A Messiah at the End of Time

Dancers at the End of Time #5

by Michael Moorcock

A novel from The End of Time also known as A Messiah at the End of Time (or The Return of Fireclown) and expanded from the novella 'Constant Fire' first published in New Worlds in 1976.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dying Earth, Time Travel

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Michael 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.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: This was originally a short novel called "Constant Fire", and was expanded to this novel; also titled "A Messiah at the End of Time" (in the UK) and as "The Return of the Fireclown" in the US.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange little book that's also appeared as A Messiah at the End of Time and The Return of the Fireclown and was expanded from it's original version, Constant Fire. It is something of a sequel to The Winds of Limbo and can be considered the fifth volume of The Dancers at the End of Time trilogy (yeah) and part of the Cornelius saga, at least peripherally. It's an interesting if minor part of the Moorcock multiverse tapestry, but not a good place to start. I didn't care for some of the character developments and choices and regarded them as alternate versions, but, as always, I enjoyed Moorcock's prose, craft, and humor. My Star edition shows a pink, orange, and green triceratops with droopy horns watching a Gothic spaceship take-off... which I thought fit the novel rather well.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Moorcocks' but important in that it finally gives a closing to the eternal champion, while potentially opening up a whole new direction.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The version I read of this short novel was called A Messiah at the End of Time. Readers not familiar with Moorcock's End of Time world might be at loss, but there is enough wild invention and nutty plotting to keep anyone entertained. This also brings back the character of the Fireclown from a 1965 novel. That early novel is far from one of Moorcock's best and the character was an weird concoction of nihilist and insane visionary who had literally been to the center of the sun. Since that time has has spent the millennia traveling the Multiverse -- again at least of passing knowledge of Moorcock's oeuvre would come in handy here -- and has landed in the hedonistic world of the End of Time with a message of salvation no one really has any interest in.

But then there is Mavis. Mavis Ming is an early time traveler from the 21st century and something of bore to the sophisticates surrounding her. Returning is not an option. Time travel is for the most part a one way trip, and you get the impression that the scientists in the early days of time travel chose their teammate Mavis as a subject because they really didn't care if she never came back. She is overweight, vacuous, and largely oblivious to the effect she has on those around her, But here is this shrunken clown from outer space who is obsessed with her and will do anything to make her his own for all eternity.

The plot is crazy and funny but also shows more than any of the End of Time stories just how cruel these final representatives of the human race can be. Many reader reviews mention with discomfort the flagellation scene the unites Mavis and the clown, but this Sadean sidebar is in the grand, arch tradition of Moorcock's storytelling. Other End of Time stories involve casual incest and characters posing as children to attract the sexual attentions of a recalcitrant potential lover. The whole setup is as kinky as it gets. And the Fireclowns whipping of Mavis does bring on an appearance of the Holy Grail, so I guess it can't be all bad.

[Arthur B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointless nonsense. Moorcock second-guessed himself on the ending to this, rewriting it after the original sparked a (justified) feminist backlash, but the revised version suggests that Moorcock doesn't entirely realise what the problem is. Either way, pretty rotten. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly, supremely bizarre story (gelatinous dinosaurs at the end of time, for instance), but thoroughly and supremely fun.

[Abhay Donthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read his other books, this was my first one and I went into it with very little background.

It's got some weird and creative ideas, but that's pretty much all I liked about it. The characters weren't likable. Lots of rambling and flowery language where the characters are just talking circles around each other. The ending was uh... Unpleasant to say the least. Didnt think the book as a whole was particularly funny or interesting overall. Meh.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never know how to review this type of Moorcock book. Just bizarre. It was a sequel, of sorts, to the equally idiosyncratic The Fireclown (which, confusingly, is NOT one of the Dancers at the End of Time series, of which this book is apparently #5). I guess you'd have to call it science fiction, but it's just as much a satire. Even moreso than with some of his other more obscure works, I really think this one's only of interest to Moorcock completists.

[Jason Tudor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to enjoy this book and all of its quirky elements. My issue was that when I got about halfway through it, I just wasn't attached enough to any of the characters to continue move on. Michael Moorcock could write the phone book, recipe list, anything else and I aoukd read it. This one just didn't make it to the finish line for me.

[Laurence Hidalgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit stranger than the preceeding volumes, but worth the read. I can't say I liked any of the characters very much, but Mavis Ming was the least objectionable.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only from the mind of Michael Moorcock.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in April 2001.

The second title of this novel, used for the American edition (which is actually the one I read), is in fact rather better than the original one of The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming; it is much more apposite, and concerns the main interest of the novel. It begins with a short editorial explanation, detailing the way it fits into Moorcock's other novels; it draws on several scenarios, but the one series which really should be read before The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming is The Dancers at the End of Time.

Mavis Ming is one of the many time travellers stranded at the end of time; overweight and not terribly bright, she isn't exactly one of the stars of that superficial society. But then the Fireclown, prophet from the past, arrives to judge the End of Time, and he chooses the unwilling Mavis Ming to be his great love.

The idea of confronting the hedonism of the End of Time with religious fanaticism is interesting, but Moorcock for once executes it poorly. The Fireclown is not one of his more convincing characters, and Mavis Ming is (deliberately) a dull one. In the end, the novel is a poor relation of the trilogy.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it a great deal for the most part; it's the sort of exuberant, arch Moorcock novel I like the best. But I was put off by the ending which is essentially a replay of the controversial ending to Gloriana, written just a year or two earlier. Only this one seems to have slipped in under the radar. Not sure quite what to make of Moorcock's take on physical abuse as a rather salutary exercise for the victim. Still, I am re-reading the Dancers At The End Of Time sequence, starting with An Alien Heat.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd little book. Definitely not for everyone but delightful in its unbelievable bizarre setting. The characters are quirky and, frankly, unlikable, but I could not put the book down. I had to finish it. I had to see what transformation this rather drab Miss Ming underwent. If you enjoy quirky science fiction, give it a try! Also, be warned: this is part of a series and there are several books prior to this one. I would have probably enjoyed the book more if I had more of an introduction to the characters and the author's writing style. All in all, I'm glad I read it.

[Rod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fireclown, from The Winds of Limbo, makes an appearance at The End of Time, which is my favorite Moorcock setting. That said, this was not my favorite End of Time novel. Liked the "minor" characters more than the main ones and felt puzzled by why Moorcock included a scene of violence against Miss Ming. Read the Dancers at the End of Time trilogy (An Alien Heat, The Hollow Lands, and The End of All Songs) and maybe let this one go...

[Raj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Moorcock's Legends From the End of Time series in which Miss Mavis Ming is caught up in a plot between her protector and a visitor from space. It was a fun book with quite a lyrical style and humorously grotesque characters. I can find Moorcock hit and miss but I've read some others in the End of Time series and have enjoyed it. Fun and easy to read.

[Elizabeth]

As I go through my books, I'm embarrassed by how many I've picked up and started, then abandoned. I just found the central character, Miss Mavis Ming so annoying. Someone I like told me once that I'd enjoy Moorcock, and it's a short book, so someday I hope to finish it.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty cool to see Moorcock integrating one of his earlier SF characters with his End of Time series. However, beyond that, the story is just OK. Neither Bloom nor Ming is a particularly likeable protagonist, and their dilemmas don't seem that important or touching in the scope of things.

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the Dancers at the End of time series. Some good, and often weird, humor here.