A Nomad of the Time Streams [Paperback]

Michael Moorcock (Author), Chris Meuller (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997

Strange worlds occupy the infinite multiverse. They are worlds very much like the Earth we know--worlds that but for a vew differences could be our own. Visit an Earth where historical fact is turned on its head; slavery remains a practice in the United States. This is the fourth volume in the epic. Includes The Warlord of the Air, The Land Leviathan, and The Steel Tsar.

Product Details

• Paperback: 418 pages
• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565041941
• ISBN-13: 978-1565041943
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cautionary Socialist Recasting of History, March 26, 2002

By 

Mark D Burgh "Music, Writing, Art, Film, Hist... (Fort Smith, AR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Nomad of the Time Streams (Paperback)

Michael Moorcock's Nomad of the Timestreams is a political statement of deep profundity wrapped in an imperialist candy-coating of red uniforms, zeppelins, and ripping yarns.

Moorcock's multiverse is never better here. Oswald Bastable, ripped from his home in the Railway Children Series by E. Nesbitt, is part of the British Empire in 1902. Like a Kipling story, he finds himself doing the dirty work of imperialism unthinkingly. He is punished by being sent into an alternate history seventy-odd years in the future. There he tries to reassemble his life, but finds his sense of social justice is too much, and ends up working for anti-imperialist terrorists. The books are rife with real historical figures turned into their ugliest form, and in each racism is the central conflict, and no matter what he does, or what his good intentions are, Bastable always ends up at the forefront of mass destruction namely twice dropping nuclear weapons.

This is a work on the 1970's with its politicals worn bravely on its sleeve, still, Moorcocks vision is soaked with justice and through the adventures in various apocalyptic landscapes, one is as much entertained as educated.

Brilliantly written, well-researched, a dazzling performance equaled only by his Dancers at the End of Time series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another brilliant trailblazer, May 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Nomad of the Time Streams (Paperback)

When this first appeared in the early 70s as an Ace Special it must have hit people as a revelation, because nobody had thought of doing this particular kind of alternate history story before -- the future as imagined by the past. Since then there have been many honourable and excellent successors, but if you want to read the grand-daddy of steam-punk, a massive influence on some of the finest modern fantasy and sf writers (not to mention ahem R.Dreyfuss & H.Turtledove), this is still one of the finest. And, like Wells, it has a very specific moral and political examination to make. It doesn't once detract from the typical Moorcock pace. It's hard to think fast and follow the action sometimes but I must say to readers who are familiar with earlier editions, this has a huge amount of rewriting, especially in the final volume, and is a much better series for it. Almost a lament for lost idealism and the end of innocence -- when you slowly realize, you could also be unwittingly on the side of the 'bad guys'. Wonderful recreation of atmosphere and full of ideas which have since influenced the whole the field,not to mention literary fiction, movies, records and comics! Moorcock radically influenced the modern graphic novel (Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman are among many who have both generously acknowledged their huge debt to Moorcock). Yet, given his influence, he and his colleague J.G.Ballard, are hardly acknowledged by the sf field. Happily the mainstream world seems to appreciate them! This is a book much admired by the 'literary world' and cited by black authors as a respectful insight into the nature of racism and imperialism. This is the full-strength original, giving clear signals as to its own homages, and they read it here first!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Moorcock's most enjoyable EC volumes., December 15, 2003

By 

M. Keisler "Savvy Sir" (IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Nomad of the Time Streams (Paperback)

This is a book that mixes political commentary with fantastic voyages. Being more of prone to reading sword and sorcery types of novels, I was a bit apprehensive going into this one, but it kept me turning the pages until the end.

Our hero is thrust through a series of alternate realities for how our world might have turned out if certain turns of events were different. There isn't really anything magical or fantastic about these alternate realities, which is what makes it exciting. You feel like things could have been that way.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable departure from dark sorcery and demons of other Eternal Champion novels - not that I don't love those!