The Eternal Champion series continues with "The Dancers at the End of Time", a monumental science-fiction epic blending humor and romance in a stor...
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Feb 17, 2011
Dan
rated it: 
Yet another Dangerous Dan book review I did for BlackPigeonPress.com. This is one of the more entertaining ones I wrote.
Sometimes, after you've just finished killing a man with a horse shoe because you were out of bullets for instance, you need to read something light and funny to make you forget about all the carnage you've wrought. Michael Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time Trilogy certainly fits the bill. It's available as a collection or as individual books: An Alien Heat, Th More...
Sometimes, after you've just finished killing a man with a horse shoe because you were out of bullets for instance, you need to read something light and funny to make you forget about all the carnage you've wrought. Michael Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time Trilogy certainly fits the bill. It's available as a collection or as individual books: An Alien Heat, Th More...
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Dec 16, 2009
Nick
rated it:
Though not generally regarded as Moorcock's best work, this series is my favorite. The prose is some of his most elegant and polished. The story itself shows Moorcock at his most spry, lovingly lampooning some of the themes of his other works, the romance genre, and English literary traditions in general. The settings and charicatures are also some of his most unique: a blend of scientific romance Victoriana and fin du siecle French symbolism and art nouveau, with a little Shakespearean flare
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6 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Jan 17, 2011
Suna
rated it:
Glorious world. Devious wit. A beautiful lack of moralities in the End of Time inhabitants. Delightfully sly political incorrectness. Tasteful set pieces of exuberant colour, shape and form.
I just do not not understand that this isn't generally considered his best work, because almost nothing else by Moorcock is worth reading after this.
The only exception I make is Una Persson's adventures, because I have such a soft spot for her. But it's not as good.
This is heavenly sa More...
I just do not not understand that this isn't generally considered his best work, because almost nothing else by Moorcock is worth reading after this.
The only exception I make is Una Persson's adventures, because I have such a soft spot for her. But it's not as good.
This is heavenly sa More...
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Aug 28, 2010
Nancy
rated it:
A delightful romp through the past and the future. If you like some romance and humor with your fantasy, quirky aliens, and a civilization of decadent and self-indulgent immortals, you will enjoy this wonderful and unusual story.
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May 15, 2011
Vixenne
rated it:
Oscar Wilde Would Have Loved It!
Michael Moorcock is one of the most literate and witty fantasists of the twentieth century. His Elric Saga took the sword and sorcery epic far beyond standard tropes and created a literary tour de force.
The Dancers at the End of Time, which is a part of the Eternal Champions series, is full of the kind of wit and social satire that Oscar Wilde would have written.
Jherek Carnelian is one of the glittering, amoral denizen More...
Michael Moorcock is one of the most literate and witty fantasists of the twentieth century. His Elric Saga took the sword and sorcery epic far beyond standard tropes and created a literary tour de force.
The Dancers at the End of Time, which is a part of the Eternal Champions series, is full of the kind of wit and social satire that Oscar Wilde would have written.
Jherek Carnelian is one of the glittering, amoral denizen More...
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Oct 20, 2007
Adam
rated it:
Michael Moorcock is one of those authors that blew my mind as teenager (alongside H.P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Allen Poe), but what can you read by him as an adult? I am going to review three that fit this category. Nick below states it way better than me but this one of the most interesting and fun books in modern fantasy. A comedy, a satire, a love story, a retelling of Adam and Eve, and tribute to the fin de siecle of Wilde and Huysmans (and also Wells and Dunsany) An uptight Victor
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 30, 2012
La Reyne
rated it:
At the moment having recently joined Goodreads I'm basically digging out of my home bookshelves and my brain the books I'd most recommend to anyone. This trilogy is close to the top of my list. It's a book that tells you a lot about me as a person.
BUT
It's not a book for everyone.
So many people I've recommended it to stop at the first chapter. Something happens there that turns a lot of people off.
BUT
You need to keep reading! It's a fabulous, More...
BUT
It's not a book for everyone.
So many people I've recommended it to stop at the first chapter. Something happens there that turns a lot of people off.
