Customer Reviews

The Skrayling Tree: The Albino in America (Aspect Fantasy)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is Michael Moorcock coming to grips with what he calls The Matter of America. He is using his Elric character and his gift for fantasy to deal with some fundamental ideas in American mythology. In this book he continues the saga begun in The Dreamthief's Daughter and the same main characters appear here, but now they are on the American continent, meeting the likes of Hiawatha, the legendary native American first written about by Longfellow. He starts from three different geographical points, slowly bring his characters together as they seek either to destroy or save the legendary 'Skrayling Tree':- the native American Tree of Life, the Viking World Tree, which also represents Moorcock's own vast Multiverse. Moorcock's theories based on Mandelbrot's Chaos theories give us characters of physically different sizes as they merge from different parts of the multiverse. There is history here, both European and American, and as usual a moral and symbolic dimension to the book, which is the mark of a Moorcock fantasy novel. Highly recommended!

I won't repeat what the other reviewers have stated, they've got it right so far. This is classic Moorcock, with a more mature viewpoint. The enthralling characters and theories are still here, but the charaterizations seem to have grown up.

This is a great follow-up to The Dreamthief's Daughter and a wonderful addition to Moorcock's fascinating multiverse of eternal champions. If I had to find fault, I might say that this book lacks the focus of the previous one, due to it's narration being spread out over the characters of Count Ulric von Bek, Elric and Oona. Dreamthief was more focused on Ulric and thus more unified. However, this is a minor thing and only detracts a little for me. For others it might not at all.

If you are a fan of Moorcock's eternal champion series, I don't see how you can fail to enjoy this most recent addition.

The Melnibonéan, the Multiverse and Native American myth are three themes Michael Moorcock explores to great effect and delight in his latest novel, THE SKRAYLING TREE. This novel follows on the heels of THE DREAMTHIEF'S DAUGHTER, continuing the intertwined saga of Elric his daughter Oona her husband and Elric's son-in-law Ulric von Bek. Moorcock brings his Eternal Champion mythos to early North America, as seen through the eyes of both the native tribes and the immigrant Vikings. The Vikings call the native peoples skraelings or skraylings-which gives the title of the novel, The Skrayling Tree. The Tree itself may well be the essence or objectification of Moorcock's all encompassing Multiverse. The three plot strands follow Oona daughter of Elric and the dreamthief; her husband Ulric von Bek, himself bearing strong ties to the Eternal Champion; and the most recognized of all the Champions incarnations, Elric of Melniboné.

At the outset of the novel, we find Ulric von Bek and his wife, Oona, settling down at their North American cottage after the end of the Second World War. Early on, Ulric is abducted by members of the native tribe Kakatanawa for reasons to be explored later. Oona simply wants to find her husband, regardless of the impact her presence and actions may have. As Oona attempts to find and bring back her husband she proceeds through a portal that brings them to a past that might have been, as Native American Tribesmen and Vikings are encountering each other. This era is not often touched upon in fantasy literature, but Moorcock skillfully explores this rich era incorporating it into his Eternal Champion and Multiverse mythos.

The second part of the book brings Elric into the story, as a member of a party of Vikings and native Pukawatchi tribe. The Pukawatchi's are in search of White Crow, the trickster who they claim has stolen some of their sacred treasures. As a part of the group, Elric hopes to find the source and creators of his soul-sword, Stormbringer. As with most of Elric's adventures, the internal dialogue and thoughts of Elric prove to be some of the most intriguing parts of the novel. Through Elric, Moorcock explores further depths and powers behind the Multiverse and the nature of his relationship to the Multiverse.

Our last plot strand centers on Ulric von Bek as his captors bring him ever closer to the titular Skrayling Tree, a central life-force of the Multiverse. The demon Sepiriz and Ulric talk at great length of the nature of the Cosmic Balance between Chaos and Order. Though Moorcock has explored this in great detail in many of his previous works, the dialogue here is as thought provoking and stimulating as in any of the previous novels. As Ulric journeys with Lord Sepiriz to find his wife, echoes of Elric's past experiences leak through, helping, grounding and dooming Ulric in his current situation.

Moocock's handling of the relationship between Elric and Ulric was one of the strong points in the novel. As both men are branches of the Eternal Champion, their relationship is even further blurred and set at odds due to their connection to Oona. This triad of characters is quite possibly, more deeply connected than any husband-wife-father can possibly be. Their relationship to the line of Champions as well to the Multiverse itself may bear out to be one of the more defining aspects of the Multiverse. Following Moorcock's exploration of these ties is proving to be one of the more provocative journeys in fantasy literature.

All told, Moorcock has once again brought his Eternal Champion mythos to the forefront of Fantastic Literature, engaging the reader to consider the nature of reality, our place in this supposed reality while telling an entertaining and satisfying story.

I must admit that I haven't read nearly as much of Michael Moorcock's fiction as I probably should, since he's been among the foremost practitioners of science fiction, and especially, fanatasy, in the Anglo-American realm of science fiction and fantasy for decades. Each time I have read one of his works, I have been quite impressed with his beautifully wrought lyrical prose and the compelling ideas introduced in each tale. The same holds true in his current "Multiverse" novel, "The Skrayling Tree", which chronicles the adventures of Oona van Bek, her husband Ulric, and her father Elric of Melnibone, in a fantastical America of nearly 1,000 years in the past. There they will meet up with the legendary Hiawatha, whose role in the tale is as pivotal as that of Gandalf's in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" saga. There is a splendid fusion of Norse, Western European and American Indian mythology and history present throughout this novel. My only minor complaint is that Moorcock occasionally stumbles by writing stilted prose in some of his descriptions of the "Multiverse" and its relevance to the main characters. But this is only a minor complaint of yet another fine novel by an unquestioned master of his craft. I found it so engrossing that it was impossible to put down.

