The Runestaff - Book Review

The continuation of Hawkmoon and his trevails in "The Runstaff" [Michael Moorcock/Tor/208pgs] point to a more structural nature on the focus of his destiny. While this creates some interesting battle aspects, the initial abstract nature of the previous story in terms of who these men are is a little less volatile though much more linear. After defeating loads of vicious pirates at the end of the previous novel, Hawkmoon simply wants to return home to his people and wife having been transported away unwillingly. The notion of time though is played with so he might be eons before (though not likely because of the technology) but in more specified idealism, a parallel universe. However, because of the chess players above, his return seems much more unlikely. A wall of storms that keeps him from reaching their destination instead forces Hawkmoon and his trusted kinsman to go off on their own which plays as much to "The Odyssey" as anything else. The man they meet on an island is so chill he could almost be Jack Sparrow but in working with the gods, there is always mysticism in the air. Our heroes are led to a magical city where the spirit of The Runestaff (in human form) selects it master. In a lapse in strategy, the circumspect power of evil takes innocence by surprise. Hawkmoon calls upon the power of the dead army and defeats his attackers but the lack of logic in the set up defies a sense of intelligence. Eventually Hawkmoon is able to return home, and in similar fashion to the end of "Return Of The King", he must battle against insurmountable odds while losing some of those close to him. Meanwhile his enemy is having internal power struggles only enhanced by a secret love triangle involving his wanton kinsman who eventually becomes somewhat of a martyr. The eventual return to what they consider reality to a flattened kingdom, which has been burned to the ground, seemingly negates the purpose. Like gladiators, the intention here points to the thrill of the hunt, the politics of sex and the glaring naivete of innocence but seems to eliminate the less melodramatic elements of emotional perspective. "The Runstaff" realizes its world and creates its mythos but, unlike the previous novel in the series, does it in a more formulaic progression. Out of 5, I give it a 2.