Home       Subscribe       Index       Archives      
The Book Barn 

 
 Reviewed by: The Rev 27th Jan 2003 
 


The Sailor on the Seas of Fate

Michael Moorcock
Purchase this title at B&N

The second novel of the Elric series picks up where the first left off. (There is one major detail regarding Elric's betrothed, Cymoril, that seems to have shifted back in time, but Moorcock resolves it later; still, it seems to have been something of a gaffe.) Here we are introduced, for those who have never read any of Moorcock's other fantasy series, to the idea of the Eternal Champion, and that many of Moorcock's heroes and antiheroes are facets of the same personality throughout time and space. Moorcock meets up with three other incarnations of the Eternal Champion—Corum, Hawkmoon, and Erekose. (Excellent advertising for the other series, whether intended that way or not.) Things get confusing here, as some of the others mention events that haven't happened yet in the Elric series, but just ride with it. It'll all come clear eventually. Needless to say, having read (or reading just after the Elric books) the Hawkoon, Corum, and Erekose series will deepen one's appreciation for this part of the Elric series.

The main complaint I have about Moorcock's writing, while not to be found solely in this novel, is most notable here. Moorcock's action scenes, for all that they are some of the book's turning points, are often described minimally, even sparely. The climax of a battle is often given one sentence, as is the death of a companion, no matter how long that companion has known the characters in the story. (I have made mention many times of what I call characters who enter stories with “kill me now” tattooed on their foreheads. This is the opposite extreme—Moorcock will sometimes spend chapters building up a character, only to treat him as if he did have “kill me now” tattooed on his forehead. It can be disconcerting, to say the least.)

Still, the originalities in the premise, the unique take on the antihero along with the whole concept of the Eternal Champion, coupled with the simple readability of the series, make them all worth picking up. Each can be gotten through in a single afternoon, for most people.



See also
Count Brass by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Firing the Cathedral by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
Kane of Old Mars by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
King of the City by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
London Bone by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Blood Red Game by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Champion of Garathorm by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Chronicles of Corum by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Dreamthief's Daughter by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
The Ice Schooner by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Mad God's Amulet by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Quest for Tanelorn by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Skrayling Tree by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
The Swords Trilogy by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Vanishing Tower by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The War Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ee Lin
The Weird of the White Wolf by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Wizardry and Wild Romance by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev