The Eternal Champion [Paperback]

Michael Moorcock (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Mayflower / Granada (1979)
• ISBN-10: 0583117457
• ISBN-13: 978-0583117456
• ASIN: B002I47MSE
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Born in London in 1939, Michael Moorcock now lives in Texas. A prolific and award-winning writer with more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction to his name, he is the creator of Elric, Jerry Cornelius and Colonel Pyat, amongst many other memorable characters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eternal Champion is a worthy intro to the Moorcock world., August 23, 1997

By 

Greg Mastin ([e-mail] (Cincinnati, Oh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eternal Champion (The Tale of the Eternal Champion Series, Bk. 1) (Hardcover)

The Eternal Champion is the first in the series of re-issues of Moorcock's short stories with new forewards, and introductions. This book contains four stories, all centered around The Eternal Champion. The first story The Eternal Champion is a brilliant tale. In it the man John Daker is drawn into another world, slowly. Attracted by the word Erekose, he is brought to another dimension where he is the reincarnation of the great warrior Erekose. Erekose is enlisted by humanity to defeat the so-called demonic Eldren. Erekose defeats the Eldren, but eventually realizes that humanity is the blight on this planet, not the Eldren. He turns traitor and helps the Eldren against the savage humans. This is one of the most intriguing stories I have ever read. From the humanity as ignorant savage theme, to the horrific ending relating to the abuse of superior weaponry, this story has rarely been equaled. Erekose is then drawn out of a happy existence to another world in The Sundered Worlds, where humanity must travel the multiverse to rescue itself and prove to those running the universe they are ready to evolve and take the next step in the big picture. Phoenix in Obsidian is the third story in which, similarly to The Etenal Champion, Urlik Skarsol, must fight those he originally sees as his friends. This takes place on a world of ice, similar to the setting of The Ice Schooner in Vol. 8 Sailing to Utopia. Seemingly tacked on to the end is ...to Rescue Tanelorn a short story about the quest of one man to find help for the fabled city of Tanelorn before it is overrun by the forces of Chaos. Worth the price for the first story alone

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tolkien-esque hero story fans need not apply., February 28, 2003

By 

"go_lanche" (golden, co United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eternal Champion (The Tale of the Eternal Champion Series, Bk. 1) (Hardcover)

The most important thing about this book is the first story out of the four in this book. Originally published in the 1950's, it was a very different type of fantasy writing than the L.O.T.R. and Conan the Barbarian style that was and remains insanely popular. The Eternal Champion features a hero who is at times scared, unwilling, and most importantly, evil. The protagonist does not fully agree with his own actions and this presents a hero who is *gasp* human.

This seriously rocked the boat when held up against the other fantasy and sci-fi of the day. Has the anti-hero concept been more skilfully rendered since? Of course, several have done it better, and Moorcock himself has improved upon his early writing greatly, which is to be expected since he was 17 when he wrote The Eternal Champion.

The stories in the book are interesting enough, but the real value of this volume is the way it changed the rules for a genre of fiction and the fairly complete introduction to a decent series of books it provides. The series is well worth the read if you have a couple of months or years to get through it all and you want to see fantasy done with more of a human realist perspective.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent beginning to Moorcock, August 18, 1997

By 

Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eternal Champion (Paperback) (Paperback)

I always wanted to read the Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock, but it included so many series and so many different books that were either hard to find or out of print that I figured the task was too hard. Fortunately, the author has help set up this new series for lazy fans like me. And it's very, very welcome.

There are four novels in this volumn, so I'll take them separately:

The Eternal Champion: One of his first and his simpliest, but the themes protrayed in it would have a lasting effect on the rest of the series. Some of the best scenes are those where Erekose is dreaming and the names of the other champions are being shouted. Classic.

The Sundered Worlds: Little departure, but its sets up the rest of the multiverse, although it can be hard to follow all the ideas at times. But, hey, there's a Von Bek in it, can it be all that bad?

Phoenix in Obsidian: I just like the title to be honest. A nice continuation of the story of Erekose/John Daker/whoever, furthering the themes presented in the first story. I think it's even simpler than The Eternal Champion, but still fun to read.

To Rescue Tanelorn: A short story about the peaceful city that was only included because of said city. A good fantasy tale with hints of what will later happen in the series. And hey, it mentions Elric! It can't be all that bad.

So, while these stories are simple, one has to start somewhere, and with Michael Moorcock, the beginning is always the best place