The Spencer Inheritance clocks in as tale number eight in Michael Moorcock's The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius.
And as every Brit knows, that's Spencer as in Diana Frances Spencer who became Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Spencer Inheritance consists of thirteen short chapters where Chapter One begins:
"Leave Me Alone"
"I
mean, once or twice I've heard people say to me that you know Diana's
out to destroy the monarchy...Why would I want to destroy something that
is my children's future?"
---Diana, Princess of Wales, Television Interview, November 1995
We
quickly discover England is immersed in chaos, so much so Jer C along
with Shakey Mo Collier, Colonel Hira, Bishop Beesley and Major Nye
rumble forth in an WWI Flamefang MK IV north of a decimated London,
their mission: "to liberate their holy relics in the name of their dead
liege, who had died reluctantly at Lavender Hill." Go get 'em, gang! 
Picture
Jer & Company crammed in this WWI tank with Shaky Mo at the ready
to fire the cannon. "Those Caroline bastards will think twice before
taking their holidays in Dorset again."
The good Bishop Beesley
pontificates: "We are experiencing the influence of the world will. We
are helpless before a massive new mythology being created around us and
of which we could almost be part. This is the race-mind expressing
itself." Oh, Bishop, I hear echoes of Nietzsche in your proclamation.
Irony, anyone?
Massive new mythology? In keeping with Michael
Moorcock's literary aesthetic, we're invited to read between the lines
and fill in the gaps as co-creators of this tale. Good thing our Eternal
Champion is on the scene - although, at the moment, Jer is feeling
overly full and crapulous.
To add to the solemnity of the
occasion, a batch of September, 1997 post-Princess Di crash quotes
pepper the pages. "She brought magic into all our lives and we loved her
for it."
A chunk of Princess Di magic has England plunged in a
bloody, gutty civil war; it's the Dianistas vs. Flairites (as in Prime
Minister Toney Flair).
"You turn people into fiction you get
shocked when they die real deaths." Thus speaketh Little Trixibell
Brunner. Oh, yes, daughter and mommy Brunner pop up on the scene.
Events
move apace bringing to mind a quote from that other Spencer by the name
of Herbert: "The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of
folly is to fill the world with fools."
Of course, in any civil
war the prime question upon meeting fully armed ragtag ragamuffins is
what side are they on. Precisely the issue when the gang spots a bunch
of such. "They wore bandannas and fatigues clearly influenced by Apocalypse Now.
This made them dangerous enemies and flaky friends. Virtual Nam had
taken them over. Jerry sized them up. Those people always went for the
flashiest ordnance. He had never seen so many customized Burberrys and
pre-bloodstained Berber flak jackets."
All doubts are removed
when one of their number comes into focus: Mrs. Persson. Ah, yes, it's
gorgeous Una to add an undeniable sweetness. We need you, sweet, sweet
Una, since dastardly brother Frank eventually shows up, his puss
snarling as expected.
How will it all end? Will Prince Harry
meet the Spice Girls? Will our suite of souped up supers make it to the
Spencer family estate at Althorp? And who will become an object for
cloning sold to the likes of an American corporation, say Procter and
Gamble?
To find out answers to these burning questions and more, don't miss The Spencer Inheritance. 
British author Michael Moorcock, born 1939
Comments
Post a Comment