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A review by lunaseassecondaccount
The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock
5.0
What a bizarre but wonderful novel. The whole premise is absolutely nuts, and the execution is just as insane. A woman from 1896 is flung millions of years into the future, where one of two naturally born people exist (the rest are creations or time travellers), falls in love with her and on it goes. Anything that can possibly be thought up exists, and people follow their whims, whether that involves having sex with one's parents, shooting an arrow through twenty palm trees and turning into a goat. Space travel is considered exceedingly dull, and time travel is a rare occurrence. When one can do anything they want to at a touch of a finger (or ring), why wouldn't it be that way?
This has all the makings of a book I should hate. The main character is horrendously naive, and there's a running theme of women-as-items, which may be par for course given the time Amelia's from and the time Moorcock lived in. It's also frighteningly bizarre, and it takes a couple of chapters to get the head around. It also droned on for periods and I got a touch bored towards the end. But [a:Michael Moorcock|16939|Michael Moorcock|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1222901251p2/16939.jpg]'s writing saves it. It's very touching and sweet. The romance between Jherek and Amelia is quaint, and the growth of both characters was realistic. I found Jherek's desperate attempts at wooing her to be cute.
I also enjoyed Mongrove's depression, and the Lat. I found Mr Underwood and the police to be a little grating towards the end, but I think they had played their part and simply had to be explained away. The last book could definitely have been shortened, at least, or even separated into two books.
But overall, this was very enjoyable for me, but not for everyone. It can be a hard read if one doesn't accept the fact it is going to be extremely abstract while going in.
This has all the makings of a book I should hate. The main character is horrendously naive, and there's a running theme of women-as-items, which may be par for course given the time Amelia's from and the time Moorcock lived in. It's also frighteningly bizarre, and it takes a couple of chapters to get the head around. It also droned on for periods and I got a touch bored towards the end. But [a:Michael Moorcock|16939|Michael Moorcock|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1222901251p2/16939.jpg]'s writing saves it. It's very touching and sweet. The romance between Jherek and Amelia is quaint, and the growth of both characters was realistic. I found Jherek's desperate attempts at wooing her to be cute.
I also enjoyed Mongrove's depression, and the Lat. I found Mr Underwood and the police to be a little grating towards the end, but I think they had played their part and simply had to be explained away. The last book could definitely have been shortened, at least, or even separated into two books.
But overall, this was very enjoyable for me, but not for everyone. It can be a hard read if one doesn't accept the fact it is going to be extremely abstract while going in.