''The Opium General and other stories'' by Michael Moorcock was a hardcover collection of novellas, short stories, and articles. It was published in 1984 by Harrap. It was a collection of new work and rare items.

Works in the collection

* ''

The Alchemist's Question ''The Alchemist's Question'' is a novella by British fantasy and science fiction writer Michael Moorcock. It is part of his long running Jerry Cornelius Jerry Cornelius is a fictional character created by English author Michael Moorcock. The ch ...

'' was the last

Jerry Cornelius Jerry Cornelius is a fictional character created by English author Michael Moorcock. The character is an urban adventurer and an incarnation of the author's Eternal Champion concept. Cornelius is a hipster of ambiguous and occasionally polymorphous ...

novella and was the cornerstone work of the volume. It was later reprinted in '' The Cornelius Chronicles, Volume III''

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: * Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department * Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service * Collection agency, agency to collect cash * Collectio ...

by Avon in 1987. It was reprinted in the '' A Cornelius Calendar''

omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

by Phoenix Books in 1993; an expanded edition was published by

Victor Gollancz Ltd. Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...

in 2013. * " The Opium General" was a new short story about a paranoid heroin addict who hallucinates his own dreamworld and the long-suffering girlfriend who deals with him. It was reprinted in ''The Best of Michael Moorcock'' by Tachyon Publications in 2009. * The short stories "Going to Canada", "Leaving Pasadena", and "Crossing into Cambodia" concern the adventures of a Russian political officer who is an

unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unrel ...

. It takes place in an alternate historical timeline during an apocalyptic world war in which the United States and the Soviet Union are allies.
They had earlier been collected in the anthology '' My Experiences in the Third World War'' by

Savoy Books Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

in 1980. The short story "Crossing Into Cambodia" had previously been in the anthology '' Twenty Houses of the Zodiac'' by New English Library, Ltd. (NEL) in 1979. The

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

short story "Casablanca", chronologically the first story in the series, was first published in the later anthology ''Casablanca'' by

in 1989. All four stories were published together for the first time in the omnibus anthology '' Earl Aubec and Other Stories'' by

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

in 1993;

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * ...

republished a slightly different edition in 1999. * ''Starship Stormtroopers'' was an essay critiquing right wing politics in science fiction and fantasy. Authors he discusses include Robert Heinlein,

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...

, and

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

. It had been originally published in ''Anarchist Review #4'' by

Cienfuegos press Stuart Christie (10 July 1946 – 15 August 2020) was a Scottish anarchist writer and publisher. When aged 18, Christie was arrested while carrying explosives to assassinate the Spanish caudillo, General Francisco Franco. He was later alleged ...

in 1978. * This was followed by Moorcock's book review of

Michael Malet Michael Malet (c 1632 - after 1683) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679. He was a zealous Protestant and opponent of the court and appears to have lost his reason. Malet was the son of Sir Thom ...

's historical biography of the anarchist

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...

, ''Nestor Makhno in the Russian Civil War'' algrave MacMillan (1982)
NOTE: The name "

" was a pseudonym adopted by the book's anonymous author. * ''Who'll be Next?'' was an essay critiquing censorship and hypocrisy in Thatcher's Britain. It was originally printed in ''

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...

'' (1984).

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

reviewed ''The Opium General'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #79, and stated that "two-thirds of the collection is another Jerry Cornelius black comedy, ''The Alchemist's Question'', with all the old character swapping hip non-sequiteurs as entropy bubbles over and nuclear winter seems like the logical option. You either like it or not".

Reviews

*Review by Faren Miller (1985) in '' Locus'', #288 January 1985 *Review by Andy Sawyer (1986) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #63

References

External links

''Starship Stormtroopers'' by Michael Moorcock
1984 short story collections Books by Michael Moorcock British short story collections George G. Harrap and Co. books {{1980s-novel-stub