The Knight of the Swords

The Corum series, Book # 1

By Michael Moorcock

ISBN: 978-1783291656

Author’s Website: http://www.multiverse.org/   

 

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

Summary

A dazzling and brilliant fantasy from one of the true giants of the genre. The first book in the legendary Corum series by Michael Moorcock!

Corum is the last survivor of the Vadhagh race and an incarnation aspect of the Eternal Champion, a being that exists in all worlds to ensure there is “Cosmic Balance”

Review

The story starts with Prince Corum Jhaelen Irsei (Corum in the Scarlet Robe) when his father sends him to pay a visit to his aunts and uncles in their different castles. Corum is a Vadhang, which means that he can live hundreds of years, acquiring knowledge and creating arts. They can also see and move through the different planes that exist in the world. The Vadhang were once in fight with the Nhadragh, a race like them, but for two hundred years there has been peace between them. Because of the peace, neither race has come across each other in all those years. This is the same reason that Vadhangs don’t take a lot of importance if they don’t see each other so much. In this same world there is a race called Mabden, which are normal men, and they have grown in number over the years.

In his journey, Corum sees Mabden torturing other Mabden, but when he gets to the first castle he only finds ruins. When traveling to the other, he encounters more villages of Mabden in poor conditions. He later learns that the Mabden have been killing the Vadhangs to extinction and the Nahadragh to the edge of extinction as slaves.

He hurries to get back home, but when he arrives there he finds the castle in flames and all of his family dead. His mother and sister were raped and his father dismembered (a thing that east and south Mabden like to do). He goes after the Mabden that did it and tries to kill them. He manages to kill a few of them, but he ends up being captured. Because he is the last Vadhang they torture him, they cut his left hand and take his right eye. To escape he manages to move to another plane where the Mabden can see him.

“The sentient may perceive and love the universe, but the universe cannot perceive and love the sentient. The universe sees no distinction between the multitude of creatures and elements which comprise it. All are equal. None is favored…”

I liked this book, this is the first book in the Corum series, and the rest of the series looks interesting. At the beginning, Corum feels a little arrogant, but as the story progresses he starts to change into a better person that is more in tune with his emotions such as love and justices.

This world is very different and is a little easy to lose track of things, but it’s very interesting and… bloody. As the story unfolds we meet different Madben and beings that help Corum in his quest. He even gets a new eye and hand.

“The Mabden had ridden out their arrogance born of ignorance and destroyed those whose arrogance was born of wisdom.”

The Corum series was first published in 1971, and this year from May until October the series would be reprinted. The books have new covers and in this one we see the new hand and eye that Corum was given.

The where some moments when the story made me feel sad and angry. Angry because of the Mabden killing two races just because they feel unworthy and jealous of the knowledge of the Vaadhang and Nahadragh; sad for all the people that died and suffered in the hands of the Glandyth.

“I need my hands and my eyes so that I may kill Glandyth and watch him perish. With only half of these, I lose half the pleasure!”

The hero in the book series of Michael Moorcock are all reincarnations of Eternal Champion, a being that exists in every world and time in the books of the author. The Eternal Champion is there to maintain cosmic balance.

If you are a fan of fantasy worlds, or if you have read series by Michael Moorcock, I recommend you to read the Knight of the Swords from the Corum series. Here a hero grows because the world makes him one and learns that there is more in life than staying inside a castle making music and art.