Michael Moorcock: Death Is No Obstacle

by Michael Moorcock (Interviewee), Colin Greenland (Interviewer), Angela Carter (Introduction)

Four-page Introduction by Angela Carter: a 142-page interview by Colin Greenland with Michael Moorcock about his writing life. ''Greenland is the ideal interviewer. and Moorcock as an interviewee is open and engaging. Reading their dialogue sometimes feels like eavesdropping on a conversation that has been under way for some time. But Moorcock's fiction nevertheless encompasses so many forms. that this book amounts to a short course on writing techniques compounded with an overview of Moorcock's career. It contains sufficient nuggets of insight to fascinate readers familiar with Moorcock's works.''

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Literature

146 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 1992

About the author

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels.

Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.

During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.

Reviews

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands-down the best book on writing I have read. You'll want to be familiar with Moorcock's work before jumping in, however. That doesn't mean you need to have read all of his work (good luck on that one!) but some familiarity with the Elric series and at least one or two others does help one to synthesize all the information. Read carefully, though, and you'll find that this is really a writer's manual cleverly disguised as a series of entertaining interviews. You won't find this one cheap,but if you can get a copy, it's worth the price.

[KS Eastman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting bit of introspection from a fantastically prolific author. I was not as familiar with Moorcock as some of my contemporaries may have been.

His mercenary output is encased in a constant drive toward artistry and an academic's obsession with form and function. His works themselves are inconsequential, it seems, to him.

Interesting, as well, were the paradoxes and whole-cloth contradictions littered throughout. As a lengthy interview he is given opportunity to make grand, sweeping, boisterous claims as to his own methodologies and mindsets and then, when pressed, reveals the exact opposite.

The chapters of most import for me, my reason for reading, were the first and last; speaking to his output.

"You have to get rid of the self-consciousness, that particular egotism that stops you working, and stops you finishing work. When I started writing professionally, as a teenager, a lot of my effort went into developing the ability to keep working, to keep producing readable copy. I had to get used to thinking on my feet, and sophisticating things as I went along. You see, I wasn't writing for an editor, I was writing for a printer. The press was ready, waiting for my copy; and it would be ready for more copy tomorrow, and more this time next week. There was always the chance to do better tomorrow." (Moorcock 143)

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a series of long interviews of Moorcock, and offers in-depth insights into his life and work.

[Zachary]

Very interesting, with practical advice and encouragement.

[Justin Decloux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember stumbling upon an excerpt of this book a decade ago on BOING BOING and being fascinated by Moorcock's writing process. Could someone really write an entire book in two days?

The complete interview book is just as interesting thanks to the interviewer, Colin Greenland, being incredibly confrontational. He doesn't fawn, nor give Moorcock a break, and states flatly when he disagrees with something or believes Moorcock stated an incorrect fact, which forces Moorcock to often pivot into interesting directions. It's a conversation dense with a discussion about technique and form, which may bore some readers, but is catnip to writers and creatives. It assumes you've read every single Moorcock novel, but even if you haven't, you can still get a general idea.

I wonder why it's still out of print.

[Nolan Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the closest you'll get to an in-person conversation with Michael Moorcock regarding his craft. It's very organic in form, following a discussion between himself and the interviewer as they discuss the craft, his works, inspirations, contemporary figures, and the techniques he used to write.

About half of the book actually has applicable discourse on the act, craft, and necessary tools of writing. The other half is discussion on his works, themes, successes and mistakes. It is very much still worth a read, and the dialogue goes quick. I would have highlighted a fair amount of my copy if it had been in poorer condition.

All in all, a good resource for writers from a source that was commercially successful. Will study and read again, would recommend to those seeking to learn past the initial stages of 'how do I write' queries.

[Stephen Antczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read on the craft of writing.

I'll be making a video about for my YouTube channel: @INerdius

[Stuart Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greenland interviews Moorcock about his writing career and his writing method. Moorcock chats about comics, the Lester Dent Master Plot, the difference between the writing of Jane Austen and Emily Bronte and why despite forays into experimentation Moorcock's model of writing is Dickensian rather than Joycean.

Fascinating look inside Morcock's craft.

[Mark Teppo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversations between Michael Moorcock and Colin Greenland, circa 1992, covering Moorcock's process. For those who are interested in how the man writes, they're a fascinating series of discussions about form and intent and process.

[Pádraic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I'm not getting much writing done, I will think of Michael Moorcock, who, at his peak, was writing fifteen thousand words a day. I will shake my fist in his general direction, and then get back to work.

[Chas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book-long interview with Moorcock about writing: form, structure, theme, and morality.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to find, but worth the read, as a glance into the form and structure of Moorcock's writing.

Contains a great deal of advice for writers.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting discussion of many of Moorcock's works. Greenland is a good and insightful interviewer.

[Robert Anton-Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master key to Moorcock's oeuvre. This book confirms the tremendous respect I have for him as a writer and person.

[Errrrrrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an extensive interview with Michael Moorcock about his works and writing process through 1992. Give it more stars the bigger a fan you are of his work.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a fair number of interesting tidbits scattered through this book. I would have preferred something other than the interview format, and unfortunately I have not read a number of the novels they discuss here, so that' tempered my enjoyment of this a bit.