tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post6623605988274339177..comments2024-03-29T00:32:33.920-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Pulp Fantasy Library: The Last EnchantmentJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54490337265796539522022-04-13T12:14:21.589-04:002022-04-13T12:14:21.589-04:00"Sadly, the more famous that writers become, ..."Sadly, the more famous that writers become, the longer their work often becomes (J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, etc). They reach a point where they can't or won't be edited."<br /><br />I think the most tragic example of that for me is David Weber. His earlier work is quite a good example of military scifi, tightly written and well-paced. Then somewhere into the Honor Harrington boom he clearly told the editors to bugger off, and now his work is bloated beyond recognition with whole chapters of tedious and unnatural expository dialog.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51218762832774382122022-04-13T09:46:59.740-04:002022-04-13T09:46:59.740-04:00"It's rare when I think they're bette..."It's rare when I think they're better served by longer pieces than by shorter..."<br /><br />Agree. Sadly, the more famous that writers become, the longer their work often becomes (J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, etc). They reach a point where they can't or won't be edited.<br />Etrimynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12412524174369676893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35277265066653059302022-04-12T03:40:33.756-04:002022-04-12T03:40:33.756-04:00That makes sense. I haven’t ventured past the sev...That makes sense. I haven’t ventured past the seventies and probably won’t. I still need to try the Cornelius quartet again at some point, along with others like Breakfast in the Ruins.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22762211283730215522022-04-12T03:12:05.779-04:002022-04-12T03:12:05.779-04:00Elric at the End of Time seems to have been writte...Elric at the End of Time seems to have been written around 1979-1980.<br />When I said "same period" I was referring to pre-Fortress of the Pearl Moorcock, that is the years in which he wrote all the foundational books of his cycles (Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon, Dancers...), and before his "return" to intensive writing of new Elric stories and comics (most of which I didn't like, btw).artikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43873174000412619112022-04-12T03:05:06.224-04:002022-04-12T03:05:06.224-04:00Dancers at the End of Time is one of his best work...Dancers at the End of Time is one of his best works for me as wellartikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51725022049131984962022-04-11T23:14:40.525-04:002022-04-11T23:14:40.525-04:00The Last Enchantment is included in the To Rescue ...The Last Enchantment is included in the To Rescue Tanelorn compilation. I've got several of these on my Nook app. That way I can carry Elric with me wherever I go.Brian Sailorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17922508024692543257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73812975122800336972022-04-11T20:51:54.468-04:002022-04-11T20:51:54.468-04:00It's a great story, and you should absolutely ...It's a great story, and you should absolutely check it out. I don't recall there being much to spoil, but better you experience it fresh I suppose.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12844164136812066252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-82459208542512916382022-04-11T20:47:49.066-04:002022-04-11T20:47:49.066-04:00The Dancers books are among my favorites of his lo...The Dancers books are among my favorites of his longer work (although they're still quite short by 2022 standards) but they don't quite edge out the best of his short fiction for me. They're also fairly old - 1976-ish IIRC - and it's the more recent stuff that's being leaving me increasingly cold. Still haven't been able to get through the Pyat Quartet books for ex, and that's a first for me. Maybe I'm just outgrowing his style - it's almost all post-90s work that's lost its luster, maybe because the older work has more nostalgia appeal for me.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48149051280491825652022-04-11T15:34:06.499-04:002022-04-11T15:34:06.499-04:00Interesting. I find some of his longer works more...Interesting. I find some of his longer works more impressive, like the initial three Dancers at the End of Time novels.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-91402921670004449182022-04-11T15:32:28.399-04:002022-04-11T15:32:28.399-04:00Feel the same. It’s just a simple setup for the w...Feel the same. It’s just a simple setup for the wan punchline. I also enjoyed “Elric at the End of Time” more but wasn’t that written much later than 1962?Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-82932551969286466342022-04-11T13:04:39.781-04:002022-04-11T13:04:39.781-04:00It's apparently available as a free download h...It's apparently available as a free download here:<br /><br />https://my.u1lib.org/book/4392129/616e10<br /><br />Also available through other sources, including some compilations.