Swords Trilogy [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Moorcock here introduces us to another aspect of the Eternal Champion, Corum of the Scarlet Robe. Corum fits the Eternal Champion mold well in the first three books of this six-book series-he's a chap who's rather like the rest of his race, normal from that perspective, but whose race is somewhat divorced from (older than, as are Elric's race) the humans who share a planet with them. While devoid of supernatural powers himself, he gains them in the pursuance of a quest. Also like Elric, Corum's destiny, in the first books, is shaped by the Dukes of Hell-Arioch, Xiombarg, and Mabelrode. He also has a trusty sidekick (in this case, Jhary-a-Conel, who does make a brief appearance with Corum at the very end of The Vanishing Tower in the Elric series). In other words, you've got an inkling of what's going on here simply because this is an Eternal Champion series and you've already read the Elric books. (You have, haven't you? If not, go do so.)

Moorcock does throw in a few elements to keep you guessing. Corum serves Law, rather than Chaos (as Elric does), and doesn't have any of the fatal weaknesses at the beginning of the book that other manifestations of the Champion do. The variations lead to great musing from the reader over the true nature of the Eternal Champion and why it's so changeable. While this is an excellent thing, and raises the stakes for the whole extended family of books, these three tales themselves (available separately as The Knight of the Swords, The Queen of the Swords, and the King of the Swords) often follow the same formulae as the Elric novels, and thus become predictable. That doesn't make them any less fun. But one wonders whether there could have been something more to them, that ineffable something that sent the Elric novels to heights unmatched in fantasy since J. R. R. Tolkein. Whatever it is, there's far less of it here. ***