Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock has published over 70 novels in all genres.
These include several series that share, to different extents, a common
multiverse: the Cornelius Chronicles,
The Dancers at the End of Time, Erekose,
The Books of Corum, Hawkmoon: The Chronicles of Castle Brass,
Hawkmoon: The History of the Runestaff and the classic
Elric of Melnibone Saga. He has also edited an anthology
of late Victorian science fiction, Before Armageddon. Under the pen
name E.P. Bradbury, he published a series of novel-length pastiches of
Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels.
Moorcock was born in London in 1939 and began writing, illustrating,
editing and printing fanzines under the MJM Publications imprint at
a young age. He became the editor of Tarzan Adventures at
16 (some sources say 17), and later the
Sexton Blake Library. In 1964 he became the radical
editor of the experimental and frequently controversial British SF
magazine New Worlds.
A multiple winner of the British Fantasy
Award, Moorcock is also a World Fantasy Award and John W. Campbell
Memorial Award winner for his novel Gloriana. He won the 1967
Nebula Award for his novella "Behold the Man." He has twice
won the Derleth Award for Fantasy (for The Sword and the
Stallion, and The Hollow Lands), and the Guardian Fiction
Prize (1977) for The Condition of Muzak. He has been shortlisted
for both the Booker and Whitbread prizes, Britain's most prestigious
literary awards. Moorcock currently lives in London, Spain and
Texas. Moorcock has also recorded music, both solo and with the
progressive rock group, Hawkwind.
ISFDB Bibliography
SF Site Review: Close To My Heart: New Worlds: An Anthology
SF Site Review: The Dreamthief's Daughter
SF Site Review: Gloriana or the Unfulfilled Queen
SF Site Review: Behold the Man
SF Site Review: Michael Moorcock's Multiverse
SF Site Review: The War Amongst the Angels
SF Site Review: The Dancers at the End of Time
SF Site Review: Kane of Old Mars
SF Site Review: Sailing to Utopia
Michael Moorcock Tribute Site
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A review by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
Nobody has ever accused Michael Moorcock of being afraid to express himself. As one of the
driving forces behind the New Wave, a renowned editor and prolific novelist and commentator, he
has built a career out of not only following his instincts, but by keenly analyzing what he finds in
the exotic locales said instincts lead him. In Wizardry & Wild Romance: A Study of Epic
Fantasy, Moorcock holds forth on the sub-genre most closely associated with the author of
the enduring Elric of Melniboné series. The resulting commentary isn't always pretty, but it
is invariably interesting and, at the very least, thought-provoking in ways the author surely
intended.
Reissued by Monkeybrain Books after nearly a decade out of print, this new edition of
Wizardry & Wild Romance has been updated and revised by the author, and the result
is a book that reads as fresh and relevant as any critical analysis of the field. This is particularly
welcome with Moorcock's inclusion of reviews which, for the most part, appeared in The
Guardian. Examining such recent books as Jeff Vandermeer's Veniss Underground,
China Miéville's Perdido Street Station and Jonathan Carroll's White
Apples, Moorcock seizes each opportunity to craft not just a review, but an overview of the
literary ancestry of each work, philosophical underpinnings of the author's stylistic approach and
all manner of observations and opinions one wouldn't normally expect in something so mundane
as a review. The very book reviewed is even relegated to a handful of brief paragraphs at the end
of the entry on occasion, further evidence that Moorcock is constantly keeping an eye on the big
picture. The reader may not know much about the book in question after reading one of the
selected reviews, but it's a good bet the reader will have a good idea whether that author's
overall body of work holds any kind of appeal. The reviews read not so much as reviews but
rather as mini-essays, which explains why they fit in so well with the rest of Wizardry &
Wild Romance, which is, at its heart, a collection of essays.
Over the course of the book, Moorcock examines various facets of epic fantasy in turn: the exotic
landscapes and worlds in which adventures take place; the various types of heroes and heroines
that embark on hopeless quests; the inclusion (or lack thereof) of humor and comedy into
otherwise dire narratives... little escapes Moorcock's notice, and indeed, Wizardry & Wild
Romance serves as a sort of primer for the novice -- or even experienced -- fantasist, with the
various permutations of the form dissected down to the bone. Moorcock's distaste for J.R.R.
Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is well-known, and his discussion of that is represented here
in the essay "Epic Pooh":
The sort of prose most often identified with "high" fantasy is the prose of the
nursery-room. It is a lullaby, it is meant to soothe and console. It is mouth-music. It is
frequently enjoyed not for its tensions but for its lack of tensions. It coddles, it makes friends
with you; it tells you comforting lies.
For all that these words resonate as blasphemy among Tolkien fans, Moorcock remains intelligent
and erudite in his arguments. Never one to stoop to simple school yard name-calling, Moorcock
back up each assertion with examples and quoted passages to prove his point. Sometimes the
passages are extensive, pulled from a myriad of sources ranging from the obscure to common. It
doesn't hurt that Moorcock is absurdly well-read, ticking off references to 19th century gothics as
easily as the latest Terry Pratchett. This leads, ultimately, to several pages where he discusses the
sources he recommends for further reading. There are some of the usual suspects on the list, such
as John Clute's Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and companion volume on fantasy, but
also delightfully strange and odd selections, such as Opium and the Romanic Imagination
by Alethea Hayter. These references amount to a virtual challenge to the reader: "Don't like the
conclusions drawn here? Fine. Do the research. Refute my positions. Convince me." The entire
tone of the book is that of a one-sided argument in which the author clearly wants there to be, if
not an outright contrary view, then at least one sporting a different perception participating in the
discussion. One gets the feeling that vigorous discussion and debate is welcomed as stimulating
and, ultimately, enlightening rather than threatening.
Wizardry & Wild Romance is one of those comparatively rare books for people who
aren't content to merely read epic fantasy, they want to read about it. This book is for
people who want to look behind the curtain and see which levers and switches the wizard is
pulling. Those readers might not like what they see. Some will be infuriated while other applaud.
To my mind, anything that brings a spark of passion to a form that all too often borders on
ossification is a good thing. And while readers might not agree on anything else regarding
Wizardry & Wild Romance, there's no denying that it brings plenty of spark to the
party.
Copyright © 2005 Jayme Lynn Blaschke
Jayme Lynn Blaschke
writes science fiction and fantasy as well as related non-fiction.
A collection of his interviews, Voices of Vision: Creators of Science Fiction and Fantasy Speak, is now available
from the University of Nebraska Press and he also serves as fiction editor for RevolutionSF.com.
His web log can be found at jlbgibberish.blogspot.com
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