The Eternal Champion (omnibus)
(Click here for The Eternal Champion novel)
London: Millennium, 1992 (November 12th) hardcover and simultaneous trade-sized paperback;
part of the Tale Of The Eternal Champion (U.K.);
original prices: £14·99 (h/c), £10·99 (p/b);
iv + 530 pages;
I.S.B.N.s: 1-85798-025-5 (h/c) & 1-85798-026-3 (p/b);
cover artist: Yoshitaka Amano.
Two omnibuses, each bearing the same collective title but comprised of differing contents — see below — combined here as they both form parts of the Tale Of The Eternal Champion sequences (U.K. & U.S.). The first features a cornerstone trilogy, central to the overarching theme of Moorcock’s entire oeuvre, the Eternal Champion in various incarnations throughout the multiverse, forever fighting for one side or the other as Law and Chaos battle for control of the Cosmic Balance. The second features two novels from that trilogy plus other tales highlighting key Moorcockian themes, the concepts of a multiverse of alternative realities (infinite variations of our own universe and experience — a notion and indeed term long since embraced by modern, mainstream scientific theory) and of Tanelorn, a mysterious city of peace appearing on all planes, neutral in any conflict and offering solace to those who can find it.
(+ book-club ed.)
London: Orion, 1995 (August 7th) mass-sized paperback;
original price: £5·99;
iv + 659 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 1-85798-250-9;
contains minor textual amendments.
London: Gollancz trade-paperback, 2013 (December 12th);
part of the Michael Moorcock Collection;
edited by John Davey;
original price: £9·99;
xx + 650 pages;
includes ‘Introduction To The Michael Moorcock Collection’ by John Clute (pp. vii–xii);
also includes ‘Introduction To The Michael Moorcock Collection’ by Moorcock (pp. xiii–xviii);
I.S.B.N.: 978-0-575-09265-5;
cover artist: Mark Salwowski.
Copyright page states “Revised versions”, but should be more accurately ‘Versions contain minor textual amendments’.
First American edition: Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf hardcover, 1994 (September);
part of the Tale Of The Eternal Champion (U.S.);
not edited by John Davey (despite credit);
original price: $19·99;
xii + 484 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 1-56504-176-3;
cover artist: Tom Canty (also interior).
original price: $14·99;
I.S.B.N.: 1-56504-191-7;
with textual amendments/corrections.
Contents (first editions):-
p. iii: untitled introduction (non-fiction) by Michael Moorcock;
p. 1: The Eternal Champion (includes, on pp. 3/4, ‘Preface To The Revised Edition’);
p. 157: Phoenix In Obsidian;
p. 289: The Dragon In The Sword.
Contents (first U.S. edition):-
p. i: Half-title/copyright page;
p. ii: By The Same Author page;
p. iii: Title page;
p. iv: ‘A Ballad Of Life’ (poem) by Michael Moorcock (as by “Ernest Wheldrake”);
p. v: Contents page;
p. vi–xii: Introduction (non-fiction) by Moorcock;
p. 1: The Eternal Champion;
p. 158 (as p. 143 on contents page): The Sundered Worlds (includes, on p.
160, ‘Limbo’, a unique linking piece between The Eternal Champion and The Sundered Worlds);
p. 318 (as p. 287 on contents page): Phoenix In Obsidian;
p. 457 (as p. 409 on contents page): ‘To Rescue Tanelorn’ (as ‘To Rescue Tanelorn…’ on contents page).
Contents (2013 edition):-
p. vii: ‘Introduction To The Michael Moorcock Collection’ (non-fiction) by John Clute;
p. xiii: ‘Introduction To The Michael Moorcock Collection’ (non-fiction) by Moorcock;
p. xix: contents page;
p. 1: The Eternal Champion: A Fantastic Romance (as The Eternal Champion only, on contents page);
p. 191: Phoenix In Obsidian;
p. 351: The Dragon In The Sword.
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