Worlds beyond the world Book

This is a hard book to rate. It's a choppy read, and for good reason. Basically it's a collection of essays, necessary essays I would argue, on Fantasy literature. Moorcock, as sure a guide as you can find, is also strong in this opinions. If you're a big fan of Lord of the Rings, you may not want to read this book. Moorcock has problems with Tolkien, which are captured best in this quote:

Writers like Tolkien take you to the Abyss and point out the excellent tea-garden at the bottom, showing you the steps carved into the cliff and reminding you to be a bit careful because the hand-rails are a trifle shaky as you go down; they haven't got the approval yet to put a new one in. (pg. 129)

There are specific criticisms of Lord of the Rings, but that "be a bit careful" line scored with me. Have you ever noticed how no one who really matters or who you care about in Lord of the Rings, ever dies? I'm not pushing for a body count, but if you read some of the older sagas and such that Tolkien used as source material, you know that major characters die like flies in those books. In counterpoint, a modern example that Moorcock is very high on (as am I), is Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword, which has more tragedy and action in its few hundred pages than The Lord of the Rings has in its thousand plus. In fairness to Tolkien however, there is no analysis of The Silmarillon, a work I feel does have the epic sweep - and tragedy, of the sagas of old. But I'm in a distinct minority with that sentiment.

But Moorcock's book is not just about Tolkien (he's also not a fan of Robert E. Howard or Lovecraft ). It's about what he thinks works in Fantasy, and what doesn't. He names names, at least up to a certain point. If you're looking for titles and books to read this is a good book, but one that needs to be updated every 5 or 10 years or so. I suppose we should thankful for what we do have.