The Best of Michael Moorcock [Paperback]

Michael Moorcock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2009

From the legendary author of the Elric sagas, this definitive collection captures the incomparable short fiction of one of science fiction and literature’s most important contemporary writers. These exceptional stories range effortlessly from the genre tales that continue to define heroic fantasy to the author’s critically acclaimed mainstream works. Classic offerings include "The Visible Men," the trilogy "My Experiences in the Third World War," "A Portrait in Ivory," and the Nebula award-winning novella "Behold the Man." With all of his finest stories finally collected in one volume, this is a long-overdue tribute to an extraordinarily gifted, versatile, and much-beloved author.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers new to the work of Grand Master Moorcock may be a bit put off by this wandering collection of short stories, grouped neither chronologically nor by style and acknowledged in the introduction as an almost random selection. Those seeking links to the renowned fantasy saga of Elric will find only the enigmatic eight-page A Portrait in Ivory, which, while evocative and well-written, will have much less impact for those who have not previously encountered the mercenary antihero. Similarly, only three of Moorcock's four Reminiscences of the Third World War stories are included, and the other selections range from hard science fiction to the brief and wholly non-fantastical tale A Winter Admiral. Moorcock's writing is top-notch, but only completists will be able to fully appreciate its exemplars here. (June)
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Review

"Moorcock's writing is top-notch."  —Publishers Weekly

"The 17 stories in this collection demonstrate the breadth of scope and the excellence in storytelling of sf Grandmaster and multigenre author Moorcock . . . Moorcock crosses genres, bends boundaries, and breaks rules as only a master storyteller can."  —Library Journal

"It is all quintessential Moorcock—a wild, fascinating batch of stories fairly balancing the fantastic and the nearly ordinary, and showcasing Moorcock's talent very well, thank you."  —Booklist

"A major novelist of enormous ambition."  —Washington Post

"Moorcock is a throwback to such outsized 19th-century novelistic talents as Dickens and Tolstoy."  —Locus

"No one at the moment in England is doing more to break down the artificial divisions that have grown up in novel writing – realism, surrealism, science fiction, historical fiction, social satire, the poetic novel – than Michael Moorcock."  —Angus Wilson

"The spells that first drew me and all the numerous admirers of his work with whom I am acquainted into Moorcock's luminous and captivating web."  —Alan Moore, creator of V for Vendetta

"He is the master storyteller of our time."  —Angela Carter, author, Nights at the Circus

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Tachyon Publications (May 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892391864
• ISBN-13: 978-1892391865
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent short stories, August 6, 2010

By 

Stefan "Stefan" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Best of Michael Moorcock (Paperback)

The Best of Michael Moorcock is a collection of the legendary author's best short fiction, containing several of his classic stories, as well as one previously unreleased story.

The collection, lovingly edited by John Davey with Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, is nothing short of excellent. There are really no bad stories here, and some that are simply stunning. As someone who has read many of Michael Moorcock's novels but barely any of his shorter work, I was amazed at how well the author's skill -- so much better known for the long, sweeping epic -- translates into the much more concentrated short form.

Also amazing is the ease with which Moorcock switches tones and styles, from the light-hearted to the overwhelmingly deep, from fantasy to SF to non-genre fiction, from the joking staccato prose of "London Bone" to the lyrical sadness of the Elric story "A Portrait In Ivory." It's easy to see why this man is a legend.

One of my favorite aspects of this book are the subtle typographical touches added to each story's title -- e.g. the words "Behold the Man" are placed in the shape of a cross, and "London Bone" looks like a tube sign. Every one is different and somehow relevant to the story, and they give the book an old-fashioned -- in a good way! -- and playful air.

SF and fantasy fans have been lucky recently, with two excellent best-of short story collections: Tor released a brilliant Gene Wolfe collection and then there's this Tachyon Publications Michael Moorcock collection. If, like me, you weren't very familiar with these authors' short works yet, getting these books is practically a must.