. Ulrich's cousin Gaynor joins the Nazi party and becomes Gaynor the Damned by betraying both Law and Chaos and holding a siege against Tanelorn. Elric's daughter hangs out with Hiawatha and a younger version of Elric rides around on a mammoth. Gaynor the Damned and Klosterheim attempt to destroy the Tree of Life and then join forces with the Empire of Granbretan (Evil Alternate Britain), kidnap Elric's son and great-grand-daughter and attempt to sacrifice them in a bizarre ritual involving various Grail relics but are saved by Elric, the Black version of Erekosë and Hawkmoon - and then Oswald Bastable arrives in a zeppelin and drops a nuclear bomb on Londra (Evil Alternate London). Pretty much everyone in the Mutiverse turns out to be related to Elric and the Von Bek dynasty. Very entertaining for long-time Michael Moorcock fans but those new to his work might wonder what the hell is going on.
January 26, 2015
Moorcock at his best: post-modern alternate history fused with highly inventive science-fantasy, creating a whirlwind of Moorcock's literary ensemble bouncing off one another to great effect. Although the trilogy is named for Elric, it is as much (if not moreso) a von Bek story, and a story of the Eternal Champion mythos in general. As accessible as it is, it is best appreciated with a broad knowledge of Moorcock's prior work - not that that prevents it from being a fantastical romp though an incredibly depicted world of intrigue, metaphysics, and adventure.
March 15, 2020
Elric: The Moonbeam Roads is yet another attempt to conclude, or restart the Eternal Champion sequence. The novels concern the Von Bek family, and Elric's run-ins with them, and they tie-in the stories of Elric, the Von Beks, Hawkmoon, Colonel Bastable, Una Persson, and even Erekose. After reading this thick omnibus, I now want to re-read several other Eternal Champion books with a brand new perspective on certain characters; and, perhaps most importantly, we finally get an answer on who is John Daker, the first incarnation of Erekose.
So basically, if you've been following the Eternal Champion cycle, this is a must-read, because it's one of those books that ties a lot of things together- think also "The End of All Songs". AND the ending also kinda sorta seems concurrent with some of the "War Among the Angels" stuff... so yeah, a must-read.
For anyone reading this as a standalone (or even just more Elric stuff), it's a set of what's largely portal fantasy. The various von Beks find themselves travelling through different dimensions, and timelines, always trying to foil prince Gaynor the Damned, and his sometime ally Klosterheim who seek to end all existence by destabilizing the Cosmic Balance. Very metaphysical stuff, with the Black Sword playing a pivotal role. For Elric, most of this takes place in a 1000 year Dream during his captivity as part of "Stormbringer!". so these books actually take place before the end of his sequence... see, there I go talking about the timeline again-it's almost impossible to talk about "Moonbeam Roads" outside the greater context. But i'll give it another try.
Taken as a standalone, the stories here are pretty fast-paced and certainly varied. There's a lot of references to Eddas and other stories, as myths of parallel timelines are weaved together- jumping from 1940s Germany, to the mystical Mittel March, to Tanelorn, to alternate North America and Vinland, to the middle-ages Mirenbung. There's a lot going on, and multiple time travellers often feel like Deus Ex Machina when they show up to guide the hero where they need to be in the multiverse- except of course, in the grand scheme of things these "Knights of the Balance" sometimes have entire books establishing their own backstories. ... okay, staying on topic.
The pacing is fairly brisk, though the language can get a bit flowery in some parts; the characters aren't particularly multi-faceted, but that's not what these stories are really about. The point of these stories is to take the reader to a whole bunch of exotic locales and see momentous stuff happen-- with occasional explanations as to how this all fits the greater context that are great for those trying to follow that, but would I suppose only be tantalizing (or downright confusing) to those who don't.
On its own, the trilogy is a showcase of Moorcock's imagination that follows a pretty predicatable plot template. But the cornucopia of little details about the multiverse makes this easily one of the best books in the entire Collection.
So basically, if you've been following the Eternal Champion cycle, this is a must-read, because it's one of those books that ties a lot of things together- think also "The End of All Songs". AND the ending also kinda sorta seems concurrent with some of the "War Among the Angels" stuff... so yeah, a must-read.
For anyone reading this as a standalone (or even just more Elric stuff), it's a set of what's largely portal fantasy. The various von Beks find themselves travelling through different dimensions, and timelines, always trying to foil prince Gaynor the Damned, and his sometime ally Klosterheim who seek to end all existence by destabilizing the Cosmic Balance. Very metaphysical stuff, with the Black Sword playing a pivotal role. For Elric, most of this takes place in a 1000 year Dream during his captivity as part of "Stormbringer!". so these books actually take place before the end of his sequence... see, there I go talking about the timeline again-it's almost impossible to talk about "Moonbeam Roads" outside the greater context. But i'll give it another try.
Taken as a standalone, the stories here are pretty fast-paced and certainly varied. There's a lot of references to Eddas and other stories, as myths of parallel timelines are weaved together- jumping from 1940s Germany, to the mystical Mittel March, to Tanelorn, to alternate North America and Vinland, to the middle-ages Mirenbung. There's a lot going on, and multiple time travellers often feel like Deus Ex Machina when they show up to guide the hero where they need to be in the multiverse- except of course, in the grand scheme of things these "Knights of the Balance" sometimes have entire books establishing their own backstories. ... okay, staying on topic.
The pacing is fairly brisk, though the language can get a bit flowery in some parts; the characters aren't particularly multi-faceted, but that's not what these stories are really about. The point of these stories is to take the reader to a whole bunch of exotic locales and see momentous stuff happen-- with occasional explanations as to how this all fits the greater context that are great for those trying to follow that, but would I suppose only be tantalizing (or downright confusing) to those who don't.
On its own, the trilogy is a showcase of Moorcock's imagination that follows a pretty predicatable plot template. But the cornucopia of little details about the multiverse makes this easily one of the best books in the entire Collection.
October 3, 2023
Probably everything Moorcock has written is scrappy and somehow incomplete. Possibly this re-assembled Elric series is the most orderly of his works. Certainly, this book (or three books) is the most "together" of the series. For that, it gets five stars from me. That, and the inventiveness and originality that his writing contains, at its best. It'll be a while before I delve again into his work, if ever. But all this notwithstanding, read the books as a series. It's worth it!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews