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miranbatti's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
smiorganbaldhead's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this story, and appreciate its importance to the overall Eternal Champion mythos. I probably would have given a higher rating, except Erekosë's motivations didn't make sense to me at a key moment. Up to the point that Iolinda accused him of being a traitor, I was on board. However, then he suddenly decides to destroy all the Eldren to prove his love for Iolinda, even though his feelings for her were waning. Up to that point, he seemed repulsed by other humans' brutality and lack of honor, but then he starts behaving the same way himself. It's partially explained that this change stops his nightmares, but it doesn't appear he knew this would happen or made his decision for this purpose. I think the story would have been much more satisfying if his motivation at this point made more sense.
addisonleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
wildbillbourbon's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent fantasy novel and the beginning of Michael's Eternal champion multiverse. Overall I found the book compelling and thoroughly entertaining. Some moments felt a little forced and unearned but otherwise a great read. I am looking forward to more books in this expanded universe.
darylnash's review against another edition
3.0
The eponymous book. 3 stars. Pretty decent for an early work, although I guessed the plot twist about three chapters in.
The Sundered Worlds. 1 star. I kind of hated that. There were some great ideas, including the first popular use of the term Multiverse, but there's also a lot of unnecessary running around interspersed with vague descriptions of the characters getting their minds bent. It has not aged well.
Phoenix in Obsidian. 4 stars. Now there’s the weird, poetic, brooding fantasy I remember from Elric that I read so long ago.
To Rescue Tanelorn. 3. Short story. Good for what it was, but either I missed something or it was missing something.
The Sundered Worlds. 1 star. I kind of hated that. There were some great ideas, including the first popular use of the term Multiverse, but there's also a lot of unnecessary running around interspersed with vague descriptions of the characters getting their minds bent. It has not aged well.
Phoenix in Obsidian. 4 stars. Now there’s the weird, poetic, brooding fantasy I remember from Elric that I read so long ago.
To Rescue Tanelorn. 3. Short story. Good for what it was, but either I missed something or it was missing something.
sephranix's review
I'm done with this book/series. Something about it just doesn't work for me, and one of my resolutions for this year is to DNF more books that I'm not enjoying. So. Into the donate pile it goes.
aandnota's review
4.0
Pretty good, if a bit boring. It’s a morality tale and not his best in my opinion. It felt like a semi-fleshed out idea and I couldn’t really get into it.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
4.0
The best of the John Daker stories; heavily influenced by Poul Anderson's Three Hearts & Three Lions, the novel is an interesting meditation on the demands we make of our heroes, and what happens when heroic archetypes are bent towards wicked causes. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/behold-the-eternal-man/
williemeikle's review against another edition
4.0
It's getting on for 50 years now since my first read of THE ETERNAL CHAMPION, but I enjoyed it as much this time through as I did back then.
It's the pulpiest of Moorcock's Eternal Champion cycle, and the story that really kicks the whole thing off, with John Daker called from a life on Earth to be Erekose, champion of humanity, once and future hero, and wielder of a bloody huge sword of power.
It's all a bit Arthurian, with similar motifs of betrayal and doom, but Moorcock's energy carries the whole thing along at a rollicking speed. There's a wonderful set piece sea battle, we get glimpses of te Eternal Champion's inner conflict that will drive the whole series, and there are battles and mass slaughter aplenty.
Moorcock's sense of a striking visual is much in evidence, even in the somewhat pulpy prose on show here, but it's a great starter for the epic adventures in the multiverse to come, and I'm looking forward to the rest of it with the same passion I used to have while waiting impatiently for him to write the next installment way back in the day.
At least all I have to do now is walk to the bookcase to take the next book down.
It's the pulpiest of Moorcock's Eternal Champion cycle, and the story that really kicks the whole thing off, with John Daker called from a life on Earth to be Erekose, champion of humanity, once and future hero, and wielder of a bloody huge sword of power.
It's all a bit Arthurian, with similar motifs of betrayal and doom, but Moorcock's energy carries the whole thing along at a rollicking speed. There's a wonderful set piece sea battle, we get glimpses of te Eternal Champion's inner conflict that will drive the whole series, and there are battles and mass slaughter aplenty.
Moorcock's sense of a striking visual is much in evidence, even in the somewhat pulpy prose on show here, but it's a great starter for the epic adventures in the multiverse to come, and I'm looking forward to the rest of it with the same passion I used to have while waiting impatiently for him to write the next installment way back in the day.
At least all I have to do now is walk to the bookcase to take the next book down.
enantiodromos's review
5.0
This story stands out from the fantasy of Moorcock (of whom I'm fond generally) because it is a potent and memorable example of ultimate character development: the story of a true shift of loyalty and a rediscovery of one's own fundamental values. If all mythology and modern fantasy has, in some sense, the goal of showing the ideal of personal transformation, I can think of very few books besides another favorite (Hesse's Magister Ludi/The Glass Bead Game) that do it as well.
Which is not to say it's an uplifting book, as it's clearly a bitter (not to say unsympathetic or singleminded) look at race relations, nationalism, and nuclear armageddon.
Which is not to say it's an uplifting book, as it's clearly a bitter (not to say unsympathetic or singleminded) look at race relations, nationalism, and nuclear armageddon.