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Eternal Champion #6
The Roads Between the Worlds
Three science-fiction novels for this sixth volume in michael Moorcock's acclaimed Eternal Champion series. The Roads Between the Worlds contains The Wrecks of Time, The Winds of Limbo and The Shores of Death, including newly revised texts and new connecting material. The volume also features a new introduction by the author.
390 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 1991
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384 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,217 books3,772 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 17, 2022
I absolutely understand the criticisms of other reviewers in regards to this volume. I enjoyed the first story the most (like Crisis on Infinite Earths, a decade early) but the other two were just a drag. Get me back to real Eternal Champion stories, please!
July 4, 2019
This volume in the Eternal Champion series does not feature any of the better-known iterations of the Champion (e.g. Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon). In fact, other than the concept of the multiverse and preachy idealizing of anarchic government, most of the plot elements that pop up in Eternal Champion stories are absent or receive only the subtlest of nods.
The three novellas that make up the volume are on the more sci-fi side of Moorcock’s writing and largely involve political maneuvering and/or revolution on alternate versions of the earth. As is usual with Moorcock, the plots are an odd blend of pulp sci-fi and preachiness. If you’re really into the Eternal Champion series, this is probably worth reading, but for casual readers something featuring Elric, Corum, or Hawkmoon would be a more entertaining introduction to Moorcock’s style.
The three novellas that make up the volume are on the more sci-fi side of Moorcock’s writing and largely involve political maneuvering and/or revolution on alternate versions of the earth. As is usual with Moorcock, the plots are an odd blend of pulp sci-fi and preachiness. If you’re really into the Eternal Champion series, this is probably worth reading, but for casual readers something featuring Elric, Corum, or Hawkmoon would be a more entertaining introduction to Moorcock’s style.
August 10, 2011
This is a collection of three scifi novellas - mostly unconnected (or as unconnected as anything the Master of the Multiverse ever writes can be.) They tend towards the gloomy, and it's apparent that, as Moorcock explains in the introduction, these are basically proofread first drafts - they could stand quite a bit of tightening up. But they explore some interesting visions of society, and are generally fun pulp scifi adventures.
January 18, 2023
The Roads Between the Worlds collects three of Moorcock's early works. The stories have minor retouches and introductions that link them to the latest model of his Multiverse appearing in the Second Ether: a series influenced by discoveries in Chaos Theory (not coincidentally published by White Wolf alongside these omnibus editions!).
In The Wrecks of Time (aka The Rituals of Infinity), humans are the subjects of experiments by greater entities trying to make humanity a more successful race. An interesting aspect of this story is that Dr Faustus is able to reason with these godlike entities.
All three novels have scenes of violence, but it is refreshing to find that ultimately they end with nonviolent resolution.
The Winds of Limbo (aka The Fireclown) and Shores of Death (aka The Twilight Man) are primarily political. They illustrate peaceful societies under attack by schemers whose initial motives are noble, but the nature of their will to control others tends toward corruption. The individual willing to submit to their own personal ambitions rather than the more common welfare risks following a similar path.
In The Winds of Limbo Alain is an apolitical member of the political Von Bek family which has held power for generations. The longer Alain tries to be neutral the more he becomes the tool of political schemers. Yet his neutrality helps him remain skeptical of the enigmatic, Buddha-like Fireclown, an inexplicable creature whose equally enigmatic jargon touches the populace on a near-messianic level. He is vaguely similar to Chauncey from Kosinski's Being There.
As the Fireclown's popularity grows, he earns political enemies who frame him for acts of terrorism. The Fireclown's only ambition is to remove the source of aberration in the universe: human intelligence. Alain learns the truth of the Fireclown's innocence, but at the same time discovers his insane vision for mankind. After all of the plots are exposed and the threats have been driven out, society returns to normal... a narrow miss:
Becker, the hero of the Shores of Death, has been tricked. Although he is famous for his wisdom and intelligence, his growing wish for immortality is a subtle step toward the vigilante Almer's overt political tyranny.
