New Gloriana

[GreatOldOne]

Mike,
I was curious that the new edition of Gloriana has reinstated the "rape" chapter (albeit with the revision included as a "bonus extra").
Why that way round (that is, rather than have the controversial original as the alternative)?

[Michael Moorcock]

This edition, by including both scenes and an afterword, emphasises my desire for the book not to constitute any sort of excuse for the act of rape. Having already had examples of people using Elric as an excuse for acts of violence (inc. rape) it's something which concerns me a lot.
However, I think I've probably done the best thing by keeping the integrity of the original book while emphasising that I'm not suggesting rape does anyone any good.

[Marca]

I think you'd have to be pretty strange to use Elric as an excuse for acts of violence if you don't mind me saying so. That said I can understand the desire to put in context things that could be misinterpreted.

[Michael Moorcock]

Absolutely, but, like Sartre, I believe one has to take responsibility for one's actions and writing a book is an action. This isn't a fashionable idea amongst relativist libs, though... I don't blame myself for what a loony does in the name of one of my characters, but I can try to write books or publish them in such a way as to minimise the number of loonies involved! :)

[Priapus]

Amazing the effects in popular culture your novels have had. That someone would blame a menacing albino with a soul sucking sword in a court room?

Still, this seem like the right place to mention that war cries by US soldiers have switched in the latest two Iraqi wars from "Remember the Alamo","Remember the Pearl Harbour", "Remember 9/11" or even "Lafayette, we have come". No, some of our troops have been heard to shout "Arioch, Arioch, Blood and Souls for my Lord Aroich".

[Mikey_C]

some of our troops have been heard to shout "Arioch, Arioch, Blood and Souls for my Lord Aroich".

The inability to distinguish fact from fiction is actually quite terrifying. What sad little apes we are ...

[Priapus]

:? This ape has puzzled over the popular mass delusion about a Osama/Saddam connection. I think it unlikely that my de-evolution should go so far that I start to loathe middle-easterners.

:) Anyway, I just picked up a good clean paperback copy of Glorianna from Avon around 1979 I think. Haven't read it yet. I think I would prefer the original ending just because I love the endings to Mike's books and don't care much for censorship. Whatever version the author thinks is best is the one I want to read.

[Governor of Rowe Island]

Would it be possible to clarify which edition of Gloriana we are talking about here? This is an edition of it I was unaware of, so the name of the publisher would be much appreciated.
I already have copies of the original and revised versions, and the thought of one which explains the reasons for the change alongside the text is mouthwatering.

[Priapus]

I seen the new edition the other day at a Barnes/Noble.

[Michael Moorcock]

This is the new Warner Books edition. Trade paperback. Very nice, I think. It seems to be picking up some decent reviews on the net so far.




Gloriana, or The Unfulfull'd Queen

Aspect's special edition release of Michael Moorcock's controversial masterpiece is grabbing hold on the web!







SwordsEdge.net

"This is a novel that any reader can enjoy...The unfortunate truth is that the widespread prejudice against fantasy and science fiction will limit the number of readers who delve into this work. It's unfortunate because I think this is a literary treasure at a time when literary too often means obscure."

http://www.swordsedge.net/Issue19/ReviewGloriana.html



The Romance Readers Connection

"Fantasy readers should be eager to lose themselves in the cadence and rhythm of the language..."

http://www.theromancereadersconnecti...chael1904.html



CompulsiveReader.com

"...one hell of good yarn..."

http://www.compulsivereader.com/html...rticle&sid=769



Bookloons.com

"A marvellous construct..."

http://www.bookloons.com/cgi-bin/Review.ASP?bookid=3430



AllSciFi.com

"...fans of erotic fantasy filled with plenty of intrigue will feel fulfilled with this tale."

http://www.allscifi.com/Topics/Info_27099.asp

[Anonymous]

No, some of our troops have been heard to shout "Arioch, Arioch, Blood and Souls for my Lord Aroich".

The inability to distinguish fact from fiction is actually quite terrifying. What sad little apes we are ...

Nothing sad about it mate. No, more than likely these soldiers can distinguish fact from fiction, and are just using that as a battlecry because it's far better and far cooler than the other alternatives mentioned... If that actually did happen then that's one of the funniest things I've heard in a good while. At the least, you can't fault them for their tastes, can you? Hopefully they'll conquer the whole of the Middle East in the names of the Dukes of Hell!!!

[Poetgrrl]

interesting. You don't suppose they were fighting for the the King of Ellasar in the book of Daniel? nah. must have been a lord of Chaos. *shrugs*

[Michael Moorcock]

Nobody seems familiar with the accounts of troops who treat their actions in Iraq like video games ? I read an American account (probably in the New Statesman or Spectator) which was chilling, describing how these soldiers (and they were a specific group) took pleasure in killing, treated all civilians (women and children included) as 'targets' and relished every moment of what they were doing. Yet apparently if we object to this sort of activity being done in our name, we are unpatriotic or anti-American and so forth. This has little to do with the notion of soldiering we generally receive and if it is happening we are dealing with a specific culture within the armed forces which any decent soldier would wish to eradicate. The piece I read seemed informed and serious. It would seem that this is an issue we should address, since far from 'liberating' people in the Middle East, such soldiers are creating an enormous amount of support for the likes of Al Quaida. There are many reasons, not simply humanitarian, for ensuring that soldiers do not cry 'Arioch!
Arioch!' etc. when engaged in battle. It reminds me that the US army is the only modern army which still uses Prussian training methods...
But without instilling Prussian discipline, it seems.

[Kitsune]

If this is true, it's a major failing of the military. I've always heard that one of the good things about militiary service is that it instills a sence of being part of something greater than oneself. At least the guy who changed his to Optimus Prime was refering to a fictional character who tries to minimize casualties. Was there any idication of how widespread this kind of behavior was?

[Whiskers]

Doom was a video game in the late 90's. It's a 3-D perspective shooting game. Eventually the Army took to training some soldiers with games. There was even a mod called Marine Doom. Some quick research seems to put a light on the American Military as trying to use video games on youths to integrate them into the military in a very chilling manner. Here are some articles:

Gaming With Troops
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/s...ke_031212.html

The U.S. Army is one lean, mean and increasingly high-tech fighting machine. And to help today's youth experience — and hopefully attract them to — life in the 21st century military, the Army has turned to video games.

U.S. Army Distributes Operations PC Game Discs
http://wire.ign.com/articles/373/373...html?fromint=1

"The enthusiastic response to America's Army over the past four months by young people and the public tells us that we are both educating and entertaining game players with information about our nation's Army, its core values and the opportunities our Army offers for personal and professional success," said John McLaurin, executive agent for the project and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Military Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

Spot On: The US Army's There-based simulation
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04...s_6093860.html

GS: Meaning you won’t have as many non-playable characters since you’re only dealing with real people...

MM: Exactly. So we were free to worry about other issues, like how to get military people together from all over the world to play this. In one sense it’s a game environment, and in the another sense it’s a collaboration environment. We built downtown Baghdad in this environment. It’s being well received, [but] it’s very different from the commercial environments that There has.

There is no doubt in my mind that some people are playing video games in the field.