Count Brass, by Michael Moorcock
Book Review by S C Bryce
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Michael Moorcock's hero, Dorian Hawkmoon, continues his adventures in Count Brass, book 1 of "The Chronicles of Castle Brass." Five years have passed since the conclusion of "The History of the Runestaff" and the bloody Battle of Londra. Rather than return to his homeland of Koln where he is the last of the ruling line, Dorian Hawkmoon rules the Kamarg with his wife (Count Brass's daughter), Yisselda. Together with their two children, they restore beauty and peace to the Kamarg.
Rumors that Count Brass's ghost has appeared in the swamps of the Kamarg undermine Hawkmoon's reputation, for the ghost claims that Hawkmoon betrayed the old count at the Battle of Londra. Disturbed and convinced that the ghost is a cruel fabrication, Hawkmoon confronts the ghost, who tells him that he has returned in order to slay the traitorous Hawkmoon.
At the same time, Hawkmoon receives word from Queen Flana of Granbretan that old adherents to the beast orders have formed an underground movement. When he learns that the ghosts of other slain comrades have returned as well, Hawkmoon believes that the ghosts determined to kill him are connected with the resurgence of the beast orders. Has some Dark Empire scientist captured the souls of his comrades and turned them against him?
Thus, Hawkmoon learns that not all his old Dark Empire enemies died as he believed. He retraces many of his steps from "The History of the Runestaff," determined to convince the ghosts of his true friendship and to discover who from his past escaped the downfall of the Dark Empire. The only way to accomplish this, it seems, is to follow his enemies through time and dimensions.
Hawkmoon is more like the protagonist of "The History of the Runestaff" here than he is in any of the following books. He remains strong, practical, and decisive. However, the type of story deviates greatly from the first series. Absent in the first series is the philosophizing over time, space, the multiverse, and fate, which creep into the Hawkmoon story for the first time. Still, Count Brass both begins and ends with a jolt. Fans of Moorcock will appreciate the book, but because of its otherwise limited appeal, I rate it a 6.
Rumors that Count Brass's ghost has appeared in the swamps of the Kamarg undermine Hawkmoon's reputation, for the ghost claims that Hawkmoon betrayed the old count at the Battle of Londra. Disturbed and convinced that the ghost is a cruel fabrication, Hawkmoon confronts the ghost, who tells him that he has returned in order to slay the traitorous Hawkmoon.
At the same time, Hawkmoon receives word from Queen Flana of Granbretan that old adherents to the beast orders have formed an underground movement. When he learns that the ghosts of other slain comrades have returned as well, Hawkmoon believes that the ghosts determined to kill him are connected with the resurgence of the beast orders. Has some Dark Empire scientist captured the souls of his comrades and turned them against him?
Thus, Hawkmoon learns that not all his old Dark Empire enemies died as he believed. He retraces many of his steps from "The History of the Runestaff," determined to convince the ghosts of his true friendship and to discover who from his past escaped the downfall of the Dark Empire. The only way to accomplish this, it seems, is to follow his enemies through time and dimensions.
Hawkmoon is more like the protagonist of "The History of the Runestaff" here than he is in any of the following books. He remains strong, practical, and decisive. However, the type of story deviates greatly from the first series. Absent in the first series is the philosophizing over time, space, the multiverse, and fate, which creep into the Hawkmoon story for the first time. Still, Count Brass both begins and ends with a jolt. Fans of Moorcock will appreciate the book, but because of its otherwise limited appeal, I rate it a 6.
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