When the unearthly genius Sharvis' offers Becker his wish, Becker is unclear about Sharvis' motives. He can't be certain whether Sharvis' intent is benevolent, malign or truly neutral as he claims. Becker lives to regret that he failed to take Mr Take's warnings seriously about Sharvis':
The price is Becker's loss of feelings and desire. Becker discovers Sharvis' motives only after being consigned to the same numb neutrality; an intelligent, curious disinterest.
The political statements are strong, serving to warn about giving over freedoms, and how quickly a free society can slip into dictatorship.
The plots of these early stories disintegrate near the ending. They tend to begin with good flash and intrigue, but the theme outpaces the plot which tends toward open-endedness. There are several chapters of repetition, and when he presents the most important ideas, he wraps them up quickly in irony.
In The Wrecks of Time (aka The Rituals of Infinity), humans are the subjects of experiments by greater entities trying to make humanity a more successful race. An interesting aspect of this story is that Dr Faustus is able to reason with these godlike entities.
All three novels have scenes of violence, but it is refreshing to find that ultimately they end with nonviolent resolution.
The Winds of Limbo (aka The Fireclown) and Shores of Death (aka The Twilight Man) are primarily political. They illustrate peaceful societies under attack by schemers whose initial motives are noble, but the nature of their will to control others tends toward corruption. The individual willing to submit to their own personal ambitions rather than the more common welfare risks following a similar path.
In The Winds of Limbo Alain is an apolitical member of the political Von Bek family which has held power for generations. The longer Alain tries to be neutral the more he becomes the tool of political schemers. Yet his neutrality helps him remain skeptical of the enigmatic, Buddha-like Fireclown, an inexplicable creature whose equally enigmatic jargon touches the populace on a near-messianic level. He is vaguely similar to Chauncey from Kosinski's Being There.
As the Fireclown's popularity grows, he earns political enemies who frame him for acts of terrorism. The Fireclown's only ambition is to remove the source of aberration in the universe: human intelligence. Alain learns the truth of the Fireclown's innocence, but at the same time discovers his insane vision for mankind. After all of the plots are exposed and the threats have been driven out, society returns to normal... a narrow miss:
The Vs also said that order had been completely restored. Alain wondered. On the surface, perhaps, it was true. But what of the disorder that must still exist in the hearts and minds of most members of the public?
Becker, the hero of the Shores of Death, has been tricked. Although he is famous for his wisdom and intelligence, his growing wish for immortality is a subtle step toward the vigilante Almer's overt political tyranny.
When the unearthly genius Sharvis' offers Becker his wish, Becker is unclear about Sharvis' motives. He can't be certain whether Sharvis' intent is benevolent, malign or truly neutral as he claims. Becker lives to regret that he failed to take Mr Take's warnings seriously about Sharvis':
"... [Sharvis] is wiser than any man has ever been. He knows how to trick someone of your intelligence. He means you nothing but harm. If he gives you immortality as he gave it to me, you will feel nothing except despair--eternally. Don't you realize that?"
The price is Becker's loss of feelings and desire. Becker discovers Sharvis' motives only after being consigned to the same numb neutrality; an intelligent, curious disinterest.
The political statements are strong, serving to warn about giving over freedoms, and how quickly a free society can slip into dictatorship.
The plots of these early stories disintegrate near the ending. They tend to begin with good flash and intrigue, but the theme outpaces the plot which tends toward open-endedness. There are several chapters of repetition, and when he presents the most important ideas, he wraps them up quickly in irony.
December 7, 2016
I only have a few pages left but this book was terrible. I've never read Moorcock's other works and admittedly this is from an older period so perhaps this is similar to older television shows not holding up over time, but wow. I figured from the cover I was getting into something bizarre, and I was correct but not in the ways I had hoped. The first story, while a little drawn out, was actually my favorite and had the other stories continued in the same way I would have surely enjoyed it more. Perhaps the rest of the author's work is really good, I simply don't know. This is one of those cases of grabbing something from a library shelf and rolling the dice. If in the last 20 or so pages I have left to read things change I will definitely update this, but overall I definitely wouldn't recommend you start this author with this book.
