A review by ketutar
The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock

1.0

Moorcock and his eternal champion... it is funny... I think of all those people who believe in reincarnation and that they were some princess or priestess or another important grand person in their previous lives. I'm sure there are dozens of Cleopatras incarnated today :-D
So Moorcock did basically the same thing. His Eternal Champion is Roland, Ulysses, even Doctor Who :-D
Now, his Eternal Champion, his garystu, is an a-hole. He is supposed to be a socialist and humanitaria, who appreciates peace and beauty and all that, but... I just finished Keith Richards' Life and when Keith Richards is more noble than your garystu who is supposed the be a champion of nobleness and manliness, there's something seriously wrong with your garystu.

SPOILERS

Moorcock's garystu is prejudiced, pompous, stupid and fickle. After 1/3 of the book he had given his word, he had sworn, he had made an oath, to protect and defend the mankind, to the king who summoned him, to the king's daughter he said he loved, purely and true, to the king's general who suspected him being fake, and then he turns around and slaughters the whole humankind because he fell in love with another woman. Who was prettier than the first one. *sigh*

"The back of the horse jogged beneath me."
What?

And the "best" part:

'But, lolinda, I love you. You alone.'

'I do not believe you, Erekosë.'

What is it in me that I became what I became then. It was the moment that I gave an oath that was to affect all our destinies. Why, as my love for her began to fade and I saw her as a selfish, grasping fool, did I protest a greater love for her?

I do not know. I only know that that is what I did.

'I love you more than life, lolinda!' I said. 'I would do anything for you!'

'I do not believe you!'

'I do. I will prove it!' I cried in agony.

She turned. There was pain and reproach in her eyes. There was a bitterness that went so deep it had no bottom. There was anger and there was revenge.

'How will you prove it, Erekosë?' she said softly.

'I swear I shall kill all the Eldren.'

'All?'

'Every single Eldren life. You will spare none?'

'None! None! I want it to be over. And the only way I can finish it is to kill them all. Then it will be over-only then!'

'Including Prince Arjavh and his sister?'

'Including them!'

'You swear this? You swear it?'

'I swear it. And when the last Eldren dies. When the whole world is ours, then I will bring it to you and we shall be married.'

She nodded. 'Very well, Erekosë. I will see you later.' She glided swiftly from the room.


This is supposed to be this honorable, noble, manly man, eternal champion.
So, he's an oath breaker because he throws his oaths right and left. *sigh*

I really dislike Erekosë, and considering that Michael Moorcock said that "when a writer writes a lot he realizes that all his heroes are the same person"... so all his heroes are this overemotional, whiny, childish, stupid, pretentious little shit.
This reading challenge just got a lot more challenging :-D (The only reason I read this book is because part of Anorak's Almanac reading challenge is to read five books by Michael Moorcock. Ve, o ve! Woe be me. :-D)