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Tale of the Eternal Champion #10
The Prince with the Silver Hand
Containing "The Bull and the Spear", "The Oak and the Ram" and "The Sword and the Stallion", this is one of the Millennium Uniform Editions of Moorcock's work, omnibus volumes with revised texts and new introductions. Each volume is full of adventure as the characters wrestle with fate.
361 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1993
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204 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,216 books3,768 followersMichael 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 19, 2024
This is the second trilogy by Moorcock to feature Corum as the lead character and is one of the 14 collected volumes of The Tale of the Eternal Champion.
Sometimes reading the Fantasy that was published after Tolkien and before The Wheel of Time can feel dated or too optimistic / heroic and this can be somewhat true with Moorcock but I have greatly enjoyed the six Corum books (plus the first Elric story) that I have read and found the quick pace and relatively short page counts to be refreshing. Moorcock leans heavily into celtic and Irish mythology in this trilogy and draws inspiration for locations from the real world - Moidel's Mount is based on St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, not too far from where I live and is also a location used recently in HBO's House of the Dragon.
I always like to see connected worlds or a multiverse and picked up several references to other Eternal Champion novels which I have yet to read and this makes me want to read them all now. I will most likely continue with Moorcock's most famous offering - Elric of Melibone.
Sometimes reading the Fantasy that was published after Tolkien and before The Wheel of Time can feel dated or too optimistic / heroic and this can be somewhat true with Moorcock but I have greatly enjoyed the six Corum books (plus the first Elric story) that I have read and found the quick pace and relatively short page counts to be refreshing. Moorcock leans heavily into celtic and Irish mythology in this trilogy and draws inspiration for locations from the real world - Moidel's Mount is based on St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, not too far from where I live and is also a location used recently in HBO's House of the Dragon.
I always like to see connected worlds or a multiverse and picked up several references to other Eternal Champion novels which I have yet to read and this makes me want to read them all now. I will most likely continue with Moorcock's most famous offering - Elric of Melibone.
November 25, 2019
Will have to re-read this one to provide a proper review but I thoroughly enjoyed this title from start to finish despite not having read the previous books.
What a wonderfully inspired setting and story, taking from mythology and spinning it together with a whole bunch of classic fantasy.
What a wonderfully inspired setting and story, taking from mythology and spinning it together with a whole bunch of classic fantasy.
February 2, 2020
This was my first Michael Moorcock book and I found it lacking in depth. It was sparsely written presumably in some sort of imitation of old Irish mythology but now it just sounds old-fashioned.
September 13, 2022
The Bull and the Spear - 4.5/5
Corum is now worshipped as a legendary hero after his successful battle against the sword rulers, the gods of law and the gods of chaos. The influence of crooked higher beings has been completely severed from his realm and everyone in his small kingdom lives in relative peace. Corum being the immortal he is, however, outlives many of his friends and loved ones and comes to find crippling sorrow and restlessness after many decades of watching the world gradually fall apart around him. Consumed by loneliness, a lack of purpose and a grieving heart, he finds himself longing to be summoned into another great battle, just for the chance of feeling alive again. With the aid of his old friend Jhary, Corum is summoned into a new age of twisted gods, bloodthirsty fiends and the return of ancient foes. Searching for purpose in his gloomy life, Corum goes on a journey to claim the aid of the legendary spear Brionac and the spirit of a bull to assist him in his war against a new age of evil and chaos.
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this one. I thought the first two books in the Corum series were good and the final book in the original trilogy wrapped things up nicely. I didn't really see how the story could continue from where things left off, but surprisingly I actually enjoyed this one more then the entire original trilogy.
The tone feels much more bleak and melancholy. Many series have immortal characters, but not many series out there explore what happens after these characters outlive everything they've ever loved and fought for. While it starts off very depressing and grim, it eventually turns into a redemption tale of finding a sense of purpose after losing all meaning in one's life.
The writing in general is also just more mature all around. I felt more emotionally invested in the characters and found the conflict much more dazzling and immersive. It also breaks out of the shell of being a typical revenge story and one of searching for meaning after all vengeance has already been wrought.
***
The Oak and the Ram - 3/5
The seasons have changed from spring to summer and the encroaching threat of the Fhoi Myore is threatening to unleash a storm of icy death upon the last remaining inhabitants in a dying world. With the assistance of his friends and lover in the new realm he now calls his home, Corum sets out on a journey to seek the aid of the High King of the Mabden, Amergin. The king is trapped in a spell of dark magic cast by the Gods of Limbo. It falls to Corum of the Silver Hand to restore the rightful power of the High King with the miraculous forces of two legendary talismans: the Golden Oak and the Silver Ram.
If book 4 in this series was the strongest, this one is the weakest in comparison. It's not bad at all, but it feels like it retreads ground a little too much and doesn't really bring anything new to the story. It feels a little too similar to things that have already happened earlier in the series. Usually a ridiculous amount of things happen in each of these books, but this one kinda felt like it kept going in circles, repeating plot points and not all that much happened. It also wasn't nearly as dark, emotional and climactic as the previous book.
