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This title is one of the 'Fantasy Masterworks' series published by Gollancz and Moorcock's collection is probably one of the best known (and original) of the lot.

Initially brought out in 4 separate volumes entitled 'The Jewel In The Skull', 'The Mad God's Amulet', 'The Sword Of The Dawn' and 'The Runestaff'. These were and are brilliant works of fantasy fiction, published in the 1960s when this genre was taking off.

But before this collection there was a title that really got me into fantasy fiction and the first of many, many tales of fantasy by Moorcock, namely 'Stormbringer' a work described by J.G. Ballard as one of 'powerful and sustained imagination.'

Published in 1965, the stories of Elric of Melibone were forerunners of the great 'Runestaff' series. Check these earlier stories out before you read all about Dorian Hawkmoon, the hero of the Runestaff.

Why then did Michael Moorcock choose a hero sounding like a German (Dorian Hawkmoon von Koln) and the British for villains (Count Meliadus of Kroiden)?

Moorcock, I believe, liked to kick against the Establishment of the day, so this time when the Earth had grown old, when the evil ones were in a place called Granbretan and Deau Vere was the starting point for the crossing of the Silver Bridge towards Castle Brass and Aigues Mortes, where Count Brass, Hawkmoon and the forces of good sheltered.

The great armies of the Dark Empire ravage and destroy the once peaceful city states and it is only Hawkmoon, once captured and tortured by this Dark Empire, who can save the Castle Brass and the lands beyond.

But first he must find the secret of the mysterious Runestaff and this quest will send him into the world of wonder and evil. Hence these 4 books recount Dorian Hawkmoon's mighty adventures.

Michael Moorcock wrote the books rapidly in the mid-sixties, which he recounts carries the unmistakable mark of a time when '...a perhaps naive belief that we could swiftly improve the world for everyone.'

As such they do not compare to the great literary masterpieces of Tolkien, Peake and others, but at the same time have shaped modern fantasy into what we have now, a vast array of titles by authors now well-known and many not so.

Phil Stoyle