A pretty cool birthday present19 June 2013tThis was basically the first Moorcock book that I ever read and it was given to me by a beautiful woman for my twenty second birthday. I am not sure if it really was a birthday present or if she realised that I liked these types of books and wanted to get rid of a bunch of them that were sitting on her bookshelf, but in a way the timing was perfect. The only problem with this girl was that she had a boyfriend (though the suggestion that was made was that she had become board with him, and that when she met me she decided that she wanted somebody a lot better, like, well, me. I didn't buy it though, because even though I may have seemed wonderful at the time, that wouldn't have lasted, and I have always made it a policy that I don't cut somebody else's lunch, even if they strip in front of me, which has happened on one occasion).tAnyway, enough bragging about my former life and more about what I thought about the book. As I said this was the first Moorcock book that I read and I loved it, probably because it had lots of battles between massive armies in some wonderful fantasy world. Personally, that is all that I can remember about the book, and that was all that really attracted me about the book as well. I never read the first one, and I wasn't all that impressed with the third one, so I guess I can say that this is one of those rare books that, while forming a part of a trilogy (and I suspect was written as part of a trilogy) you don't need to read the other ones to actually enjoy this book (which is something that I did).tAs for the books that were given to me for my birthday, most of them ended up being parts of series and most of them, as far as I know, ended up not getting read. There are still some here, including one on dragons and a big and beautiful book on mythology, which I still have and I really should drag out one day and read, though it is not one of those read on the train type of books.tThis birthday though was a pretty good birthday because my twenty first birthday was absolutely shocking. The only good thing about it was that some guy, when he found out it was my birthday, gave me some marijuana (and it was pretty bad stuff at that). So much for a wonderful twenty first birthday – it didn't happen for me. However, that was made up by my twenty fifth birthday when all my friends came around and gave me a twenty first birthday party. Also this birthday turned out to be full of surprises, and for a person that feels that he had been cursed not to be surprised because he opened his Christmas presents before Christmas to see what he got (when I was a kid), this was a pretty enjoyable day.
http://panopticonitalia.blogspot.it/2...The Queen of Swords is the second volume of the First Trilogy The Chronicles of Corum, published on the British market in 1971 with the title "The Queen of the Swords" by Mayflower Books, and arrived in Italy in 1974, thanks to Sugar Publisher. This novel can be considered rightfully one sword and sorcery, with some contamination clockpunk, although I note that today's commentators and authors (especially Anglo-Saxon ones) tend to include many books of this genre in grimdark.The story is told in the third person and from the point of view of Corum Jhaelen Irsei, the Prince in the Scarlet Robe, last survivor of Vadhagh race, exterminated by bestial Mabden (humans). He is back to fight in the ranks of the Law against Chaos, as the incarnation of the Eternal Champion; in order to restore the balance between these two forces, under the control of the Cosmic Balance.In this case deals with Xiombarg, sister of Arioch and Chaos God who rules over one of the Fifteen Planes that compose the Multiverse. The Sovereign of the Sword is burned with hatred towards our, as they defeated his brother and him exiled from that dimension, restoring its place in Arkyn.But the Lord of the Law is still weak and does not hold the power to counteract the force of Chaos, therefore asks Corum of fulfilling a mission for him, venturing on Plan Xiombarg, a real infernal world and repulsive.As in the previous episode, the world building is extraordinary, as well as the ability of imagination of Michael Moorcock, who ferries us in strange worlds, ruled by gods blasphemous and inhabited by monstrous creatures. Just to name a few, we beastmen, undead, mounts with scaly skin and horns, with the body of bull sharks and wings, ice warriors, giant foxes, etc ...There are also battles and bloody clashes with whites in which we deal with hordes of Chaos and the soldiers of the Act, the circumstances in which not infrequently Corum resorts to black magic. This gives the gloomy to ours, thus avoiding the classic Manichaeism in which we have used many fantasy authors.The Queen of Swords is an exciting novel that brilliantly continues the cycle of Corum, introducing further complexity in the already vast and protean Multiverse.
Do You like book The Queen Of The Swords (1986)?
Continuing the story of Corum and his battle to save his world from the forces of Chaos, this book had a very different feel from the prior. In the first book, Corum was continually beaten down, struggling just to survive. Although he fought against Chaos there, it was only in the second half of the book that it started to feel like he might pose a threat to it.In Queen of the Swords, he has come into his own as a champion of Law. The "Companion of Champions", Jhary-a-conel, plays a large role in this book, and his winged cat aids in the fight too. They take the battle to another plane, to help the forces of Law there to fight against, you guessed it, the Queen of the Swords.Much of Moorcock's writing, especially his material from the 60s and 70s, has a certain pulp quality to it: heavy on action and plot advancement, low on deep character development. That will definitely remove it from some people's reading lists, but I find the stories themselves to be very entertaining and really interesting. The added dimension of having each individual series tied into a larger, coexisting whole makes it really appealing for me.Knight of the Swords only really started to come into its own in the second half, and Queen takes that new feel, that new character of the story, and runs with it. The series remains gritty and fast-paced, but it now feels more fleshed out and whole, and less like a clone of the author's Elric series. I'm very glad there are still at least 4 more books of Corum.
—Traummachine
The Queen of Swords, by Michael Moorcock is the second book in the Corum Eternal Companion series. Moorcock, as always, does a great job being creative and keeping the characters consistent between the novels while also letting them grow and change. There is also a simplicity to his work and I mean that in a good way. His descriptions would make a 19th century Russian writer jealous, but he also keeps things to the point. He does not feel like he had to add things just to add them or stretch out a word count. He has a story to tell and he makes it happen.In this novel, if anything, things are worse off and more intense then the first book. Here the Mabdan are not just killing off Corum's race, but every decent culture on the planet. A battle is building up, which without help, they will have no chance to win. If the overwhelming odds of against them were not enough, the evil Mabdan are getting aid from Chaos, as well as their own Gods—the Dog and the Bear. As these four armies bear down on the last decent survivors, Corum and his allies are forced to enter the realms of chaos controlled by Xiomborg the Queen of Swords.Read more at SFReader.com The Queen Of Swords, by Michael Moorcock
—SFReader
As mentioned before...I read this book "back when" in 1970s. Once I ran across the Eternal Champion books by Michael Moorcock (and once I was out of the army and had the chance to search) I set out to find the entire series. Some I really liked (Corum, Elric, and Hawkmoon) others I didn't care for (The Dancers at the End of Time) others I completely and thoroughly detest (Behold the Man). This is one I like.Here Corum, hoping to live in peace with his love (Rhalina) after the events in The Knight of the Swords finds that his life isn't to be an easy one...of course he finds later that it never will be. This is the book in which I was introduced to The Companion of Heroes, another part of the Eternal Champion Mythos, in this case Jhary-a-Conel. The Companion, like the Champion has many identities Timeras, Alnac Kreb, Jaspar Colinadous but also Moonglum and Oladahn. I like these books so in spite of not being able to "blanket endorse" Mr. Moorcock's books I will recommend this one (but I suggest you read the trilogy in order).The plot in this book takes us far afield (again) and as in the first volume fantasy readers may feel "at home" or some of it may seem familiar, but at the time of it's publishing, it was not only an original idea but a very original tale. It holds up well. I like and recommend it.
—Mike (the Paladin)
