The Worm Ouroboros [Hardcover]

E R Eddison (Author), Keith Henderson (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: London: Jonathan Cape,; First edition (1922)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000HHHNH4
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,584,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If these be Demons..., August 23, 2006

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Worm Ouroboros (Hardcover)

Some might be put off that the heroes of this book (and heroes they truly be) are of the race of demons. Yet, if these be demons, then one scarce ever have need of angels. These Lords of Demonland are the embodiment of honor incarnate. Nor is this petty personal honor in name only, but it is the deep noble honor of those whose very existence is the soul and sap of the realm they serve. This is not a modern book, nor be it wrote in modern language. The heroism and nobility of its characters will be as difficult for the modern mind to comprehend, as is the high language that frames it. Truly, prose like this has not been written for 400 years, before the King's English was ossified and codified to death and a great writer could still conjure up his own new-forged words of power to fit his subject.

I was reminded of the great mythic tales of Ireland, of her heroes and high Kings, when I first started reading this tale. Lord Goldry Bluszco reminded me of nothing so much as great Cuchulainn. Yet, I was also reminded of the epic tales of India. Indeed, the classic illustration by Henderson of the Lords Juss, Bluszco, Spitfire, and Daha immediately reminded be of the Pandavas. These are tales of glory and high adventure from the most eternal mythic heights.

Some seem put off by the opening of the book, while nothing could be more apropos. The character of Lessingham is that of an astral explorer. The martlet is his power animal and guide. The lotus room- well, the lotus is the symbol of the sacred portal on the threshold of the unconscious and conscious worlds. As for Mercury being the home of great kingdoms existing at a higher, finer state of vibration- read your Swedenborg...

This book was originally published in 1922. The term "Middle Earth" appears to have been used here first (The Hobbit wasn't published until 1937, I believe.) But then Tolkien praised Eddison as the finest writer in the genre.