Michael John Moorcock - Revenge of the Rose, The - 7

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Revenge of the Rose, The /Elric Saga I, the /8

This is the most ambitious Elric book I have read to date, and one of the more uneven.

The best thing about the book is the strikingly imaginative world building. The Gypsy Nation has got to be one of Moorcock’s most memorable settings, but the Heavy Sea and the Three Sisters’ realm also are intriguing, and I loved the conception of Arioch’s perpetual motion prison for his rival chaos lord Mashabak. Characterization of the supporting characters is also quite a bit stronger than other Elric books: Gaynor is an intriguing character who goes from enemy to ally and back to enemy; Rose is shrewd, tough, and many layered, the first female character we have come across in Elric’s universe who has significant depth; the Phatt family, Khorghakh the giant toad, and Esbern Snare all add considerably to the story.

The book is at its weakest when Moorcock tries to be literate. The experimental prose sections, where he switches from past tense to italicized present tense, detract considerably from the flow of the prose. The constantly recited poetry of Wheldrake, the itinerate, multiverse-traveling British poet, was pedestrian. And while Elric’s metaphysical musings are clearly carrying the series storyline towards closure, they slow the pace of the narrative. Let’s face it, if you’re looking for philosophy you would be reading Kant or Plato, not Moorcock.

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