The Second Occasional LoneStarCon Science Fiction Convention and Chili Cook-off, Variously known as the 55th World Science Fiction Convention and LoneStarCon 2, the 1997 Worldcon, To be held from August 28th through September 1st, in the year 1997, in San Antonio, Texas. Michael Moorcock Guest of Honor ichael Moorcock is well-known for his heroic fantasy series, such as Elric of Melniboné, Warrior of Mars, and Hawkmoon, which featured the recurring character of the Eternal Champion. He also edited New Worlds magazine for many years, during which time he brought many "New Wave" writersincluding the likes of J.G. Ballard, Samuel R. Delany, Thomas M. Disch, John T. Sladek, and Norman Spinradto the public spotlight. He won the Best Novella Nebula award in 1967 for "Behold the Man," and the 1979 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Gloriana.   Reprinted from LoneStarCon 2's Progress Report #6 ichael Moorcock by Diana Thayer magine one enormous series of tales spread across myriad parallel worlds, spanning timeboth real and fantasticin which an immortal champion, through multiple incarnations, battles Chaos on behalf of Order. The scene shifts from modern-day London, to an Edwardian inspired far-future, to mist-shrouded lands of legend in alternate realities. The protagonist himself changes from tale to tale, a romantic Everyman whose trials and tribulations, no matter how astonishing, seem to touch our own experience. Who could write such a web of interrelated tales, and how long would such a task take? The answer to the first question is, Michael Moorcock. The answer to the second? Well, he was born in 1939, and wrote the first version of the Eternal Champion's saga at age 17. He has been writing ever since, and somehow, the whole marvelous structure of his work seems to fit together. Not only that, it keeps growing and evolving. In the introduction to the omnibus edition of The Eternal Champion (White Wolf Publishing, 1996) Michael Moorcock writes, "[This] is the 'first' book in the Eternal Champion cycle which includes eight Elric books, seven Hawkmoon books, six Corum books, three Michael Kane books, the von Bek books, the stories of Jack Karaquazian and his associates, several science fiction novels and record albums and, more or less directly, almost all my other books, where the idea is often used as metaphor. Together with the idea of the multiverse and Tanelorn, it forms the chief rationale and central symbol to my fiction. In recent years, of course, with the Cornelius books, the Oswald Bastable books, the Dancers at the End of Time and others, these ideas have also provided a kind of ironic counterpoint." So where does one start reading this prodigious body of work? Anywhere. Anywhere at all. If you like heroic fantasy, you might start with the Elric of Melniboné series, or The Warrior of Mars series, or Corum, or Hawkmoon. If your taste runs to a more modern scene, try reading the Jerry Cornelius novels. In his Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, John Clute describes Jerry Cornelius as "Elric turned inside out, an anarchic streetwise urban ragamuffin with James Bond gear", about as far from heroic fantasy as you can get. For the science fiction buff, there is The Sundered Worlds, described by some as a metaphysical space opera, in which Moorcock first introduced the concept of the "multiverse"a multitude of slightly different universes which sometimes coincide. A more studious nature might enjoy the richly textured Mother London, which is considered by many people to be Moorcock's best work. And in the delightful Gloriana; or, The Unfulfilled Queen, a sexual fable set in an Elizabethan alternate universe, Moorcock explores the Elizabethan ideal of social moderation as the perfect balance between Law and Chaos. With all the diversity in his work, Michael Moorcock must be a fascinating fellow. His style is tight, almost poetic in it's leanness. His stories are introspective, yet entertaining. The philosophical undercurrents do not intrude upon our consciousness, but are an intrinsic part of the story. In short, he is a darn good teller of tales. So if you haven't read anything by Michael Moorcock, you must have been asleep for a very long time. I suggest you jump in with both feet. Somewhere. Anywhere. Bring him your imagination and he will paint wonders on it.

Comments to maintainer: alamowebmaster@cam-info.net. Original web page design by Earl Cooley III. This publication ©1997 by LoneStarCon 2, a service mark of Austin Literary Arts Maintenance Organization (ALAMO), Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit literary, educational corporation. All rights reserved, except as otherwise noted. This page <URL:moorcock.html> last changed 08/14/97 01:15:32. Designed by a member of