The Law of Chaos
by Jeff Gardiner is a treasure trove of stimulating ideas and insights
revolving around the writing of Michael Moorcock. In addition to more
general and overarching observations in chapters such as The Master Storyteller, Brave New Worlds, The Eternal Champion, Expanding the Multiverse, Jeff dedicates specific chapters to Jerry Cornelius, Oswald Bastable, Dancers At the End of Time, Gloriana, Col Pyat, Von Bek and London.
Additionally, both dedicated fans and those new to the great British
author will especially appreciate the inclusion of an interview and a
discussion with Michael Moorcock as well as a letter and the book's Introduction by Michael Moorcock.
As a reader fairly new to Michael Moorcock (nearly all of my reading to date has been The Cornelius Quartet, Dancers At the End of Time and Behold the Man), Jeff's book was an eyeopener.
The
question I had to ask myself: With my relatively limited background,
how best to review this well researched, well written collection of
essays? Answer: Stick with what I'm most familiar with and link my
modest comments to what exactly Jeff has to say.
So, in the
spirit of sharing a taste of what a reader will encounter, here are six
direct quotes along with my two pennies worth:
"In interviews he
often talks about his own talent for structuring novels and seeing the
outline and forms before all else, and this is possibly his greatest
strength." ----- This is quite the statement in light of Michael
Moorcock's extraordinary ability to create unforgettable characters,
vivid scenes, memorable images, dead-on metaphors and similes, along
with all the other components that go into writing fiction. And that's
not only structure, outline and form within any particular novel but the
framework and organization running across an entire series of novels
such as The Cornelius Quartet and Dancers At the End of Time.
"Through
his courageous editorial policy and his risky support of new talent,
Moorcock single-handedly created this new form of speculative fiction,
which became more concerned with man's alienation from the world,
expressed through imagery rooted in the modern world and relevant to
popular culture." ----- The key words here are courage and risk. Michael
Moorcock had his bellyful of those conventional, predictable tales of
all-American-style heroes flying their gleaming rocket ships though
outer space to conquer ugly green blobs firing zap guns.
Anybody familiar with Moorcock's editorship of New Worlds
through the 1960s and 1970s will know the author/editor proved
foundational in launching many writers, both British and American, the
likes of J.G. Ballard, Brian Aldiss, Thomas M. Disch, Samuel R. Delany,
John Brunner and M. John Harrison, in what has becomes known as New Wave
SF. Two highly innovative novels deserve a special call out: Report on Probability A by Brian Aldiss and Bug Jack Barron
by Norman Spinrad. The worlds of speculative fiction and science
fiction (and even, in many ways, literary fiction) have been permanently
impacted by the revolution propelled by Michael Moorcock and New Worlds.
"Instead
of referring to the universe, Moorcock coined the term 'multiverse' to
describe the overlapping alternative worlds and realities that his
characters inhabit....Moorcock himself defined his multiverse as a
'near-infinite nest of universes, each only marginally different from
the next...where "rogue" universes can take sideways orbits, crashing
through the dimensions and creating all kinds of disruptions in the
delicate fabric of multiversal space-time." ----- Michael Moorcock's way
of looking at and writing about the multiverse made me an instant fan. I
recall my excitement reading Behold the Man when Karl Glogauer
travels back to the time of Jesus. Likewise with Jherek Carnelian
zooming through time via the twist of a ring and Jerry Cornelius rocking
and rolling across clock and globe instantly. It's that fluidity of
space-time that makes all the difference - combinations of
here-there-everywhere intersecting with past-present-future as if
turning a rigid, flat, linear universe on its head and shaking.
For
me, what gives Michael Moorcock's multiverse even more buzz and whir is
recognizing concurrent dimensions of the cosmos are not the exclusive
domain of fantastic or speculative fiction. The Tibetan Buddhist
tradition speaks of unseen beings from a parallel dimension inhabiting
our space. For more detail, you can read Bardo Thodol (usually translated as The Tibetan Book of the Dead). Also, there are the discoveries of quantum physics: spatial realities beyond our familiar three-dimensions.
"Glogauer in Behold the Man
lives out this self-realization and offers the extreme example. This
does suggest that we create our own gods, demons and heroes; our own
hopes and despairs; our own law and chaos. Moorcock remains optimistic
and hopeful with his agnostic belief that love conquers death." -----
Again, this speaks so directly to transcending, even exploding, notions
of fixity, solidity and limitation. And since I have a specific interest
in the psychology of Carl Jung, Behold the Man holds a special appeal.
"The
Jerry Cornelius books, like many of Moorcock's novels, are postmodern
texts which, like many rock songs, satirize culture and express chaos
and fragmentation in an increasingly pluralistic world through pastiche,
collage, and parody. Moorcock attacks the metanarratives of religion,
politics, war and morality and replaces them with pop culture and
eclectic art forms." ----- Gotta revolution! I particularly enjoyed
Jeff's chapter on this stylish mod Eternal Champion.
"For
Moorcock, entropy equally applies to people, places and time. Entropy
represents the inevitability of death and decay, but many of his novels,
particularly the Cornelius mythos, explore how humans overcome death
and attempt to create the best quality of life from what they have."
----- I urge you to take the plunge. Pick up Jeff Gardiner's book as
your next step in overcoming entropy, Michael Moorcock-style.
British author Jeff Gardiner
Comments
Post a Comment