BUT
You need to keep reading! It's a fabulous, More...
Feb 23, 2010
J.R.
rated it: 
This is science fiction with the emphasis on the fiction. Strange, creative work that becomes a bit wordy. At least one third of the book can be cut without being noticeable. Time travel is involved here however more as a vehicle for the novel than as an innate interest. The story plods along with a menagerie of quite diverse, unique characters. Central is the pursuit of love by Jherek for Mrs. Amelia which occupies much of the substance of the novel. I suspect the author has some moral lesson h
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Jul 25, 2011
Johnny
rated it: 
One thing Goodreads really does well, is separate fact from fiction. I have heard many times, that the "Dancers" series was not one of Moorcock's best. Yet, here I see that it rates almost universally above most, if not all of his other works. Real ratings from the reviewers that count; you and me.
And why does it rate so high?
Because it was freaking awesome! It was weird and disturbing and cool on a level that made me think someone broke into Michael's house, be More...
And why does it rate so high?
Because it was freaking awesome! It was weird and disturbing and cool on a level that made me think someone broke into Michael's house, be More...
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Feb 02, 2011
Jay
rated it:
What a bizarre but wonderful novel. The whole premise is absolutely nuts, and the execution is just as insane. A woman from 1896 is flung millions of years into the future, where one of two naturally born people exist (the rest are creations or time travellers), falls in love with her and on it goes. Anything that can possibly be thought up exists, and people follow their whims, whether that involves having sex with one's parents, shooting an arrow through twenty palm trees and turning into a go
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Aug 24, 2009
Richard
rated it: 
This book was highly recommended to me and as I thought the overall premise, as it was explained to me, was rather intriguing, I thought I would give it a go. I was able to find it for a couple pounds and glad I spent no more. I am a rather open-minded individual but found the suggestion and mention of incest at the beginning to be beyond tasteful. It was probably extremely shocking back in 1976 as it was not doubt intended to gain greater notoriety for the author, but it neither shocked or out
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Mar 16, 2011
Joe
rated it:
I'm not going to give a summary of the plot because it's well nigh impossible. MM has created an amazing cast of characters who can more or less do whatever they want in this surreal place where they live. Nothing really happens as such, there are just bizarre goings on. Oops, I suppose that's a summary of sorts. I used to read MM a lot and this is probably the book (it's actually a collection of 3 books) I look back on most fondly. MM is a fully paid up member of a small group of writers who wr
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Jul 09, 2011
Miss_nightingale
rated it:
This remains one of my favourite ever series of books, it's a huge, sprawling epic that never fails to please. I was a little put off by the opening, but quickly got drawn in to the fantastical world where anything you imagine happens immediately, where fashions for periods of history come and go in the blink of an eye and where people have taken to keeping stray time-travellers in themed zoos to keep themselves from bring bored. Into this weird future comes the fabulously stoic Victorian lady,
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Sep 15, 2011
Erik
rated it:
I actually read the original hardcovers of the first three books of what was published by Granada in 1981 in its original omnibus edition, viz. An Alien Heat, The Hollow Lands and The End of All Songs. Since then, like with Zelazny's Amber series, the End of Time has proceeded into additional volumes, both novels and short stories. I haven't read any of those and probably never shall.
The trilogy is comic like Oscar Wilde, a Victorian association maintained by the character of Under More...
The trilogy is comic like Oscar Wilde, a Victorian association maintained by the character of Under More...
Aug 28, 2010
Tamcamry
rated it:
• I have to admit, because of the last few books I’ve read by Moorcock, I didn’t have very high expectations for this book. I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the things in this book were a little ridiculous, but I expected that. What really made this story interesting was the simplicity of the main character, Jherek Carnilian. He lives in the society at the end of time, and has no concept of any negative emotion other than boredom. He is the only one who wants a greater understanding of v
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Jun 08, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
At first, I thought the book was just weird: stupid, bad, didn't make sense.... but then I realized that was the point, and now I laugh at Jherek's naiveté and I care about him and his quest to find Mrs Underwood. The story takes some getting used to, but so far, it's worth it.
