03-30-2020, 04:54 PM
DM's post about Moorcock got me thinking about these books. This is the first trilogy about Corum, who gets the hand and eye of gods grafted onto him - The Eye of Kwll and the Hand of Rhynn. I have to agree with DM that the writing is not that good. It's very uneven, sometimes flowery, sometimes plain, and shifting back and forth. And he likes words like "samite." Each book is only about 150 pages, and they read quickly; I was done in a weekend. He may have pioneered the theme of ambivalence towards the gods, and the gods using mortals for their own purposes (anyway I first saw that in his work). And of course the Eternal Champion.
I was entertained, but the books were really just fluff. Entertaining but not much to them - although he does occasionally throw out a good image. Like DM's book, mine had cigarette ads inserted, and the last book had an ad for the Science Fiction Book club where you were supposed to tape a dime to the response card to get your introductory books. Amusing sort of psychedelic covers.
As I remember, the second Corum trilogy was better (released in one volume as The Chronicles of Corum) and he brings in old English or Welsh mythology. Have to read that at some point and see. I might trade these when Recycle Books reopens.
I was entertained, but the books were really just fluff. Entertaining but not much to them - although he does occasionally throw out a good image. Like DM's book, mine had cigarette ads inserted, and the last book had an ad for the Science Fiction Book club where you were supposed to tape a dime to the response card to get your introductory books. Amusing sort of psychedelic covers.
As I remember, the second Corum trilogy was better (released in one volume as The Chronicles of Corum) and he brings in old English or Welsh mythology. Have to read that at some point and see. I might trade these when Recycle Books reopens.
the hands that guide me are invisible
