Voted by the London Times as one of the best writers since 1945, Michael Moorcock was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize and won the Guardian Fiction Prize. He has won almost all the major Science Fiction, Fantasy, and lifetime achievement awards including the "Howie," the Prix Utopiales and the Stoker. Best known for his rule-breaking SF and Fantasy, including the classic Elric and Hawkmoon series, he is also the author of several graphic novels.
Now, in London Peculiar and Other Nonfiction, Michael Moorcock personally selects the best of his published, unpublished, and uncensored essays, articles, reviews, and opinions covering a wide range of subjects: books, films, politics, reminiscences of old friends, and attacks on new foes. Drawn from over fifty years of writing, including his most recent work from the pages of the Los Angeles Times, and the Guardian, along with obscure and now unobtainable sources, the pieces in London Peculiar and Other Nonfiction showcase Moorcock at his acerbic best. They include:
- "London Peculiar," an impassioned statement of Moorcock's memories of wartime London. The architectural "improvements" wrought by the rebuilding of the city after World War Two brought cultural changes as well, many to the detriment of the city's inhabitants.
- Review of R. Crumb's Genesis, previously unavailable in English, this lengthy review of the underground comic artist's retelling of the first book of the Bible leads Moorcock to address nostalgia for the sixties.
- "A Child's Christmas in the Blitz"--An autobiographical recounting of Moorcock's childhood in wartime London, with memories of the freedom and hardships he encountered during the bombings, and the happy times he spent with his parents.
These, along with dozens more, make this a collection Moorcock fans won't want to miss, and the perfect introduction for new readers who will soon discover why Alan Moore (Watchmen) says: "Moorcock seizes the 21st century bull by its horns and wrestles it into submission with a Texan rodeo confidence."
Industry Reviews
"Moorcock is elegant and aggressive, consistently entertaining, and frequently wise and generous."--Lewis Jones, "The Spectator (UK) "on" Media Web" "Moorcock's writing is top-notch." --"Publishers Weekly" "The first full sampling of Moorcock's most important and imperishable musings on subjects both vast and various: movies and music, science and politics, the old days at New Worlds, from Philip K. Dick to R. Crumb, classics from Huxley to Pynchon, and tasty tidbits from the Tea Party to Texas barbecue. Gleaned from a full half century of opinion and outcry, "London Peculiar" is the work of a man of letters in the grand tradition of Orwell and Dr. Johnson. It's Old School and it's all you need to know about Tomorrow." "--"Terry Bisson, Hugo and Nebula award-winning novelist "The variety on display in "London Peculiar" reflects several core strengths: curiosity, passion, a need to understand the past, a compulsion to spin entertaining yarns, and a restless intellect always engaged in sharp and insightful analysis." --www.omnivoracious.com Moorcock's reviews and critical essays seem to me exemplary. They are never routine, never obligatory, never tired. They seem to me to be models of what a creative writer should do when producing critical prose. His writing here is always a conversation, never a monologue . . . we feel lucky to be listening in. ""Alan Wall, author, "The School of Night"" "A prime selection of Moorcock's articles, reviews and opinions selected by the man himself. Moorcock writes with fondness and verve about his home city, his life as a writer, and about literature and culture." --www.SFSignal.com "It's invaluable for the Moorcock enthusiast, but even a newcomer will find a lot to enjoy here. Like a map or a guidebook, it's filled with irresistible routes and destinations, from London to Melnibone to Mars and beyond. And you'll want to follow, whether you've traveled those paths before or are lucky enough to be visiting them for the first time." --www.tor.com "Moorcock's prose is as limpid and fluid as a mountain stream, carrying the reader along effortlessly, while still achieving poetic effects that a lesser writer would strain for with pyrotechnics. In all cases, his voice rings out with sincerity, forcefulness, authority and passion." --www.LocusMag.com "Moorcock's charming curmudgeonliness makes this collection a true pleasure, balancing scathing wit with flashes of nostalgia and melancholy." --www.PublishersWeekly.com (May 8, 2012) "At a moment when so many of us have lost faith in our country and our ourselves, it's nice to have a science fiction writer from the UK remind us that a better world is still possible and ours to make." --www.lit.newcity.com "It's a privilege to have such a collection of humanistic and touching articles between the covers of one book." --West End Extra (March 9, 2012) "Moorcock's reviews and critical essays seem to me exemplary. They are never routine, never obligatory, never tired. They seem to me to be models of what a creative writer should do when producing critical prose. His writing here is always a conversation, never a monologue . . . we feel lucky to be listening in." --Alan Wall, author, The School of Night "Whether he is describing the bleakness of 50s London ('all my girlfriends wore black and thought a lot about suicide') or the 'smugness' and conformity of modern London ('I like my classes mixed'), Moorcock writes with genuine love for the city." --Guardian (April 11, 2012)
