HW: The Time Of The Hawklords

[Jon Jarrett]

On Tue, 2 May 2000, Steve P wrote:

> On Wed, 3 May 2000 05:20:28 +1000, you sent through the ether:
>
> >Hype is quite a good book actually, though it didn't exactly set me alight
> >or anything, but, thinking about it, I'm reminded of Mike Moorcock's
> >comments that Calvert ought to have stuck to music, and given up his
> >literary pretensions.
>
> On the Calvert v Moorcock feud I`m definitely on Bobs side.. however, I
> was really surprised at how badly written Hype is.. unless Bob was
> trying for a Mills & Boon style sales explosion.. in which case it
> literary genius.. :)

        I think the line goes something like: "Anyone who knows my work
will realise, that no matter how bad it seems, it's all intentional." I
wasn't really convinced of this until I heard the _Hype_ album, and then
I decided that anyone who could outperform the then chart artists at their
own game in a throwaway project between a book and a play could probably
do pretty much anything :-)

> Now, I`d say Calvert was a better songwriter than Moorcock is an
> author... <cat, pigeons.....>

        I've had the Moorcock argument with a few people and I think it
comes down to this - you can't dispute the grandeur of his imagination or
his prolific output. But it seems to me that it's only in the last
fifteen years or so that his ability with words has really caught up with
what he's imagining - the extra Elric that introduces the Rose (I forget
its name) is maybe the best of the lot, and does a much better job of
conveying Elric's internal torment than any of the `first round'.

        And then of course there's _Blood_ :-) I think it's brilliant but
I understand very little of it, which is probably the point. I do think
you'd have to be a genius to write it though. That's my pigeon put to
roost anyhow, yours,
                     Jon

--
 |  Jon Jarrett (01223 741219)         jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk   |
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