August 28, 2019
The sixth omnibus in the Eternal Champion series collects three science fiction novels that are only related to each other by the fact that Moorcock wrote them as "pulp filler" to balance out the more highbrow New Wave material he was then publishing in the magazine New Worlds. For this edition he wrote framing scenes in an attempt to link these books to the wider Champion cycle, but I don't buy it. As standalone science fiction novels, they show that Moorcock doesn't really know anything about science, nor does he care. Two of the books are engaging, one is pretty bad, and all three - as the author admits - are pretty close to "first drafts," reprinted here without much alteration, for better or worse.
The Wrecks of Time
An early instance of Moorcock playing around with the concept of the Multiverse, here presented somewhat differently than in his other works. In this, there are fifteen Earths with an organization of scientists led by one Dr. Faustaff who fight the D-Squads that are systematically destroying the parallel worlds. Faustaff, I feel, is more Jerry Cornelius than Eternal Champion, though Von Bek's nemesis Klosterheim (or at least a version of him) makes a significant appearance. It's obvious Moorcock made this novel up as he went along, but as a result the story takes twists that I didn't expect from the outset. On the whole it feels like what you'd get if you compressed Stephen King's Dark Tower and ran it through a double filter of Doctor Who and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
The Winds of Limbo
Well, now. If anyone ever asks me what my least favorite Moorcock novel is, I'll have an answer. The Winds of Limbo is a boring mess. The Von Beks are back, this time as a family of scheming politicians, with one bastard offspring who isn't interested in playing the game. There's a presidential election at stake and a weird, grotesque, semi-charismatic Fireclown stirring up the masses. But is the Fireclown really stirring them up, or is he just a patsy? Does he really mean to destroy the world? And what about that election? I never cared. Political thrillers only work if you can invest in the characters or the issues, neither of which you can do in this novel. The Fireclown is an overblown cartoon even by Moorcock's standards. A friend of mine once pointed out that every good writer has at least one bad novel in them. This was Moorcock's.
The Shores of Death
Now this is a little more like it. In The Shores of Death, Moorcock presents a future utopian society that collapses in on itself after an encounter with an alien species renders the entire human race sterile. Faced not just with their own mortality, but with the end of the whole human race, their blissful anarchist harmony devolves into old, toxic patterns of destructive chaos and oppressive order. Those few who remain somewhat sane give in to either despair or futile fantasies, until at last Clovis Becker, who would have been a more traditional hero in another story, seeks out the only solution left on the table - immortality for himself and his lover. Though it maintains the feel of a pulp novel throughout, The Shores of Death eschews tidy moralizations, traditional heroes, and nice, happy endings. While his novels of Order vs. Chaos usually have the protagonist taking one side or the other, Moorcock leans into the idea of "Neutrality" in this one, and posits that even neutrality can bear a heavy toll. The stakes are just as existential as in The Wrecks of Time, but in the end this is the better novel.
The Wrecks of Time
An early instance of Moorcock playing around with the concept of the Multiverse, here presented somewhat differently than in his other works. In this, there are fifteen Earths with an organization of scientists led by one Dr. Faustaff who fight the D-Squads that are systematically destroying the parallel worlds. Faustaff, I feel, is more Jerry Cornelius than Eternal Champion, though Von Bek's nemesis Klosterheim (or at least a version of him) makes a significant appearance. It's obvious Moorcock made this novel up as he went along, but as a result the story takes twists that I didn't expect from the outset. On the whole it feels like what you'd get if you compressed Stephen King's Dark Tower and ran it through a double filter of Doctor Who and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
The Winds of Limbo
Well, now. If anyone ever asks me what my least favorite Moorcock novel is, I'll have an answer. The Winds of Limbo is a boring mess. The Von Beks are back, this time as a family of scheming politicians, with one bastard offspring who isn't interested in playing the game. There's a presidential election at stake and a weird, grotesque, semi-charismatic Fireclown stirring up the masses. But is the Fireclown really stirring them up, or is he just a patsy? Does he really mean to destroy the world? And what about that election? I never cared. Political thrillers only work if you can invest in the characters or the issues, neither of which you can do in this novel. The Fireclown is an overblown cartoon even by Moorcock's standards. A friend of mine once pointed out that every good writer has at least one bad novel in them. This was Moorcock's.