I've heard a lot of people say this entry was rushed and the next one is much more satisfying so I'll be looking forward to finally finishing up the tales of Corum.
***
The Sword and the Stallion - 4/5
Corum's final stand against the wrathful Cold Gods known as the Fhoi Myore reaches its bitter conclusion. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends in the final battle to decide which races will rule and which races will perish. Wielding the accursed magic sword Traitor and riding upon the ancient stallion that guides his blade of truth, Corum will fulfill a dark prophecy that could sever the world from chaos and mad gods or erase all life from the world once and for all.
A very tragic ending to Corum's second trilogy. The original trilogy ended on a surprisingly happy and wholesome note, but the ending of the second trilogy is full of despair, cruel irony and themes of Greek Tragedy. Many friends die. Lovers separate and turn against each other, sometimes to no fault of their own. Prophecies are fulfilled, rarely to anyone's benefit. While the ending is sad and even a bit frustrating in some ways, it feels very poetic and in tune with how things were being set up for such a bittersweet finale where death, betrayal and sacrifice was the only way to achieve ultimate peace and freedom for the few survivors of the world.
I enjoyed the first trilogy a bit more overall, but I think the first book in the second trilogy and the end of the 6th and final book were wonderfully dark and well-crafted.
Corum is now worshipped as a legendary hero after his successful battle against the sword rulers, the gods of law and the gods of chaos. The influence of crooked higher beings has been completely severed from his realm and everyone in his small kingdom lives in relative peace. Corum being the immortal he is, however, outlives many of his friends and loved ones and comes to find crippling sorrow and restlessness after many decades of watching the world gradually fall apart around him. Consumed by loneliness, a lack of purpose and a grieving heart, he finds himself longing to be summoned into another great battle, just for the chance of feeling alive again. With the aid of his old friend Jhary, Corum is summoned into a new age of twisted gods, bloodthirsty fiends and the return of ancient foes. Searching for purpose in his gloomy life, Corum goes on a journey to claim the aid of the legendary spear Brionac and the spirit of a bull to assist him in his war against a new age of evil and chaos.
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this one. I thought the first two books in the Corum series were good and the final book in the original trilogy wrapped things up nicely. I didn't really see how the story could continue from where things left off, but surprisingly I actually enjoyed this one more then the entire original trilogy.
The tone feels much more bleak and melancholy. Many series have immortal characters, but not many series out there explore what happens after these characters outlive everything they've ever loved and fought for. While it starts off very depressing and grim, it eventually turns into a redemption tale of finding a sense of purpose after losing all meaning in one's life.
The writing in general is also just more mature all around. I felt more emotionally invested in the characters and found the conflict much more dazzling and immersive. It also breaks out of the shell of being a typical revenge story and one of searching for meaning after all vengeance has already been wrought.
***
The Oak and the Ram - 3/5
The seasons have changed from spring to summer and the encroaching threat of the Fhoi Myore is threatening to unleash a storm of icy death upon the last remaining inhabitants in a dying world. With the assistance of his friends and lover in the new realm he now calls his home, Corum sets out on a journey to seek the aid of the High King of the Mabden, Amergin. The king is trapped in a spell of dark magic cast by the Gods of Limbo. It falls to Corum of the Silver Hand to restore the rightful power of the High King with the miraculous forces of two legendary talismans: the Golden Oak and the Silver Ram.
If book 4 in this series was the strongest, this one is the weakest in comparison. It's not bad at all, but it feels like it retreads ground a little too much and doesn't really bring anything new to the story. It feels a little too similar to things that have already happened earlier in the series. Usually a ridiculous amount of things happen in each of these books, but this one kinda felt like it kept going in circles, repeating plot points and not all that much happened. It also wasn't nearly as dark, emotional and climactic as the previous book.
I've heard a lot of people say this entry was rushed and the next one is much more satisfying so I'll be looking forward to finally finishing up the tales of Corum.
***
The Sword and the Stallion - 4/5
Corum's final stand against the wrathful Cold Gods known as the Fhoi Myore reaches its bitter conclusion. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends in the final battle to decide which races will rule and which races will perish. Wielding the accursed magic sword Traitor and riding upon the ancient stallion that guides his blade of truth, Corum will fulfill a dark prophecy that could sever the world from chaos and mad gods or erase all life from the world once and for all.
A very tragic ending to Corum's second trilogy. The original trilogy ended on a surprisingly happy and wholesome note, but the ending of the second trilogy is full of despair, cruel irony and themes of Greek Tragedy. Many friends die. Lovers separate and turn against each other, sometimes to no fault of their own. Prophecies are fulfilled, rarely to anyone's benefit. While the ending is sad and even a bit frustrating in some ways, it feels very poetic and in tune with how things were being set up for such a bittersweet finale where death, betrayal and sacrifice was the only way to achieve ultimate peace and freedom for the few survivors of the world.
I enjoyed the first trilogy a bit more overall, but I think the first book in the second trilogy and the end of the 6th and final book were wonderfully dark and well-crafted.
January 17, 2008
I used to hate Michael Moorcock, but Corum really does something for me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews