Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born December 18, 1939) is a prolific British writer of both science fiction and science fantasy. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at only sixteen, later moving on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971, Moorcock fostered the development of the New Wave in the UK and indirectly in the U.S. His serialisation of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing a British MP to condemn the Arts Council's funding of the magazine. During this time, he frequently wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin". A spoof obituary of Colvin later appeared in New Worlds. As an in-joke reference to this, Breakfast in the Ruins included an introduction that mentioned Moorcock's unfortunate death. Some readers believed it. Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials 'JC', and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 novella Behold the Man. This work, first published in New Worlds as a short story, tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. It won the Nebula award for the best novella of 1967. His work is complex and multilayered. Central to many of his fantasy novels is the concept of an "Eternal Champion", who has potentially multiple identities across multiple dimensions. This cosmogony is called the "Multiverse" within his novels. The "Eternal Champion" is engaged in a constant struggle with not only conventional notions of good and evil, but also in the struggle for balance between law and chaos. Thus the criticism of metanarratives common in post-modern critical theory finds its expression in a form widely read and understood at a variety of levels. Moorcock's most popular works by far have been the Elric novels, starring the character Elric of Melnibone. Moorcock wrote the first Elric stories as a deliberate reversal of the cliches common in Tolkien-inspired fantasy adventure novels (which he despised). The popularity of Elric has overshadowed his many other works, though he has worked a number of the themes of the Elric stories into his other works (the "Hawkmoon" and "Corum" novels, for example). One of Moorcock's popular creations was Jerry Cornelius (another JC), a kind of hip secret agent of ambiguous sexuality; the same characters featured in each of several Cornelius books, but the individual books had little connection with one another, as another variation of the Multiverse theme. The first Jerry Cornelius book, The Final Programme was made into a feature film. Since the 1980s, Moorcock has tended to write more "respectable" mainstream novels, such as Mother London and Byzantium Endures, which have had positive reviews, but continues to revisit characters from his earlier works, like Elric, with books like The Dreamthief's Daughter or The Skrayling Tree. Although Moorcock is mostly known for the books mentioned above, he also wrote several stories which are staged on Earth in some million years at the End of Time. The strange characters inhabiting this world may seem weird at first, but Moorcock's language and storytelling manage to capture the reader after some pages. Not really fantasy (or dark fantasy, as his writing style has been called by many), these stories are an example for the mastery with which the author handles science fiction, fantasy and classical fiction. He has also collaborated with the British rock band Hawkwind on many occasions: the Hawkwind track "The Black Corridor", for example, included verbatim quotes from Moorcock's novel of the same name, and he also worked with the band on their album Warrior on the Edge of Time. An album The New Worlds Fair by "Michael Moorcock and the Deep Fix" was released in 1975, which included a number of Hawkwind regulars in the credits. ("The Deep Fix" was the title story of an obscure collection of short stories by "James Colvin" published in the 1960s). Moorcock wrote the lyrics to three album tracks by the American band Blue Öyster Cult: "Black Blade", referring to the sword Stormbringer in the Elric books, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars", showing us Elric's emotions at a critical point of his story (this song may also refer to the "Warriors at the Edge of Time", which figure heavily in Moorcock's novels about John Daker; at one point his novel "The Dragon in the Sword" they call themselves the "veterans of a thousand psychic wars"), and "The Great Sun Jester", another story from the Elric saga. Moorcock has even performed live with BÖC (in 1987 at the Atlanta, GA Dragon Con Convention) and Hawkwind. Moorcock is a fervent supporter of the works of Mervyn Peake, and an almost equally fervent detractor of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. He has met and said that he liked Tolkien well enough. Some critics have accused him of condemning Tolkien for not writing like Peake, which if true would be like condemning apples for not being oranges. Moorcock's essay "Epic Pooh" (see External links below) famously compares The Lord of the Rings with Winnie the Pooh, and criticises it for its Merry England point of view. In 1997, Moorcock was one of the guests of honor at the Worldcon in San Antonio, Texas. In the 1990s, Moorcock moved to Texas in the United States. In 2004, he announced plans to move back to Europe, probably settling in France. Recommended books Behold the Man The Black Corridor Constant Fire Dancers at the End of Time Gloriana King of the City Mother London My Experiences in the Third World War The Between the Wars sequence: Byzantium Endures The Laughter of Carthage Jerusalem Commands The Vengeance of Rome (forthcoming) The Elric sequence and other Eternal Champion books The Jerry Cornelius quartet of novels and shorter fiction: The Final Programme A Cure for Cancer The English Assassin The Condition of Muzak Firing the Cathedral (novella) The Von Bek sequence: The War Hound and the World's Pain The City in the Autumn Stars The Brothel in Rosenstrasse External links Moorcock's Weekly Miscellany (formerly Multiverse.org) ISFDB Bibliography for Michael Moorcock Epic Pooh, by Michael Moorcock Fantastic Metropolis, co-edited by Michael Moorcock Corporate Mofo interview FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. 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