It was great to read about Elric after almost ten years of his being away (apart from his graphic novel appearances in such things as Michael Moorcock's Multiverse). That waa in The Dreamthief's Daughter which I picked up in paperback. Because I'd so enjoyed Dreamthief, I decided to get myself the hardback of this new one and I don't regret it. It is even better, even more original and even more exciting a story -- on a very grand scale. Moorcock manages to beat his own high standards almost every time. This story, set in pre-Colombian America amongst heroes such as Hiawatha (Ayanawatta) and combining American mythology, like Eldorado, with European and Moorcock's own invented multiverse, carries genuine mythic resonances. It confirms Moorcock as England's greatest living writer of fantasy and the news that Universal is making a series of Elric movies is a joy! At last we are to see Elric even larger than life on the big screen. Meanwhile, this book rivals anything you might have seen or imagined before. The ending is particularly gorgeous, epic and vast -- better than any movie finale you've ever seen! I can't imagine what the third and final volume will be like.

This book brilliantly uses three themes which come together perfectly at the end. It begins in the contemporary world but soon goes back to pre-Colombian America when Oona, the dreamthief's daughter (and Elric's daughter), tries to follow her kidnapped husband, Ulric. She teams up with a native American adventurer, Hiawatha, who has been into the future and met Longfellow, now bound to live out the myth in the poem!
Meanwhile Elric, living his dream of a thousand years, is in 10th century Europe, teaming up with the rascally Viking leader Gunnar the Doomed. Ultimately all of them link up in a spectacular final scene where the nature of the Skrayling Tree is revealed. Plenty of high adventure, wonderful inventions and landscapes - but a lot to stimulate the mind, as well. Only Moorcock seems to be able to pack fast action and genuinely brilliant new ideas into the same book like this. If you love Moorcock already, you certainly won't be disappointed.
If he's new to you, you will be introduced to the work of a genuinely original writer who knocks most of his contemporaries into a (Moor) cocked hat! Totally recommended!

Yeah. This one'll do it. Cream of the crop. Not a trace
of fat in the whole hamburger. Where other fantasy drags
along with its chin in the dirt, Moorcock races and glides.
Covering fifty times the territory in ideas and sheer
invention than anything else I've read in a long time, it
keeps giving it to you. Longfellow riffs, Viking riffs,
Mayan riffs. This truly is the Albino in America and it
delivers food for thought on almost every page until the
finale which is stunning. I don't know what book the
previous reviewer thought he'd gotten hold of, but he must
have had it upside down the whole time he was trying to
read it. Here's a tip: The picture on the front is a
clue (assuming the wrapper hasn't been reversed, which
could explain a lot). I loved this book with its evocation of Pre-Colombian plains scenery and culture, with its extraordinary wit. It isn't sword and sorcery like anything you've ever read. It has humor. It's smart. It's beautifully written. It has my vote for the best fantasy novel since Carroll's White Apples or VanderMeer's City of Saints and Madmen. When they say adult fantasy, that's what they mean. It's written for adults, like people who know how to read good
books. I can one hundred percent totally and absolutely recommend this tome as both well up to Moorcock's usual amazingly high standard and a stand-alone you'll never regret
having read (so long as you take my tips).

A novel in three parts, after Ulric Von Bek is taken from his wife Oona in the night. The first part follows Oona in her trek to find him, as she encounters Hiawatha, and the White Crow, a man very similar to herself and her father Elric. She thinks to herself "I was a player in the Eternal Struggle fought between Law and Chaos and, as a "Knight of the Balance," was dedicated to maintaining the two forces in harmony.

This is what this novel is about, defending the balance of the multiverse from those inclined to destroy it. Elric has the second part, as he comes across Gunnar the Damned, or Gaynor, just as Oona encounters Klosterheim in the first part.

The third is Von Bek's story, as he regains a black blade, and meets Lord Sepiriz, one of the creators of the blades of power.

The three unite and rally against Gaynor, Klosterheim, and Lord Shoashooan the Wind Demon, to defend the Phroon and the Skrayling Tree at the heart of the Multiverse. Black blades sing in desperate confrontation as the White Crow, Von Bek and Elric, having fooled Gunnar, all combining to prevent disaster.

As a side note, here's a fun bit Moorcock through in: "Fear the Crisis Maker..." "In some eras,..the sword and the intellect must be as one. Those are our Silver Ages. That is how we create those periods we call Golden Ages, when the sword can be forgotten,..."

I love all of this series and its rare that you find a series where all the books are good. Normally one book is better than the other. In this series all the books are great.

I'm sorry, I love Moorcock, I really enjoyed Dreamthief's Daughter, and Elric is probably my favourite fantasy character of all time, but this book was just plain horrible to read.

It might have something to do with the fact that the subject matter and locales (Native American) are of no interest to me, but on top of that, the characters seemingly do nothing the entire time except travel around talking about the fauna.

Elric makes probably his most transparent appearance of any story thus far, floating around as if a ghost, where even his typical brooding becomes nothing more than just annoying banter.

The most interesting character of the story, however, is Gunnar The Doomed (Gaynor), a viking looking for gold and conquest in Niffleheim. I wish that the whole book was actually about him and not Ulric, Oona, and Elric.