The E. R. Eddison "Worm Ouroboros" Thread

[Extollager]

Here's a comment on The Well of the Unicorn from Baen fantasy author Lars Walker:


.....Having read it, I can see why it's a (kind of a) classic, but also, I think, why it will probably never have a passionate following.

Fletcher Pratt, a prolific author who worked in many genres, as well as nonfiction, in the early part of the 20th Century, was a very fine author. The single thing that impressed me most about The Well of the Unicorn was the fact that he uses antique diction, but unlike most authors he actually uses it well. He very clearly understands the old words and idioms he employs, giving the whole story a flavor of authenticity.

On the other hand, that same diction can be an obstacle to the reader. I have a pretty extensive vocabulary, and I still found the prose a bit of a slog.

And it was a slog through a long book. The Well of the Unicorn is nearly 400 pages, in fairly small print. It does not fly by.

Although there's plenty of action, and a pretty good love story, the whole thing seems kind of leisurely in pace. That's an illusion. Actually a good amount of time and quite a lot of space are covered, but that slow prose bogs the reader down at every step.

The theme seems to be primarily political. In the world of the story, one which seems based on medieval Scandinavia (with Denmark omitted), a traditionally democratic people, the Dalecarles, are ruled by despotic conquerors, the Vulkings, but all under the overlordship of an Emperor. Airar Alvarson, the hero, a dispossessed smallholder with some training in magic (he comes from a farm called Trangsted, which is Norwegian for “narrow place.” Pratt's wife was a Norwegian girl from North Dakota) gets involved in a popular uprising against the Vulkings, rising to the leadership of the armies of the Dalecarles and their allies. He frets a great deal over whether a democracy can overcome the efficiency of despotism, and over the value of magic, which is forbidden by the cult of the Well of the Unicorn, to which the girl he comes to love is devoted.

Religion is treated in an interesting way. Although we're dealing with a fantasy world, there is a Church which seems, so far as the reader can tell, identical in every way to the Catholic Church of our world. Except that it's more tolerant of magic. How the Well of the Unicorn relates to the Church is hard to say.

The characters are well drawn, the story inventive and epic. Nevertheless, because of the density of the prose, I can only recommend this book to readers with a high reading level and a certain dedication.

[Extollager]

Is there interest in beginning a discussion of The Worm shortly (March)?

[Fried Egg]

I re-read it only fairly recently so I shall join in a discussion if there's one.

[Anne Lyle]

I will do my best. It's a long time since I read it, and I really should re-read it sometime soon, but March is hugely busy for me since my own (Elizabethan) book is coming out at the end of the month

[Fried Egg]

Is the discussion going to be in this thread or a new one?

[Extollager]

Discussion will be right here, I assume....

I was thinking about the adventures being set on Mercury. I like this because the idea of Mercury as the hot planet closest to the sun, speeding around it, suits the characters as being preternaturally robust, unaffected by illness, determined, etc. Mercury is also traditionally associated with verbal fluency and these characters readily speak in a high style.

[D_Davis]

After I finish The Wizards and the Warlords (which is simply brilliant) I'm going to take a break from fantasy and read some SF (The Quest of the DNA Cowboys), and then I'll be tackling the Worm.

[Fried Egg]

There seems to be a parallel discussion going on about this book on GoodReads but I'll ask the same question here that I did there:

In the brief introduction, the authors states "It is neither allegory nor fable but a story to be read for its own sake." But is there a deeper meaning underlying the surface story or should we take the author's word that there isn't and just enjoy it at face value?

[Anne Lyle]

Well, I think the ending proves him wrong. I love the ending, but it turns a normal tale of adventure into something more abstract.

[River Boy]

Think Worm is a masterpiece, largely overlooked. Have read it twice and shall do again. ER Eddison is a strange author to figure out, people do have some doubts about his sentiments but I suspect he was trying to be controversial much of the time for the sake of indulgence.

Enjoyed Mistress of Mistresses and currently reading a Fish Dinner in Memison. They do get harder to figure out the more he writes but they are still rewarding.

Not sure about the Thread Starter's claims that they've never been out of print, found Fish Dinner hard to get hold of and there's very little info to be found about Eddison's works online. Not many readers seem to be discussing his work and some of the websites that lean towards newer fantasy but have checked him out tend to be dismissive of him, as I've also found them with to be with the likes of William Morris and Lord Dunsany.

[Extollager]

Originally Posted by River Boy

Not sure about the Thread Starter's claims that they've never been out of print

Actually, I didn't say that I was sure they'd stayed in print. I think, however, that they've generally been in print in the U. S. -- which I should have specified in this international forum.

This edition of the Worm was available for years...



and there was this and this


and this
and this

and more... so I don't think it has been hard to get hold of. I think the Zimiamvian books have generally been pretty readily available too.... in the US...

[Extollager]

A few more Eddisonian covers...


The one that for many of us was the "original" follows immediately below:

[Anne Lyle]

I have the green Ballantine edition, somewhat battered and well-read. When I was an undergraduate in Bristol, there was a bookshop called Forever People that sold RPGs and lots of US import paperbacks - geek heaven!

[D_Davis]

The Worm Ouroboros is interesting so far. I like parts of, and I don't like parts of it. However, I'm sticking with it because I've never really read anything quite like it. I guess you could say I'm sticking with it out of respect for how damn influential it has been, and continues to be. I can tell that it was a huge inspiration to Tolkien, Vance, and Gygax, the three pillars of what we today consider fantastic fiction. The Worm Ouroboros is the bedrock of the genre, and should probably be seen as the point at which things transitioned from myth and fairy-tales into a genre that more resembles fantasy as we think of it today. It's even quite different than Lord Dunsany's work, although I do prefer Dunsany's prose.

[leonsdaughter]

The edition of The Worm that belonged to my father (and now to me) is copyright 1926 and I assume it was the first edition published in the US by Albert & Charles Boni, NY. It is signed by the author dated 1932. I have no idea how my father came by this copy, but it isn't inscribed to him personally, so it is possible he found a signed edition somewhere and bought it, but I do know that he was enamored of Eddison from an early age, and would have gone out of his way to have a copy signed. He loved this book so much that he read it to me out loud from beginning to end when I was in my early teens, and I am pretty sure I was awake the whole time. After that I read it myself as well, probably when I was in high school.

My father had a very close friend who was also a fan of the book. One summer day they were walking on the beach and noticed a man and his young son building a spectacular sand castle. One of them commented that it looked like the castle at Demonland. Hearing this, the builder leapt up in excitement, and the three became fast friends for the next several decades.

Likely I don't have the stamina or even the desire to read it again after all these years, but opening it to about any page reveals prose that is dazzling. And as a romantic idyll, could anyone forget the time out of time spent by the Lord Gro and the Lady Mevrian? Really there's nothing like this book. Nothing. Truth is I believe I would rather remember it just the way I do. How nice to find this thread.