Title: Corum – The Coming of Chaos
(The Eternal Champion Sequence: Volume 7)
Author: Michael Moorcock
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Pages: 398
Rating: 4 of 5

Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion books can serve as decent escapist SF&F when they don’t get too bogged down in preachiness and/or moping. Don’t ever expect a cheery read since themes of genocide, lost love, and divine manipulation echo across the multiverse in practically every incarnation (aspect? version? whatever…) of the Champion. This was my favorite volume in the (loosely connected) series up to this point.

Corum may now be my favorite version of the Champion. He is (maybe) the last of his race, the Vadhagh (basically decadent elves), driven by the desire for vengeance against the man who destroyed his people but swept up into conflicts spanning multiple planes (alternate worlds? dimensions? whatever…). As with other incarnations, he is a reluctant pawn of the Cosmic Balance fighting for Law against Chaos with a chaos-tainted overpowered weapon. While he goes through the usual “fighting against being manipulated” angst, he isn’t as unremittingly whiney as some of the other versions (I’m looking at you, Elric!).

Apparently Moorcock drew his inspiration from Welsh folklore and history. How close the connection is I can’t say, because the Mabinogion is still languishing on my TBR list. What I can say is that the three short novels that make up this volume are solid swords & sorcery with some trippy interdimensional stuff thrown in as Corum faces off against three increasingly powerful chaos lords. There’s none of the usual preachiness about the joys of anarcho-syndicalism (or whatever form of government Moorcock is usually on about), but the end does devolve a bit into a slightly ranty version of John Lennon’s Imagine.

Overall: enjoyable escapist dark fantasy in which Moorcock keeps his obnoxious side under control for the most part. Also, this checks a ninth book off my entry in the 2019 TBR Pile Challenge!