Dorian Hawkmoon
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''The History of the Runestaff'' is an omnibus collection of four
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
novels by
Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...
, consisting of '' The Jewel in the Skull'', '' The Mad God's Amulet'', ''
The Sword of the Dawn ''The Sword of the Dawn'' is a fantasy novel by British author Michael Moorcock, first published in 1968. The novel is the third in Moorcock's four book The History of the Runestaff ''The History of the Runestaff'' is an omnibus collection ...
'', and ''
The Runestaff ''The Runestaff'' is a novel by British author Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels ...
''. Charting the adventures of Dorian Hawkmoon, a version of the
Eternal Champion The Eternal Champion is a fictional character created by British author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his speculative fiction works. General overview Many of Moorcock's novels and short stories take place in a shared ...
, it takes place in a far-future version of Europe in which the insane rulers of the Dark Empire of Granbretan (the name given to what was once Great Britain) are engaged in conquering the continent. Written between 1967 and 1969, it is considered a classic of the genre, and has proven highly influential in shaping subsequent authors' works. A subsequent trilogy, ''The Chronicles of Castle Brass'' – consisting of ''Count Brass'', ''The Champion of Garathorm'' and ''The Quest for Tanelorn'' – expand on the original saga, both deepening its characters (which in the original stories were a bit two-dimensional) and further linking them to the Moorcockian Multiverse. Dorian, in the final pages of the third book, happens to confront (along with other champions like Erekose) the malignant entity which used to reside in Elric's ''
Stormbringer Stormbringer is a magic sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. It is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes, created by the forces of Chaos. The sword has a will of its own and it is ...
'' and which broke free at the tragic end of the albino prince's saga. The omnibus has also been published under the title ''Hawkmoon''. Gollancz released all Hawkmoon stories in both print omnibus and individual ebook form, starting in 2013. The ebooks are available via Gollancz's SF Gateway site.


Granbretan

Granbretan is a far-future version of Great Britain, ruled by the immortal King-Emperor Huon, who dwells in a fluid-filled sphere in Londra, its capital. The inhabitants of Granbretan are renowned for their cruelty, and for their practice of wearing
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
s at all times. The Granbretanian aristocracy, and the soldiers they lead, belong to the equivalent of
chivalric orders An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...
, characterised by a totemic animal. The orders have their own secret languages and their animal-masks make their members resemble bipedal beasts. The post-apocalyptic world depicted, the apocalypse being referred to as the 'Tragic Millennium', has coexisting elements of both 'Medieval' (spears, swords, horse-based transport) and more advanced technology ('flame lances' (laser weapons) and
ornithopters An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' 'bird' and ''pteron'' 'wing') is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, the ...
(flying machines powered by flapping wings)). The geopolitical situation depicted is in fact a curious reversal of that in the Second World War. The future Britain is a brutal empire, bent on the total conquest of Europe, its armies (pouring across a huge bridge spanning the Channel) overwhelming country after country and committing terrible atrocities wherever they come. Conversely, the protagonist Dorian Hawkmoon is a German (though having an English name), originally from
Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, who is exiled by Granbretan's brutal conquest of his homeland but who fights on and rallies the Europeans' resistance to the conquerors.


Gods of Granbretan

The "terrifying ancient gods of Granbretan who were said to have ruled the land before the Tragic Millennium" are based on
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
: Jhone, Jhorg, Phowl and Rhunga. Yet other gods from the "tragic millennium" are based on 20th Century
British Prime Ministers The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was ...
Chirshil, the Howling God (
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
) and Aral Vilsn, the Roaring God (
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
), Supreme God) or writers: Bjrin Adass, the Singing God (
Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...
); Jeajee Blad, the Groaning God (
J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...
); Jh'Im Slas, the Weeping God (
James Sallis James Sallis (born December 21, 1944) is an American crime writer who wrote a series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin set in New Orleans, and the 2005 novel '' Drive'', which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same nam ...
). "Aral Vilsn, the Roaring God" is the "father of Skvese (" credit squeeze") and Blansacredid (" balance of credit") the gods of Doom and Chaos", named after economic terms and political figures of the period when the books were written.


Adaptations

In 1978, Big O Publishing released an adaptation of ''The Jewel in the Skull,'' scripted and drawn by
James Cawthorn James Cawthorn (sometimes spelt Cawthorne) was born in Sheffield on 4 November 1719 and died in Tonbridge on 15 April 1761. A school master in holy orders, he was a minor English poet and imitator of Alexander Pope. Life James Cawthorn was the ...
. In 1986,
First Comics First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present (stylized as 1First Comics), known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' ...
published a 4-issue comic book adaptation of ''The Jewel in the Skull,'' written by
Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...
with art by
Rafael Kayanan Rafael Kayanan (born 1962) is a Filipino-born naturalized American comics artist and Filipino martial arts master in the Sayoc Kali system. Biography Comics Rafael Kayanan stated in a 2007 interview that he "grew up with Filipino ''Komiks'' ma ...
and
Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 8, 2000) was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. ...
. The same year, Savoy published '' The Crystal and The Amulet'' (adapted from ''The Mad God's Amulet''), with text and illustrations by Cawthorn. First Comics continued their comic book adaptations with ''The Mad God's Amulet'' (1987), written by Conway with art by Kayanan and Rico Rival, The ''Sword of the Dawn'' (1987), scripted by Roger Salick with art by Kayanan, and The Runestaff (1988), by Salick and Kayanan. in 2019,
Titan Comics Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...
published ''The Chronicles of Hawkmoon: History of the Runestaff'' ''Volume'' ''One,'' which compiled Cawthorn's ''The Jewel in the Skull'' and ''The Crystal and The Amulet.''


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:History of the Runestaff, The Fantasy novel series Novels by Michael Moorcock Michael Moorcock's Multiverse