''The Final Programme'' is a novel by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

science fiction and fantasy writer

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...

. Written in 1965 as the

underground culture Underground culture, or simply underground, is a term to describe various alternative cultures which either consider themselves different from the mainstream of society and culture, or are considered so by others. The word "underground" is used ...

was beginning to emerge, it was not published for several years. Moorcock has stated that publishers at the time considered it was "too freaky". It was the first of his

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 ...

series of novels and stories and was originally published in paperback in the US by

Avon Books Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reach ...

in 1968 then in London in hardback by

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

in October 1969. It was made into a 1973 film of the same name (directed by

Robert Fuest Robert Fuest (30 September 1927 – 21 March 2012) was an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres. Biography Born in London, Fuest served his national ser ...

), but Moorcock was critical of the version released on the screen."The Final Programme + Q&A with Michael Moorcock"
BFI. Set in a world less abstract and chaotic than depicted in the later volumes, it introduces Jerry Cornelius as a hip super agent playboy and follows his adventures as he attempts to subvert a plot by his disreputable brother Frank and

Miss Brunner Miss Brunner is a fictional character in Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius stories, and also appears in stories by other authors including M. John Harrison and Brian Aldiss. Unlike Cornelius and Una Persson, she is depicted as an authoritarian fig ...

to build a super computer for nefarious ends. Jerry is sucked into the plans of Miss Brunner to create the perfect being by merging the bodies of Jerry and herself together. When this is done, a radiantly charismatic hermaphroditic being emerges from the machinery. All who see the new creature fall quaking to their knees. As things turn out, Jerry discovers that "it's a tasty world". Contrary to the apparent chaos of the later Cornelius novels, ''The Final Programme'' is quite structured, being an alternative retelling of major episodes of the saga of

Elric of Melniboné Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VII ...

, with the various characters each taking roles similar to those of the earlier stories: Jerry as Elric, Catherine as Cymoril, and Miss Brunner as

Stormbringer Stormbringer is a magic sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. It is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes, created by the forces of Chaos with its own will. It is wielded by the doo ...

. The first US edition (1968) of this work was censored.''Modern Times 2.0''
(2011), by Michael Moorcock, p. 116. The 1976 US edition of ''The Final Programme'' included an introduction by

Norman Spinrad Norman Richard Spinrad (born September 15, 1940) is an American science fiction author, essayist, and critic. His fiction has won the Prix Apollo and been nominated for numerous awards, including the Hugo Award and multiple Nebula Awards. Pe ...

. The novel was first published in its revised form in 1979.

Notes

References

* Novels by Michael Moorcock 1968 British novels 1968 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Novels about intersex British novels adapted into films British LGBT novels Avon (publisher) books {{1960s-sf-novel-stub