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-37648560639533698342022-04-11T12:29:01.570-04:002022-04-11T12:29:01.570-04:00It looks like I mislead you, and was mislead mysel...It looks like I mislead you, and was mislead myself by my (poor) memory. <br />The book I remembered including TLE was not Casablanca, but an edition of Elric at The End of Time, that also included MM's juvenile ERB pastiche Sojan, some speculation on New Worlds and Jerry Cornelius, and the self-parody "The Stone Thing".<br />MM is not openly critical of TLE, but is... uncharacteristically modest about it. <br />In my memory this registered as a sort of self-criticism on his part.<br />Quoting;<br />"The Last Enchantment was meant to be the final Elric story. It was written in 1962, only a short while after the first had appeared in magazine form and before I wrote what was to become Stormbringer. I gave the story to Ted Carnell for his magazine Science Fantasy but he didn't want a "last" Elric story.<br />He persuaded me to write some more novellas and in his capacity as my agent sent The Last Enchantment to America, where it was rejected. Some fifteen years later Ted's successor, Les Flood, came across the story and returned it to me. It eventually appeared in Ariel magazine in the U.S. in 1978, illustrated by Tim Conrad. That was its only publication until now.<br />Like Elric at the End of Time it has never been published in England and this is its first appearance in book form."<br />artikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50339160432788864782022-04-11T12:02:11.455-04:002022-04-11T12:02:11.455-04:00Interesting! I did not know that. Interesting! I did not know that. James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-69276184505737955372022-04-11T11:57:40.737-04:002022-04-11T11:57:40.737-04:00Agreed, MM is proud of his ability to create large...Agreed, MM is proud of his ability to create large amounts of prose in comparatively short time, the problem is that it comes at the cost uneven quality.<br />To be more precise about my criticism of The Last Enchantment,<br />I felt somewhat cheated by the ending. <br />Elric's smartness (can I say "smartassness?") reflects the author's.<br />MM himself acknowledged this issue himself in an anthology called Casablanca that included TLE.artikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41819026537917380832022-04-11T11:39:14.160-04:002022-04-11T11:39:14.160-04:00That's fair – although I think could be said a...That's fair – although I think could be said about much of Moorcock's output.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42901921242602582922022-04-11T11:27:06.869-04:002022-04-11T11:27:06.869-04:00I felt "Last Enchantement" to be somewha...I felt "Last Enchantement" to be somewhat lacking and not well developed for me. More the idea of a story than an actual story.<br />From the same period I like "Elric at the End of Time" better.artikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67717402758107268352022-04-11T10:56:53.586-04:002022-04-11T10:56:53.586-04:00I absolutely agree about "spoilers," the...I absolutely agree about "spoilers," the very concept of which annoys me. <br /><br />I didn't include details about the ending primarily as an enticement to reading it, which I'd like to encourage. That said, your point stands that a lot of people likely will never read the story. Perhaps I need to consider a better way to achieve my intention. James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-17878902801725959512022-04-11T10:53:04.945-04:002022-04-11T10:53:04.945-04:00Great piece. I've never heard of this tale des...Great piece. I've never heard of this tale despite having read 10 or 11 of Moorcock's novels/novellas/works. I wish you'd go ahead and tell us the ending though, as I doubt I'll ever come across this story. Revealing the ending 40+ years after a work's publication can no longer be considered a spoiler--there's a statute of limitations on spoilers. : )radnoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11006466605445207729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27498747778788620262022-04-11T10:53:01.589-04:002022-04-11T10:53:01.589-04:00Depends on the author for me. I like Jack Vance&#...Depends on the author for me. I like Jack Vance's novels better than his short stories, but many of them are pretty slim already (especially by modern standards). Same for James Schmitz, Rex Stout, Dashiell Hammett and Keith Laumer. REH and HPL though, I favor the short stories. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-55658050896734511002022-04-11T10:00:04.572-04:002022-04-11T10:00:04.572-04:00Honestly, I think the same could be said about mos...Honestly, I think the same could be said about most writers whose work I like. It's rare when I think they're better served by longer pieces than by shorter, but maybe I'm weird that way.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67592127942511802342022-04-11T09:56:39.044-04:002022-04-11T09:56:39.044-04:00Always liked Moorcock's shorter fiction better...Always liked Moorcock's shorter fiction better than his novels, especially as we get later in his writing career.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.com