What attracts women in the gigantic Wonder World of MM?

[L'Etranger]

I'd like to hear from our female members what appeals to them in the vast bandwith of Michael Moorcock's creations. A little inofficial survey, if you like. Is it individual heros or a heroine? Which one particularily? Is it the way Mike depicts alternative worlds and alternative approaches to life, in other words his philosphy, rather than heros? How do you react to violence which is an element in many of his works?
Why are there significantly fewer ladies among us regular visitors of Moorcock's Miscellany? Maybe a certain female way of setting priorities in their available daily time?
Etc. Let's hear you, I am dying to know what you think.
L'E

(And, Gentlemen here, let it flow, resist the temptation to take over with your interpretations, please! )

[Hieronymus]

My personal private ( much private ) survey said that a lot of girls love MM's Worlds.
Much more than Hyborian Age for instance.

[Michael Moorcock]

Elric's Byronic moodiness appeals to girls (in fiction, at any rate!) rather like those tortured heroes you get in romance novels. This is certainly my experience. So Elric seems the most popular, as with everyone else!

[Hieronymus]

Yes Mike, a lot of my friends ( girls I mean ) loves Elric and when I showed them the "Final Programme" ( the movie ) they fall in love with Jon Finch ( or with Jerry? )

[Michael Moorcock]

I know Jon's appeal to ladies. I was always getting girls trying to help me introduce them to Jon. Mind you, like me, he's changed a bit since then.
Did anyone recognise him in Kingdom of Heaven as the cowardly priest ?

[Hieronymus]

They loves his black painted nails in the movie
No Mike, I didn't recognise him! Oh boy! I didn't recognise Jon Finch!

[Idiot_Savant]

I typed up a reply but I got a message that I was not logged in .

Hmmm, it's rather hard to articulate exactly what I love about Mr. Moorcock's works but I shall try.
His uncluttered and fluid style, he doesn't confuse the reader with meandering thoughts, bouncing to one then back again. The way he paints a landscape allows me to feel I am standing in its midst gazing about in awe.
His female characters are strong yet feminine and are never simpering, blithering bubbleheads.
Yes, I like Elric's moody and tortured nature(there, there it'll be alright!) but I like his no holds barred, i'm not taking crap off any one attitude!
What's not to love about Stormbringer?
Also I like the fact Mr. Moorcock does not pepper his works with gratuitous bodice ripping sex scences. I find them unnecessary and downright silly.
All in all Mr.Moorcock's writtings make my little corner of the Multiverse a better place to live.

[nalpak retrac]

This reminds me of rock bands. I think Led Zeppelin and Yes were/are popular with women because the personel were in touch with/balanced with the feminine side of themselves, while bands like ELP and King Crimson had/have mostly male audiences because they are/were rather disproportionaly oriented toward their male sides.

Hmmm; but male/female balance isn't necessarily a recommendation, nor is it relevant to behaviour (Jimmy Page's whip colletion, for instance); a guy whose male and female sides are balanced can still be a rake. Indeed, remembering the 70s, I can clearly recall how some guys used their balanced Mars/Venus personas to manipulate women. (if "manipulate" isn't too strong a word).

[Michael Moorcock]

What, walnut whips was that ?

[pirate-pixie]

Why I love MM's work? well the very first page of Elric of melnibone enthralled me and I couldn't put it down. I love the way he writes it creates such amazing imagery. Then there is something about Elric that makes him so desirable, must be a womenlt instict to help the wounded. Then the intricit story's with so many colorful characters, plus I love magic! I also think Michael puts the right amount of violence and love making in his books, I totally go for the gore it's in your face and just really brings you there. Well I can go on forever about how much I adore Michael and his books, but I'll stop.

[Etive]

I don't know about the other ladies on this site, but I tend to like things e.g. bands, films e.t.c with a predominantly male fanbase so I don't think I like Moorcock books for any particularly 'female reasons'.

I have to say that Elric is not a favourite character of mine, but the Elric books contain some of my favourite scenes. I'm not a lover of heros on the whole, I usually prefer the villains or stories where it isn't so clear cut who is in the right.

I like Mike's writing style, I must admit that I often don't finish reading books because I get annoyed by something, this doesn't happen with MM.
Escapism to alternative worlds appeals to me; the end of time being a favourite and I have always been a fan of different cultures fictional or otherwise.

The sex and violence is not excessive or out of context, I don't like to read 'fluffy' or 'macho' stuff, there has got to be a balance. I am also glad to see the inclusion of homosexual characters in MM fiction.

Does this help?

[Madrigal Rose]

There are many reasons I'm drawn to MM's work. I have read only a fraction of all his books, so far. My favorite character, and series at this point, is Corum, above Hawkmoon and Elric. I'm usually looking for a happy ending, but after the white-knuckle ride of the Corum books... the ending left me awestruck. Very cool. It was in the middle of one particularly brutal battle in the Corum stories that I did find myself wondering if any other ladies got into his work. I don't usually think in those terms, and I don't even know why that came up. It all feels so real and you're a part of the scene.
Haven't read the Cornelius Chronicles, yet, and I'm stuck in the middle of Elric until I find the book I need to keep going, or wait until they're reprinted next year
Among the many things that compel me to absorb MM's work, are the complexity without verbosity, the unpredictability, the whole idea of the Multiverse, and the interlacing of the Eternal Champion and various characters' reappearance... all of which make it easy to read them again, which is a rare quality, IMHO.
Of the few other lady sci-fi readers I've known, most were into the Mists of Avalon sort of fantasy. A handful were into Asimov or McCaffrey.
Now, I have no idea why this site has relatively fewer lady visitors, but I suspect it has more to do with the genre than priorities or the nature of the Net, at least from my experience.

[voilodian ghagnasdiak]

I really enjoy the Corum chronicles also Rose. At the end of The King Of The Swords it states"This ends the third and final Book of Corum." In actuallity the series carries on into:
The Bull And The Spear
The Oak And The Ram
The Sword And The Stallion
I just didnt know whether or not you got into the Prince With The Silver Hand portion of the story? Congratulations Lady Moderator.

[Madrigal Rose]

I really enjoy the Corum chronicles also Rose. At the end of The King Of The Swords it states"This ends the third and final Book of Corum." In actuallity the series carries on into:
The Bull And The Spear
The Oak And The Ram
The Sword And The Stallion
I just didnt know whether or not you got into the Prince With The Silver Hand portion of the story? Congratulations Lady Moderator.

Actually, I have these stories in the 2 volumes: The Swords Trilogy, and The Chronicles of Corum. At the end of CoC, or The Sword and the Stallion, is where it says "This is third and final volume of the Chronicle of Corum and the Silver Hand".
I was kinda hoping for a minute there that there was more...

[xidrep]

Perhaps it is the complexity and subtlety of Moorcockania, both on the scale of the individual novels and at the level of the multiversal 'big picture', that appeals to the (lets face it) generally more subtlety-appreciating female psyche...MM's stories (particularly the less generic, later pieces and series) manage to combine narrative nuances and character depth more typical of (perhaps female-targeted) 'romances' (in literary, Bronte-esque terms, not Mills & Boon) with the imaginative sweep and 'action' of androgenic SF. That's simplistic, but may be part of his non-genderised appeal.
Or it could be that chocolate-and-vanilla flavour paper that Savoy introduced a while back?
>Oof!< (sound of Perdix matrimonially battered with torque wrench).