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Dan Schwent's Reviews > Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen
Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen
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Queen Gloriana rules Albion, an alternate reality British Empire, with the help of her Chancellor, Montfallcon, and his dirty deeds in the name of the throne. Gloriana, as the title indicates, gets no release from sex and grows increasingly distraut. Montfallcon's main henchman, Quire, doesn't like how he's being treated and finds a new patron. His goal: the toppling of Albion...
Like a lot of people, the first thing that drew me to Michael Moorcock was the Elric saga. In my old age, the Moorcock stories I like best are the ones that have little to do with Elric or the Eternal Champion cycle, like Dancers at the End of Time or the Jerry Cornelius stories. Or Gloriana.
As I said before, Gloriana can't have an orgasm no matter what. No man nor woman, ape-man nor robot sheep, nothing can make her climax. Moorcock could easily make this a porno novel but doesn't. Though it takes place in a fantasy universe, it more of a political novel than anything else, with all the court intrigue and backstabbing. The writing is different from Moorcock's other work, more like Mervyn Peake, whom the book is dedicated to. It's easy to see Peake's influence on Moorcock on this one, both in the writing and the labyrinthine halls of Gloriana's palace. Gloriana is a well-written character, as are Una, Wheldrake, Quire, Montfallon, and the rest.
Longtime Moorock readers will note that Una and Wheldrake appear in other Moorcock works as well. Moorcockian gods Arioch and Xiombarg are invoked as curse words and are regarded as old gods. As near as I can tell, those are the only references to the Eternal Champion saga.
I'd recommend this to Moorcock fans with an open mind, as well as Mervyn Peake fans, fans of decadent fantasy, and also readers who like their fantasy to have a political bend.
Like a lot of people, the first thing that drew me to Michael Moorcock was the Elric saga. In my old age, the Moorcock stories I like best are the ones that have little to do with Elric or the Eternal Champion cycle, like Dancers at the End of Time or the Jerry Cornelius stories. Or Gloriana.
As I said before, Gloriana can't have an orgasm no matter what. No man nor woman, ape-man nor robot sheep, nothing can make her climax. Moorcock could easily make this a porno novel but doesn't. Though it takes place in a fantasy universe, it more of a political novel than anything else, with all the court intrigue and backstabbing. The writing is different from Moorcock's other work, more like Mervyn Peake, whom the book is dedicated to. It's easy to see Peake's influence on Moorcock on this one, both in the writing and the labyrinthine halls of Gloriana's palace. Gloriana is a well-written character, as are Una, Wheldrake, Quire, Montfallon, and the rest.
Longtime Moorock readers will note that Una and Wheldrake appear in other Moorcock works as well. Moorcockian gods Arioch and Xiombarg are invoked as curse words and are regarded as old gods. As near as I can tell, those are the only references to the Eternal Champion saga.
I'd recommend this to Moorcock fans with an open mind, as well as Mervyn Peake fans, fans of decadent fantasy, and also readers who like their fantasy to have a political bend.
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Michael
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rated it 3 stars
May 26, 2009 07:44AM
I think that I need to reread this book someday. I probably read it at too young an age to really get a handle on it.
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Michael wrote: "I think that I need to reread this book someday. I probably read it at too young an age to really get a handle on it."It couldn't hurt to give it another shot. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it if I'd read it ten years ago.
I've got a lot of unread Moorcock on my shelf, and based on your review I might have to reach for this one first. It'll be fun to see Moorcock's take on Peakean style fantasy.
Brian wrote: "I've got a lot of unread Moorcock on my shelf, and based on your review I might have to reach for this one first. It'll be fun to see Moorcock's take on Peakean style fantasy."I noticed the Peake when I was rummaging through your books the other day. Quire reminds me of Steerpike quite a bit.
I was a huge Moorcock fan when I was younger (and apparently the only one that never read the Elric books) but I can鈥檛 remember this at all, though I remember owning it and reading it. I revisited "An Alien Heat" last year and thought it held up to my memory. I鈥檒l have to check this out again.
Billy wrote: "I was a huge Moorcock fan when I was younger (and apparently the only one that never read the Elric books) but I can鈥檛 remember this at all, though I remember owning it and reading it. I revisited..."I'm planning on re-reading An Alien Heat, along with the other two Dancers at the End of Time books once I get the unread pile taken care of.
I, too, should re-read this one.
You may be interested in this of the novel I came across recently.
Terence wrote: "You may be interested in this review of the novel I came across recently."That's a cool review. My edition had the original unsettling ending.
Thanks for the link; interesting review. I had not made the Peake connection - probably hadn't read any Peake at the time.
