The Jewel in the Skull

The Jewel in the Skull, Michael Moorcock, Lancer Books, 1967

First of a series, this fantasy story is about Count Brass, a man who runs the small kingdom of Kamarg, in what we know as southern France. He wants to spend his remaining years in peace and serenity, so he has no interest in allying with anyone, against anyone. Kamarg is also the last holdout against the forces of Granbretan, the Dark Empire, who have been uniting the many warring factions in Europe.

Baron Meliadus, the right-hand man to the Granbretan king, pays a visit to talk alliance between Kamarg and Granbretan. Count Brass is not interested. Meliadus is infatuated with Brass's daughter, Yisselda, and attempts to kidnap her. It doesn't work, and Meliadus is thrown out of the castle.

Back in Granbretan, Meliadus decides to send someone else to kidnap Yisselda. Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Koln, is a recent loser against Granbretan, and has been held prisoner for a while. Promised his lands and title if he succeeds, his loyalty is assured by a black jewel implanted in his forehead. It will let Granbretan see everything Hawkmoon sees, and it can be used to destroy Hawkmoon's mind, if necessary.

The people of Castle Brass are able to temporarily neutralize the black jewel, rendering it useless to Granbretan. A large force is sent from Granbretan, to take care of Hawkmoon and Castle Brass, once and for all. Even with a 20 to 1 advantage, a combination of Hawkmoon's military knowledge and several high-tech weapons stationed around the castle leads to a huge defeat for Granbretan.

The neutralizing of the black jewel will not last forever, so Hawkmoon undertakes a journey far to the southeast (approximately present-day Iran) to find Malagigi, the only person with enough sorcery to permanently neutralize the jewel. When he arrives, Hawkmoon finds himself in the middle of a civil war brought about by an attack from Granbretan and Meliadus.

This one is really good. It has plenty of action. Moorcock is a veteran in the fantasy field, so he very much knows what he is doing. For Conan fans looking for something else to read, look here. It is well worth reading.

Lunching With the Antichrist

Lunching With the Antichrist, Michael Moorcock, Mark Ziesing Books, 1995

This is a related group of stories about the Von Bek family, and its various branches. They are a family who seem to move very easily between the realms of the normal and everyday to the strange and fantastic. The Von Bek's seem to have done it all, including standing at the gates of Heaven and Hell. These tales, which span the twentieth century, are about people looking for some kind of fulfillment in their lives, a Holy Grail.

A roadie drives around late 1960s England with a reincarnated Jimi Hendrix, who is not yet ready to reveal himself in public. Another story involves North Africa and a piece of human skin sent through the mail with a full color tattoo of a Tarot card, the Wheel of Fortune, on it. In Depression-era London, the vicar of a shabby parish suddenly becomes an urgent orator and proselytizer. Saying things of which the Church does not approve, he is branded the Clapham Antichrist. He becomes a sort of traveling preacher after being defrocked as a priest, and, after the war becomes a regular on TV intellectual shows, after which he disappears from public life.

In present-day Aswan, Egypt, a man goes to rescue his archaeologist sister, whose letters home got increasingly strange. Depending on who he talks to, she has become either a junior Mother Teresa or member of a UFO cult. The truth is actually much more fantastic.

These are first-rate contemporary stories with just enough weird in them, and they are well worth the reader's time.