AHHHHAHAHA! Having finished reading it just today, I am delighted to say that I loved loved LOVED it! I don't know how he did it, but I was so in tune with every single one of the characters, important or More...
AHHHHAHAHA! Having finished reading it just today, I am delighted to say that I loved loved LOVED it! I don't know how he did it, but I was so in tune with every single one of the characters, important or More...
Jan 19, 2012
Scott
rated it:
Poor hedonist Jherek Carnelian, forced to travel back and forth in time to woo his beloved and prim Mrs. Underwood. All this as a backdrop to allow Michael Moorcock's characters to philosophize about everything from architecture to parenting. I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. An Alien Heat and The Hollow Lands were marvelous, great characters, nice paradox. But then the End of All Songs was about 100 pages too long. Once the sexual tension between Amelia and Jher
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Oct 21, 2007
http://nhw.livejournal.com/391683.html[return][return]Edition uniting An Alien Heat, The Hollow Lands, and The End of All Songs. A bit of a one-joke book, this: hero from sexually liberated culture falls in love with woman from a much more repressed culture; this basic plot is the making of many stirring love stories, but here it is played for laughs, the repressed culture being late nineteenth-century London. The anarchic, pansexual, abundant society at the End of Time perhaps inspired Iain M.
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Jul 01, 2009
Stuart
rated it:
A love story with Jherek Carnelian (decadent godlike being from the end of time) traversing space and time to court Mrs Amelia Underwood (morally upright Edwardian housewife). Complications ensue -- both comic and dramatic -- as they each struggle to adjust to the other's world while also suffering at the machinations of the mysterious Lord Jagged.
Dec 24, 2009
Gary
rated it:
I read all of MM's books when I was a teenager and absolutely loved them all. I am not sure that if I was coming to them for the first time now that I would devour them as I did way back when but notwithstanding that they were fantastic reads in the late 60's and early 70's.
Jan 11, 2011
Fantastic imagery, decadent, poetic, tragi-comedy, funny, thought provoking gothic romantic love story across space and time. Raises questions about the ultimate purpose of man's existance while staying unashamedly pulpe in delivery. One of Moorcock's finest novels.
Nov 11, 2009
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it:
I found this weaker than some of Moorcock's work. It deals with some new world building but few new concepts and I wasn't as involved with the characters as in some of his other books. I may retry sometime later, but not as much for me as some others.
Jun 04, 2010
Ginny
rated it:
I couldn't get into the Elric books, but I just loved the Dancers at the End of Time. They were quirky and mind bending and gender bending and self-indulgent, and fascinated me. I even bought this series.
Aug 01, 2010
Teemu
rated it:
Ei jostain syystä kolahtanut, vaikka sisältää loistavia aineksia: 1800-lukulaisen moraalin pyörittelyä, maailmanlopun ennui'ta, aikamatkustusta ja tupla-annos moorcockilaista nihilismiä.
Jun 23, 2009
Jonathan
rated it:
I learned the appeal of far-future dandies and incongruous Victoriana, as if that was ever in doubt, but didn't love it as such - it was an agreeable frolic, though, probably a 3.5.
Aug 06, 2011
Mikael
rated it:
Extraordinary imagination - few authors I've read could take things this far without getting inconsistent or just plain silly.
Jan 30, 2011
Gareth
rated it:
One of my favourite books. Reread it to get rid of the bad taste left by Moorcock's dodgy Dr Who book.
Aug 25, 2010
Debbie
rated it:
This has been a week of favourites. Jherek Carnelian is now my new favourite character. He is a very contrary mix. He is kind and gentle, innocent but morally lax and he is madly in love with the 19th Century Amelia Underwood who quite frankly annoyed me.
Moorcock's story arc over three books is quite amazing and his descriptions of the world at the End of Time dazzling. I dare the CGI experts to turn this one into a movie!
Moorcock's story arc over three books is quite amazing and his descriptions of the world at the End of Time dazzling. I dare the CGI experts to turn this one into a movie!
