The Champion of Garathorm

Hawkmoon again moves through the multiverse, taking on a different incarnation of the Eternal Champion, and with him again is Jhary-a-Conel, the Companion to Champions, in one of his own incarnations. The Dark Empire Destroyer thinks that doing this, and helping in another fight will give him a clue to the whereabouts of his wife.

Michael Moorcock, The Champion of Garathorm (Berkley, 1973)Moorcock continues the Chronicles of Castle Brass with this odd little novel, perhaps one of the riskiest novels of Moorcock's career. Dorian Hawkmoon, united with his old friends, has paid a deep price-the loss of his wife and children. Or did he ever have them in the first place? Many at Castle Brass say he's been mad for the past five years, inventing the marriage and children after the death of his betrothed at the Battle of Londra (in the novel The Runestaff). Brought back to what they consider sanity by the arrival of a guest, an old friend of Count Brass', Hawkmoon feels that adventuring may be the best thing for him, and goes off into what is certainly the eternal champion's oddest adventure yet.The oddities begin about a third of the way into the book, and explaining them would be impossible without major plot spoilers. Suffice to say that originally, the oddities seem as if Moorcock has just spliced together-badly-a series of unrelated stories. Such is not the case. Everything ties together, and as strand after strand comes full circle, the reader will get the idea of what Moorcock is on about. Once the whole weave is in place, the picture is staggering. ****

Don't fret that this book is out of print. It will be included in an omnibus edition to be released by White Wolf sometime in the next year or two. This is one of the books of the second series dealing with Moorcock's post-apocalyptic hero, Hawkmoon (the first series is currently available in an omnibus edition from White Wolf entitled Hawkmoon). The second series is, on the whole, not quite as good as the first, as Moorcock struggled a bit to entertwine his hero into the Eternal Champion continuum, but it still shows the reader a good thrill ride. Recommended for anyone who loves swords and sorcery.