The Shores of Death
Now this is a little more like it. In The Shores of Death, Moorcock presents a future utopian society that collapses in on itself after an encounter with an alien species renders the entire human race sterile. Faced not just with their own mortality, but with the end of the whole human race, their blissful anarchist harmony devolves into old, toxic patterns of destructive chaos and oppressive order. Those few who remain somewhat sane give in to either despair or futile fantasies, until at last Clovis Becker, who would have been a more traditional hero in another story, seeks out the only solution left on the table - immortality for himself and his lover. Though it maintains the feel of a pulp novel throughout, The Shores of Death eschews tidy moralizations, traditional heroes, and nice, happy endings. While his novels of Order vs. Chaos usually have the protagonist taking one side or the other, Moorcock leans into the idea of "Neutrality" in this one, and posits that even neutrality can bear a heavy toll. The stakes are just as existential as in The Wrecks of Time, but in the end this is the better novel.
December 4, 2016
My least favorite of Eternal Champion volumes so far, and of any of Moorcock's work. All contain some interesting concepts, but none have the sort of cerebral vitality of most of Moorcock's work. To be fair, he essentially admitted as much in the introduction, noting that he wrote them as fairly conventional genre stories to help keep the magazine he was editing afloat and publish the more groundbreaking work of other authors. Still, all in all, they aren't bad, just not up the quality of Moorcock's best work.
The first has a mildly interesting exploration of the idea of parallel worlds.
The second is a bit more interesting as a political mystery, something less common for the author. The revelations aren't particularly shocking, and I'm left wishing I knew more about the other workings of the Fire Clown.
The third has more of the melancholic feel for which Moorcock is so well known. The contradictory signals about the motives of Sharvo are potentially intriguing. Unfortunately, The plot itself seems to suffer from a bit of ennui.
The first has a mildly interesting exploration of the idea of parallel worlds.
The second is a bit more interesting as a political mystery, something less common for the author. The revelations aren't particularly shocking, and I'm left wishing I knew more about the other workings of the Fire Clown.
The third has more of the melancholic feel for which Moorcock is so well known. The contradictory signals about the motives of Sharvo are potentially intriguing. Unfortunately, The plot itself seems to suffer from a bit of ennui.
March 3, 2010
• This is the fifty-fifth book I’ve read thus far, and it is definitely the worst. This book consisted of three stories, all bad. This first one was just sort of slow-moving and boring. I think Moorcock was trying to make some sort of statement about the dangers of nuclear war, but I really couldn’t get myself to care. The second story was the worst. The biggest problem was the Dues Ex Machina of the main protagonist being the father of the main character. Lame! In this story, Moorcock also talks about how much better it is to smoke pot than tobacco. I really think he was high the whole time he wrote this story because it is crap. The third story was the best out of this sorry lot. It’s ending also had a lot to be desired. Overall, I’m a little irritated that Moorcock put these stories in the Eternal Champion series since they have nothing to do with the Eternal Champion and have very little to do with the multiverse.
August 11, 2016
This was the weakest volume so far in this eternal champion reprint series. The 3 stories in this volume appear to be very loosely coupled with the champion series (some mentions of the multiverse and using the von Bek name seems to be enough). It seems like the only character that could be considered as the champion eternal is the von Bek character that appears in the rather disconnected interlude pieces before each tale. The "roads between the worlds" from the book title appears the most strongly in the first story, only briefly in the second and not at all in the third. Of the 3 stories, I found the 3rd one the most interesting. It is a melancholy piece that deals with what appears to be the end of the human race; going out not with a bang but with a wimper.
March 1, 2015
The Roads Between the Worlds does not exemplify Moorcock's best work, but it certainly showcases some of the typical sci-fi contributions he was doing in the 1960s. Fans of Elric, Corum and Hawkmoon may be disappointed, as the incarnations of the Eternal Champion featured in this stories are more tangential than that iconic trio, still there is some good stuff here and certainly some memorable characters.
May 3, 2015
...dafuq did I just read?
September 29, 2015
Weakest of the omnibuses so far
September 2, 2016
Fireclown forever!!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews