''The Worm Ouroboros'' is a
heroic Heroic may mean:
*characteristic of a hero
*typical of heroic poetry or of heroic verse
*belonging to the Greek Heroic Age
*Heroic (esports), a Danish esports organization
*Heroic (horse)
Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred ra ...
high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...
novel by English writer
E. R. Eddison
Eric Rücker Eddison, CB, CMG (24 November 1882 – 18 August 1945) was an English civil servant and author, writing epic fantasy novels under the name E. R. Eddison. His notable works include ''The Worm Ouroboros'' (1922) and the Zimiamvian T ...
, first published in 1922. The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland in an imaginary world that appears mainly
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
and partly reminiscent of
Norse saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...
s. The work is slightly related to Eddison's later
Zimiamvian Trilogy
The Zimiamvian Trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by English author E. R. Eddison.
*''Mistress of Mistresses'' (1935)
*''A Fish Dinner in Memison'' (1941)
*''The Mezentian Gate'' (1958)
Some chapters in each of the novels take place on Earth ...
, and collectively they are sometimes referred to as the Zimiamvian series.
''The Worm Ouroboros'' is written largely in sixteenth-century English, a nearly unique approach among popular fantasy novels; with Eddison making use of his experience translating Norse sagas and reading
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
poetry.
Eddison also incorporated a number of actual early modern poems into the story, including
Shakespeare's 18th sonnet, all meticulously credited in an appendix.
The book was illustrated by
Keith Henderson, who also illustrated books by
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
and
W. H. Hudson
William Henry Hudson (4 August 1841 – 18 August 1922) – known in Argentina as Guillermo Enrique Hudson – was an English Argentines, Anglo-Argentine author, natural history, naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist.
Life
Hudson was the ...
.
Plot
The novel begins with a
framing story
Framing may refer to:
* Framing (construction), common carpentry work
* Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime
* Framing (social sciences)
* Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the focus ...
in which a character named Lessingham travels from Earth to
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
. Eddison's Mercury, though, is a fantasy world, with no effort made to conform to the scientific knowledge of Mercury at the time. Lessingham and the framing story are not seen again after the second chapter.
Having introduced the chief lords of Demonland—the brothers Juss, Spitfire, and Goldry Bluszco, and their cousin Brandoch Daha—the story begins in earnest with a
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
ambassador from Witchland arriving in Demonland to demand that the Demons recognize King Gorice XI of Witchland as their overlord. Juss and his brothers reply that they and all of Demonland will submit if the king (a famous wrestler) can defeat Goldry Bluszco in a wrestling match.
The match is held in the neutral territory of the Foliot Isles, and Gorice is killed. His successor (or reincarnation) Gorice XII is a
sorcerer who banishes Goldry to an enchanted mountain prison, by means of a perilous sorcery requiring the help of the devious Goblin traitor Lord Gro.
While Lord Spitfire is sent back to raise an army out of Demonland, Lord Juss and his cousin Brandoch Daha, aided by King Gaslark of Goblinland, attempt an assault on Carcë, the capital of the Witches, where they think Goldry is held. The rescue fails, the Goblins flee, and Juss and Brandoch Daha are both captured. They escape with the aid of La Fireez, the prince of Pixyland and vassal of King Gorice, who helps them at great personal cost because he owes them a debt of honor.
Juss and Brandoch Daha return home to Demonland and then start an expedition to rescue Goldry Bluszco from his terrible prison, somewhere past the mountains of Impland. Lord Spitfire again stays behind to lead Demonland's armies against an expected invasion from Witchland.
The expedition's fleet is smashed and its army destroyed. Juss and Brandoch Daha meet with three strange enchanted heroes of an earlier time, and Lord Juss is later nearly killed by a
manticore
The manticore or mantichore (Latin: ''mantichōra''; reconstructed Old Persian: ; Modern fa, مردخوار ) is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in western European medieval art as well. It has the ...
. After a year of wandering they climb the mighty peak of Koshtra Pivrarcha and then attempt the even more difficult peak of Koshtra Belorn. Before reaching the summit of Koshtra Belorn they encounter Queen Sophonisba, a royal from that area to whom the gods had granted eternal youth when her realm was laid waste by the Witches.
From Sophonisba they learn that Goldry is held in prison on the top of Zora Rach Nam, a mountain which cannot be climbed and whose peak is surrounded by unceasing flames. There is only one way to free him: they must find a
hippogriff
The hippogriff, or sometimes spelled hippogryph ( el, Ἱππόγρυπας), is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse.
It was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his ''Orlando Furioso'', at the beginning o ...
's egg, and one of them must ride the newly hatched hippogriff. Queen Sophonisba gives Lord Juss one hippogriff egg. Alas, their lone companion, the Impland native Mivarsh Faz (fearing that he will have to walk back home alone, if the Demons get the hippogriff) steals the egg and tries to use it himself, causing his death. Lord Juss and Brandoch Daha set out for home, their quest defeated for the time being. But matters are not completely hopeless, as one of Queen Sophonisba's
martlet
A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expre ...
scouts have told them of another hippogriff egg, lying at the bottom of a lake in Demonland.
Meanwhile, the armies of Witchland have attacked Demonland. Duke Corsus is the first commander of the Witchland army, and conquers part of Demonland, but is defeated by Spitfire. A new Witchland army, under the command of Lord Corinius, defeats Spitfire and captures most of Demonland. This includes Brandoch Daha's castle of Krothering, which had been watched over by his sister Lady Mevrian.
At this point, Lord Gro changes sides and helps Lady Mevrian escape from the grasp of Corinius, who wishes to marry her against her will. A few months later, Lord Juss and Brandoch Daha return and expel the Witches from Demonland.
Equipped with a new hippogriff egg, Lord Juss makes a second attempt to rescue his brother, and this time is successful. However, his forces are trapped in an inland sea by the Witchland navy; forced to engage in battle directly, they completely destroy that navy. La Fireez dies in this battle.
The Demons then sail to Carcë and face the remaining forces of Witchland in a climactic struggle. In the battle, Lord Gro is lambasted by Corund for switching sides; Gro responds by killing a Demon and is himself killed by Spitfire. Corund dies from wounds he suffers fighting with the heroes of Demonland.
His armies having failed, King Gorice attempts another terrible summoning; lacking the aid of Gro, he is unable to complete the spell and is destroyed. Duke Corsus poisons the remaining nobles of Witchland, and is killed himself by the dying Corinius.
Though triumphant, the Demon lords find that victory is bitter because there are no more enemies worthy of their heroism, no more great deeds to perform. Sophonisba, seeking to reward their heroism, prays to the gods who return the world to how it had been four years before. And so, with a blare of trumpets, an ambassador from Witchland arrives, "craving present audience" and the story starts anew.
Characters
The Demons and their allies
*Lord Juss is the chief lord of Demonland and a chief player in most of the battles in the story. He also leads two expeditions to rescue his brother Goldry Bluszco.
*Goldry Bluszco is the brother of the hero and one of the chief lords of Demonland. Bluszco has two brothers, Lord Juss and Lord Spitfire. Unlike his bachelor brothers, Bluszco was betrothed to marry Princess Armelline of Goblinland.
*Lord Spitfire is a Demon lord who spends most of the story in Demonland fighting the various Witchland invasions. His chief residence is the castle Owlswick.
*Brandoch Daha is a lord of Demonland and the greatest swordsman of the age. After Corinius sacks his castle of Krothering, Brandoch Daha swears vengeance against Corinius.
*Lady Mevrian is a great lady of Demonland and the sister of Brandoch Daha, who is left the task of defending her brother's castle of Krothering against Corinius's army. After a siege, the castle is taken and Lady Mevrian has to fend off the advances of Corinius. She is able to escape only with the aid of Heming and Cargo (Corund's sons) and Lord Gro, who betrays Witchland to help her.
*Prince La Fireez is the ruler of Pixyland. Witchland has asserted suzerainty over his land, but he is consistently a Demon ally by way of repaying Lord Juss for saving his life. He dies in a naval battle.
The Witchlanders and their allies
*Gorice is the King of Witchland, ruling from Carcë; he is said to be a single king with twelve incarnations. His eleventh incarnation, a champion wrestler, is killed in a wrestling match by Goldry Bluszco; his twelfth, a sorcerer, wears a signet ring in the shape of the
ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...
of the book's title.
*Corinius is a warrior leader of Witchland, full of life and ambition. He is an enemy of Demonland, and as warrior of some skill he commands some respect from the lords of Demonland. He is poisoned by Duke Corsus and dies right after the Demons take Carcë.
*Duke Corsus is one of the war leaders of the armies of Witchland. Duke Corsus was the chief war leader of Witchland a decade before the story begins. Corsus is wily and skillful but prone to drinking and no longer young. Right before the Demons conquer Carcë, he poisons Corinius, his wife Zenambria, his son Dekalajus, Corund's son Viglus, and Corund's son Heming. Corinius kills him when he realizes that Corsus poisoned him.
*Lord Corund is the chief war leader of the armies of Witchland. He is a noble man, a mighty warrior, and has some respect from the main characters. Corund leads the Witchland army against the Demonland expedition to Impland. He is fatally wounded by Lord Juss.
*Lord Gro is an advisor to Witchland; later he is an ally of Demonland. Gro is originally from Goblinland and was the foster-brother of King Gaslark before a falling-out. Gro is a famous explorer and wrote a book about his travels through Impland. Gro provides crucial aid to King Gorice XII of Witchland when he summons the magic which carries Goldry Bluszco away. He acts as an advisor and trusted messenger to the King regarding the campaign in Demonland. While in Demonland he meets and falls in love with Brandoch Daha's sister, the Lady Mevrian. Because of his love, he betrays the Witchland army and helps Mevrian escape from Corinius after Corinius captures her brother's castle of Krothering.
*Lady Prezmyra is the young wife of Corund and the sister of La Fireez of Pixyland. She is a close friend of Lord Gro, and poisons herself, after the death of her husband and her brother, when the Demons conquer Carcë.
The kingdoms of Mercury
The named nations and countries are:
*
Witchland
''The Worm Ouroboros'' is a Heroic fantasy, heroic high fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison, first published in 1922. The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland i ...
*
Demonland
''The Worm Ouroboros'' is a Heroic fantasy, heroic high fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison, first published in 1922. The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland i ...
* Pixyland
* Impland
* Goblinland
* The Foliot Isles
* The land
Zimiamvia (beyond the known world)
* The Ghouls, wiped out in a genocidal war a few years before the story opens
The King of Witchland claims lordship over a number of locations which are not described (page 12):
* Duke of Buteny and Estremerine
* Commander of Shulan, Thramnë, Mingos, and Permio
* Warden of the Esamocian Marches
* Duke of Trace
* King Paramount of Beshtria and Nevria
* Prince of Ar
* Great Lord over Ojedia, Maltraëny, Baltary, and Toribia
Despite the names of the nations, all the characters in the book are recognizably human and they are all the same species, or at least able to intermarry (''e.g.'', Goldry Bluszco and Princess Armelline, Lord Corund and Lady Prezmyra). Witchland, Demonland, and others appear to be country names, like England and France. When first presented, the Demons are seen to have horns on their heads, but these horns are not mentioned again, nor is it said whether the other peoples have horns.
Maps
* Gerald Hayes, a cartographer with the Royal Navy, created the first map for ''Ouroboros'' circa 1925, initially from internal evidence, and later in consultation with Eddison. He states in a letter to
C.S. Lewis
CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:
Job titles
* Chief Secretary (Hong Kong)
* Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces
* Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
that he secured Eddison's approval "as a true presentation of all the lands, seas, and countries of his history."
* Another map of the world by Bernard Morris was published in ''Twilight Zine'' No. 4 and reprinted in the book ''
An Atlas of Fantasy
''An Atlas of Fantasy'', compiled by Jeremiah Benjamin Post, was originally published in 1973 by Mirage Press and revised for a 1979 edition by Ballantine Books. The 1979 edition dropped twelve maps from the first edition and added fourteen new o ...
'' (compiled by Jeremiah Benjamin Post) in 1979.
* For another map of these lands created by J. B. Hare in 2004, se
The world of The Worm Ouroboros For a German map by Erhard Ringer se
* The map on this page was created by David Bedell in 1978.
Background
Research done by Paul Edmund Thomas (who wrote an introduction to the 1991 Dell edition) shows that Eddison started imagining the stories which would turn into ''The Worm Ouroboros'' at a very early age. An exercise book titled ''The Book of Drawings'' dated 1892 and created by Eddison is in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
. In this book are 59 drawings in pencil, captioned by the author, containing many of the heroes and villains of the later work. Some of the drawings, such as ''The murder of Gallandus by Corsus'' and ''Lord Brandoch Daha challenging Lord Corund'', depict events of ''Ouroboros''.
As might be expected, significant differences exist between the ideas of a 10-year-old boy and the work of a 40-year-old man. Perhaps the most interesting change is in Lord Gro's character. In the drawings Lord Gro is a hero of skill and courage, while in the book he is a conflicted character, never able to pick a side and stick to it. Another curious change is that Goldry Bluszco is the main hero of the drawings, but off-stage in an enchanted prison for most of the novel.
Many people (including
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
) have wondered at and criticized Eddison's curious names for his characters (e.g. La Fireez, Fax Fay Faz), places and nations. According to Thomas, the answer appears to be that these names originated in the mind of a young boy, and Eddison could not, or would not, change them thirty years later when he wrote the stories down.
Meaning of the title
![Ouroboros 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Ouroboros_1.jpg)
The title refers to
Ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...
(''
Jörmungandr
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr ( non, Jǫrmungandr, lit=the Vast gand, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent ( non, Miðgarðsormr), is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encir ...
'' in
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
), the snake or
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
that swallows its own tail and therefore has no terminus (in Old English, the word "worm" could mean a serpent or dragon).
Like the Ouroboros, the story ends at the same place as it begins, when the heroes realize that their lives have little meaning without the great conflict and wish that it could continue, and their wish is granted.
The theme of repetition pervades the work. Near the beginning and again near the end, a king of Witchland dies, Carcë is attacked, and Gorice XII carries out a conjuring in the fortress's Iron Tower. There are two quests to find and recover Goldry Bluszco. Three armies, under the influence of an enchantment, chase each other in an endless campaign until the heroes shatter the cycle on their quest.
Comparison with other works
''The Worm Ouroboros'' is often compared with
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
's ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' (which it predates by 32 years). Tolkien had known Eddison personally and had read ''The Worm Ouroboros'', and praised it in print, although in a 1957 letter he said of Eddison "I thought that, corrupted by an evil and indeed silly 'philosophy', he was coming to admire, more and more, arrogance and cruelty. Incidentally, I thought his nomenclature slipshod and often inept."
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
wrote a short preface to an anthology of Eddison's works, including ''The Worm Ouroboros'', concluding that "No writer can be said to remind us of Eddison."
In contrast to ''The Lord of the Rings'', to which
mythopoeia
Mythopoeia ( grc, , , myth-making), or mythopoesis, is a narrative genre in modern literature and film where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose, poetry, or other literary forms. This meaning of the word fo ...
is central, Eddison makes few references either to actual mythology or to an invented mythology after the fashion of the ''
Silmarillion''. One example of this is Eddison's ''ad hoc'' names for people and places versus Tolkien's invention of entire languages.
The tale's morality has also been described as uncommon in modern fantasy; in particular, it differs sharply from Tolkien's heroism of the common man in a fight against
evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
and
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
's
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
allegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
. The Demon lords hold to the Old Norse warrior ethic of loyalty and glory. The leaders of Witchland are regarded as noble and worthy opponents; in the final chapter, Goldry Bluszco compares them very favorably with the "uncivil races" of Impland.
Influence and reception
''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' critic Edwin Clark praised the novel lavishly, saying "This romance has the gaudiness and flair of the Elizabethans. It has the exuberance of great appetites and vigorous living. It transcends all ordinary life. It burns with the wonder and awe of excess." But Clark also noted that Eddison "is stylistic in the grand and heroic manner that evokes beauty and vigorous life, but it seems to us that without injury to his verbal charm or loss of beauty in his passage of atmosphere saturated with glamour of nature, he could have removed much that would quicken the action of his narration to a more attractive pace."
Reviewing a 1952 edition,
Boucher and
McComas described it as "one of the major imaginative novels of this century" and "the detailed creation of a vividly heroic alien history." They particularly commended "the resonant clangor of its prose, the tremendous impetus of its story-telling,
ndthe magnificent audacity (and sternly convincing consistency) of its fantasy concepts."
Donald Barr
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
declared that Eddison wrote "in a heroic prose made of high ceremonial gestures and tropes from the great age of metaphor and described ''The Worm'' as being "quite unique among modern novels" as "a narrative of pure event" where, with a lone exception, "we are never given the interior of a character, only the actions".
In 1963,
Avram Davidson
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
praised the novel's prose for "abound
ngin beautiful, quotable language" and its story as one of "war, witchcraft, adventure, conspiracy, violence, bloodshed, intrigue." Davidson, though, faulted Eddison's conception, saying "''Ouroboros'' is a classic, but it is not and cannot be a great classic," because it lacks "humanity"—the realistic detail of great works like the Arabian Nights, where characters "do not merely kiss and declaim and posture." However, J. Max Patrick, also reviewing the Xanadu paperback, dismissed the novel as "a pseudo-
Ossian
Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora'' (1763), and later combined under t ...
ic epic, adolescent in tone and pretentiously archaic", although commenting that "Eddison sometimes achieves the splendid prose and gorgeous artifice appropriate to his sagas."
In 1973,
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
wrote about the beauty of the language, and the consistency of the archaic style Eddison employed. She writes that one of the goals of fantasy is to create a sense of distance from the ordinary and that “The archaic manner is indeed a perfect distancer, but you have to do it perfectly. It is a high wire: one slip spoils all. The man who did it perfectly of course was Eddison... If you love language for its own sake he is irresistible."
Le Guin continues, "The prose, in spite of or because of its anachronism, is good prose: exact, clear, powerful. Visually it is precise and vivid; musically – that is, in the sound of the words, the movement of the syntax, the rhythm of the sentences – it is subtle and very strong."
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He w ...
was influenced by ''The Worm Ouroboros'' as a teenager.
Michael Swanwick
Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s.
Writing career
Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap ...
quotes from ''Ouroboros'' in ''
The Dragons of Babel
''The Dragons of Babel'' is a 2008 science fantasy novel by American author Michael Swanwick, set in the same world as his earlier work ''The Iron Dragon's Daughter'' (1993). It follows the plight of a young man named Will Le Fey after a cripple ...
''.
In 1983,
E. F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
praised ''The Worm Ouroboros'' as "still the finest heroic fantasy."
American herpetologist
Emmett Reid Dunn
Emmett Reid Dunn (November 21, 1894 in Alexandria, Virginia – February 13, 1956) was an American Herpetology, herpetologist noted for his work in Panama and for studies of salamanders in the Eastern United States.
Biography
He attended Haver ...
named a species of South American lizard ''
Morunasaurus groi
''Enyalioides groi'', known Common name, commonly as Gro's manticore, Dunn's spinytail iguana, or Dunn's spinytail lizard, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Hoplocercidae. The species is native to northwestern South America a ...
'', after the character Lord Gro.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Gro", p. 109).]
Publication history
* 1922: Original publication in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
by
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
with illustrations by Keith Henderson
* 1924: "New and Cheaper Edition",
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
(actually the remaindered copies of the first edition with an inserted
cancel page which lists the publishing details of this 'edition')
* 1926: American hardcover issued by Albert & Charles Boni
* 1952: Hardcover publication from
E. P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton was an American Publishing, book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group.
Creator
Edward Payson Dutton ( ...
, featuring illustrations by Keith Henderson and an introduction by Orville Prescott
* 1962:
Trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to:
* Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book
* Trade paperback (comics)
In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
publication in the Xanadu Fantasy Library
* 1967:
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
edition from
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
(following the success of ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
''), with several printings in different years (incorporated into the
Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of American publisher Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 (presumably in response to the growing popularity of Tolkien's works), the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature which ...
)
* 1999: Paperback reissue in Replica Books of Bridgewater, New Jersey
* 2000: A UK paperback edition in the
Fantasy Masterworks Fantasy Masterworks is a series of British paperbacks intended to comprise "some of the greatest, most original, and most influential fantasy ever written", and claimed by its publisher Millennium (an imprint of Victor Gollancz) to be "the books whi ...
series
* 2006: American trade softcover edition by Barnes & Noble, .
* 2008: A new edition by Forgotten Books and on Amazon's
Kindle
References
External links
*
The Worm Ouroborosat
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
*
*
The Worm Ouroborosat
Internet Sacred Text Archive
The Internet Sacred Text Archive (ISTA) is a Santa Cruz, California-based website dedicated to the preservation of electronic public domain religious texts.
History
The website was first opened to the public on March 9, 1999 by John Bruno Hare ...
The Works of E.R. Eddison"Where Head and Tail Meet: The Worm Ouroboros" by Ryan Harvey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worm Ouroboros, The
1922 British novels
British fantasy novels
Zimiamvia books
Novels set on Mercury (planet)
Planetary romances
High fantasy novels
1922 fantasy novels
Jonathan Cape books
Heroic fantasy