FORGOTTEN BOOKS #300: THE ETERNAL CHAMPION SERIES By Michael Moorcock

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It’s hard to believe this is my 300th Friday’s Forgotten Books review. It’s been six years since Patti Abbott invited me to be part of the FFB group and I’ve enjoyed sharing reviews with such knowledgeable readers. For my 300th FFB review, I wanted to do Something Special. Some savvy people consider J. R. R. Tolkien the greatest fantasy writer of the 20th Century. I would rank Tolkien Number Two. My top spot would go to Michael Moorcock.

I started reading Michael Moorcock’s work in Lancer paperback editions back in the 1960s. First I read his Elric adventures about an albino with a very hungry black sword. Then I read about Dorian Hawkmoon battling against the rising Darkness that threatened Civilization. Then there were the tales of Corum who could summon the Dead to fight for him. All of these characters were actually aspects of one Eternal Champion dispersed through the multiverse.

In 1994, a small publishing company called White Wolf started publishing omnibus editions of Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series. As each volume came out (about one or two per year) I worried White Wolf wouldn’t stay in business long enough to issue all the books in Moorcock’s series. But somehow, White Wolf managed to stay in business until 2000 and successfully published all 15 Eternal Champion omnibus editions before going out of business. All of these omnibus editions are out-of-print (although Titan Books is reprinting the individual volumes). If you want to read the greatest fantasy novels of the 20th Century, here they are!
Vol. 1: The Eternal Champion
The Eternal Champion [Erekosë/John Daker]
The Sundered Worlds (has also been titled The Blood Red Game) [Renark von Bek and Asquiol of Pompeii]
Phoenix in Obsidian (later titled The Silver Warriors in the US) [Erekosë/John Daker/Urlik Skarsol]
“To Rescue Tanelorn” [Rackhir the Red Archer]

Vol. 2: Von Bek
The War Hound and the World’s Pain [Ulrich von Bek]
The City in the Autumn Stars [Manfred von Bek]
The Dragon in the Sword [Erekosë/John Daker/Prince Flamadin and Ulrich von Bek]
“The Pleasure Gardens of Felipe Sagittarius” [Minos von Bek](revised from a non-series story of the same name)

Vol. 3: Hawkmoon [all four stories with Dorian Hawkmoon]
The Jewel in the Skull
The Mad God’s Amulet
The Sword of the Dawn
The Runestaff (originally titled The Secret of the Runestaff)

Vol. 4: A Nomad of the Time Streams [all three stories with Oswald Bastable]
The Warlord of the Air
The Land Leviathan
The Steel Tsar

Vol. 5: Elric: The Song of the Black Sword [all six stories with Elric]
Elric of Melniboné
The Fortress of the Pearl
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate [also Erekosë, Corum, and Hawkmoon]
“The Dreaming City”
“While the Gods Laugh”
“The Singing Citadel”

Vol. 6: The Roads Between the Worlds
The Wrecks of Time (has also been titled The Rituals of Infinity) [Professor Faustaff]
The Winds of Limbo (originally titled The Fireclown) [Alan Powys]
The Shores of Death (originally titled The Twilight Man) [Clovis Becker]

Vol. 7: Corum: The Coming of Chaos [all three stories with Corum]
The Knight of the Swords
The Queen of the Swords
The King of the Swords [also Elric and Erekosë, briefly]

Vol. 8: Sailing to Utopia
The Ice Schooner [Konrad Arflane]
The Black Corridor [Ryan]
The Distant Suns [Colonel Jerry Cornelius, who seems to be a different character from Jerry Cornelius](written with James Cawthorn)
“Flux” [Max von Bek]

Vol. 9: Kane of Old Mars [all three stories with Michael Kane]
City of the Beast (originally titled Warriors of Mars)
Lord of the Spiders (originally titled Blades of Mars)
Masters of the Pit (originally titled Barbarians of Mars)

Vol. 10: The Dancers at the End of Time [all three stories with Jherek Carnelian]
An Alien Heat
The Hollow Lands
The End of All Songs

Vol. 11: Elric: The Stealer of Souls [all six stories with Elric]
The Sleeping Sorceress (has been sometimes titled The Vanishing Tower) [also Erekosë and Corum]
The Revenge of the Rose
“The Stealer of Souls”
“Kings in Darkness”
“The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams” (previously titled “The Flame Bringers”)
Stormbringer

Vol. 12: Corum: The Prince with the Silver Hand [all three stories with Corum]
The Bull and the Spear
The Oak and the Ram
The Sword and the Stallion

Vol. 13: Legends from the End of Time (collection of novellas)
“Pale Roses”
“White Stars”
“Ancient Shadows”
“Constant Fire” (previously titled The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming and A Messiah at the End of Time )
Elric at the End of Time [Elric]

Vol. 14: Earl Aubec and Other Stories (a collection of 33 short stories, only the first of which features Earl Aubec) [Earl Aubec and others]

Vol. 15: Count Brass [all three stories with Dorian Hawkmoon; set after the “Swords” books]
Count Brass
The Champion of Garathorm [also Ilian of Garathorm]
The Quest for Tanelorn [also Erekosë, Corum, and Elric]

16 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #300: THE ETERNAL CHAMPION SERIES By Michael Moorcock”

  1. Randy Johnson

    It’s been some years since I read most of them, but I believe th Von Bek stories are ones I haven’t read. My record keeping in the early days was sketchy at best and several moves have lost a lot of it(the internet and blog keeping have preserved everything since). Not to mention loaning out volumes that never seem to find their way home(who among hasn’t gone through that).

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  3. Jeff Meyerson

    I’m not a big fantasy reader in general and I must admit I have never read a single Moorcock book, though I have a few.

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  4. Jeff Meyerson

    Also, congratulations on #300! Even though this one doesn’t interest me I’ve probably gotten more ideas for books from your reviews than anyone else’s, other than – perhaps – Bill Crider. I’m reading STEELHEART at the moment. (Well, not this moment. This moment I’m typing. But I am reading the book.) 😉

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  5. Deb

    I, too, am not a big fantasy reader but I love, love, love those covers! In an odd way, they remind me of tarot cards.

    I think it was about 2008 that I came upon what I think of as the Patti/Bill/George/Jeff crew. I was looking for new-to-me mystery writers and did a google search for mystery blogs. One link let to another and before I knew it I was a regular commenter ( is that a word?) I can’t tell you how many great books I’ve discovered through “the crew.” Long may your work continue!

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    1. george Post author

      Deb, great commentators like you are one of the reasons I enjoy doing these blog posts! I’ll keep writing if you keep commenting! You’re right about the White Wolf covers to the Eternal Champion series. Very tarot-like!

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  6. Richard R.

    Congratulations on 300 FFB posts, George!

    We’ll have to agree to disagree on the greatest fantasy writers, as I’ve not been able to comfortably settle into the worlds Moorcock has created, nor like any of the characters he peoples them with. I know many folks like Elric (and Stormbringer) but something doesn’t quite work for me. I did buy some books – or a book – from White Wolf, but don’t remember now why, though I know it wasn’t Moorcock.

    I too have learned about many books from your blog (and apazine) and am grateful for it.

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    1. george Post author

      Rick, I’ve discovered plenty of good books from you, your zine, and now your blog! Most Michael Moorcock fans love Elric, but I’m a fan of Hawkmoon and Corum. Moorcock’s multiverse is complex but I like the challenge of making sense of it.

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