smiorganbaldhead's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5. Moorcock is great at creating a sense of doom, though here very differently than in other books like Stormbringer. Corum is doomed even if he wins everything he fights for, because of his own near immortality in contrast with the mortal women he loves. As usual, Moorcock’s imagination is vivid and engrossing. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book, because it lacks the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn from previous stories that were some of my favorite elements. However I really liked this book. There are lots of hints about what’s to come that make me excited to read further in the series as well.
mordecai's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
bums's review against another edition
3.0
The Bull and the Spear - 3/5
Ah fine wee swurd and sucery tale fae a master of 'em. Corum, Prince of the Silver Hand, sets oot tae fight sum Celtic flavoured enemies in a land ah never endin winter. The Fhoi Myore, based an the Irish legends of the Fomóire, come tae spreed cald an deeth tae the lands a the Mabden sae as tae mak their land lik tha of the Limbo they came fae. Corum, summoned be the few remainin folken of tis dying wurld, does his best tae defeat'em.
Tis is ah fine adventure yarn, but his ah little stretched, despite is short page count. The threat ah the Fhoi Myore, whilst considerable, is no so much felt directly be Corum who mainly comes across their handywork in the form of the desalet wasteland his wanderins tak him through. He fights their minions sure but the presence ah the Fhoi Myore is only really felt in the wings during tis beuk.
The atmosphere of the storie is ah high point. The description of ah cald n lifeless land, frozen under the march ah the gods ah Limbo is a powerful yin. Yeh kin feel the freezin wind as Corum does. Corum does a fair bita agnsty introspection at the beginnin ah the storie as well, which ah alwaes lik.
Character-wise is pretty stock. Ah've nae read any oh the other Corum beuks n sae far he seems lik a stock honourable hero (though fae wit a've gleaned tis is different in the previous trilogy). Medhbh, Corum's love interest, is maistly unnerdeveloped n whilst hers and Corum's relationship taks slightly mair tim than Elric and Zarozinia's romance to appear it still feels oot a left field, specially since Corum was in mourning for maist ah the beginning ah've the novel.
O'eraw, the beuk is a fine adventure wae ah loada action and sum well crafted atmosphere.
Ah fine wee swurd and sucery tale fae a master of 'em. Corum, Prince of the Silver Hand, sets oot tae fight sum Celtic flavoured enemies in a land ah never endin winter. The Fhoi Myore, based an the Irish legends of the Fomóire, come tae spreed cald an deeth tae the lands a the Mabden sae as tae mak their land lik tha of the Limbo they came fae. Corum, summoned be the few remainin folken of tis dying wurld, does his best tae defeat'em.
Tis is ah fine adventure yarn, but his ah little stretched, despite is short page count. The threat ah the Fhoi Myore, whilst considerable, is no so much felt directly be Corum who mainly comes across their handywork in the form of the desalet wasteland his wanderins tak him through. He fights their minions sure but the presence ah the Fhoi Myore is only really felt in the wings during tis beuk.
The atmosphere of the storie is ah high point. The description of ah cald n lifeless land, frozen under the march ah the gods ah Limbo is a powerful yin. Yeh kin feel the freezin wind as Corum does. Corum does a fair bita agnsty introspection at the beginnin ah the storie as well, which ah alwaes lik.
Character-wise is pretty stock. Ah've nae read any oh the other Corum beuks n sae far he seems lik a stock honourable hero (though fae wit a've gleaned tis is different in the previous trilogy). Medhbh, Corum's love interest, is maistly unnerdeveloped n whilst hers and Corum's relationship taks slightly mair tim than Elric and Zarozinia's romance to appear it still feels oot a left field, specially since Corum was in mourning for maist ah the beginning ah've the novel.
O'eraw, the beuk is a fine adventure wae ah loada action and sum well crafted atmosphere.
wormytoby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
arthurbdd's review against another edition
3.0
Significant improvement on the previous Corum books, due to the scaling-back of crossover nonsense and better use of Celtic myth, but unfortunately the trilogy this sets up squanders the opportunity so a lot of the threads established here go nowhere special. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/the-vengeance-of-cornwall/
kateofmind's review against another edition
5.0
It's official. I like Corum best of all the Eternal Champions. It's fascinating how he's shed so many of the accoutrements of his identity as he's gone along. I miss Jhary & Whiskers though.
riduidel's review against another edition
4.0
Longtemps après la fin des aventures de Corum face au chaos, ce dernier est appelé par magie en une autre ère pour combattre les démons du froid. Ceux-ci sont stupidement maléfiques, et sans une once de pitié. Le combat reprend donc, dans le froid. Et si la nostalgie semble diminuer dans ce tome, elle n'est remplacée que par le désespoir d'un hiver mortel. C'est encore assez chouette, et tout aussi bien écrit que les tomes précédents.
smcleish's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog here in July 2000.
The start of this novel is very melancholy. Several decades after the end of the Swords trilogy, the immortal Corum has sunk into lethargy after the death of his beloved human wife, Rhalina. He starts experiencing strange dreams, and finally allows himself to be taken far into the future by a mystical incantation. The people who have called him, half-believing, are driven by desperation. The world is under attack by mysterious non-sentient beings of great power, who desire to turn the land around them into a counterpart of the inter-dimensional limbo from which they came. The principal weapon which has almost defeated their human foes is a part of this transformation, as it brings extreme cold and permanent winter to the world.
In this novel, influences from Celtic mythology are more apparent than is usual in Moorcock, whose references to external mythological systems are rare. Moorcock is usually more interested in making links with popular culture, most extensively in the Jerry Cornelius novels. The story itself follows a form common in fantasy, a heroic quest for some talismanic object to counter a major threat.
The start of this novel is very melancholy. Several decades after the end of the Swords trilogy, the immortal Corum has sunk into lethargy after the death of his beloved human wife, Rhalina. He starts experiencing strange dreams, and finally allows himself to be taken far into the future by a mystical incantation. The people who have called him, half-believing, are driven by desperation. The world is under attack by mysterious non-sentient beings of great power, who desire to turn the land around them into a counterpart of the inter-dimensional limbo from which they came. The principal weapon which has almost defeated their human foes is a part of this transformation, as it brings extreme cold and permanent winter to the world.
In this novel, influences from Celtic mythology are more apparent than is usual in Moorcock, whose references to external mythological systems are rare. Moorcock is usually more interested in making links with popular culture, most extensively in the Jerry Cornelius novels. The story itself follows a form common in fantasy, a heroic quest for some talismanic object to counter a major threat.
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