Sunday, April 15, 2018

Books read in 2018: No. 24 -- The Swords Trilogy

by Michael Moorcock

Started: April 10
Finished: April 15

Notes: Over the last couple of decades, I've managed to find the first two books of this trilogy and read them, always in used book stores, but that final book, The King of The Swords, always eluded me. Fortunately, last year I ran across this collection of the series, of course in a used book store, so I bought it to finish the series. And, of course, a week later I actually found a copy of The King of The Swords in another store, but I didn't buy it since I had this version. Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and read the entire trilogy since it has been a long while since I read the first two books, as a refresher if nothing else.

Mini review: Most modern readers will not enjoy the writing style here, thinking it archaic, even boring. But fans of Sword and Sorcery will likely enjoy this style. However, I did find myself frustrated in the last book of the trilogy when it seemed to be that none of what had gone before truly mattered, that it could all be undone in the blink of an eye, that the eternal battle between Chaos and Law was truly that, eternal, so the strife made little sense. That being said, the final pages did bring some light onto the subject, and that helped. Also towards the end, Elric of Melnibone shows up for a few chapters as a character, and he has his role to play here. I can't say I loved this book, but I didn't hate it. I can suggest it for hardcore S&S fans, but general fantasy fans will likely want to stay away.

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