Moorcock, Michael: The Metatemporal Detective
The Metatemporal Detective
Writer: Michael Moorcock
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 326 (ARC)
Disclaimer: received ARC from Pyr Books
This is going to be an odd review.
My first thought when I saw this book was SCARY COVER. Not because the cover is bad by any means, but it's the kind of cover that pretty much screams at me personally, "This book is NOT for you!"
But on the other hand, having never read any Michael Moorcock, I was kind of looking forward to it, since he's so highly praised.
Then I learned it was another volume in his Elric of Melnibone saga, and if you know one thing about me as a reader, it's that I hate reading things out of order. In this case, I don't think it's supposed to matter that I have zilch background under my belt, but it still irks me, because I know that I'm MISSING SOMETHING when reading the book.
And that damn cover kept glaring at me, and I must say, kudos to the artist: he captured Elric (aka Zenith) so perfectly that I could not HELP but visualize that illustration every time I saw the character described in the book.
But I did not like the book.
One would think that I would start ranting about all the things that pissed me off about this book, but no. I pretty much knew within the first ten pages that I would not like this book. I seriously debated even finishing it, but I still suffer from that MUST-FINISH sickness, so I continued on, knowing I wouldn't enjoy it any better as I went.
What raised the red flag? It's not Moorcock's fault by any means. It's just that the main character, Seaton Begg the metatemporal detective, is the type of character I've grown increasingly tired of. That smug, too-clever-for-his-own-good, I-won't-let-you-inside-my-head, I-know-something-you-don't-and-I-won't-tell-you-until-it's-convenient-for-me-to-do-so type of character. These characters are always male, always highly intelligent, and always see stuff in the story that the supporting cast of characters and the reader (okay, I'll be fair, THIS reader) doesn't see. This type of character is common in the pages of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and it's one of the reasons I've let my subscription slide and put off reading the issues I've got.
But I digress. Like I said, my dislike is not Moorcock's fault. The thing about this book is that it is a particular STYLE. The kind of style you love or you don't. I don't. But saying this is a bad book because I don't like the style is about as stupid as saying a noir movie is a bad movie because it's noir. Love it or hate it, it is what it is.
I did find the character of Zenith to be intriguing, and whenever the book delved into the world-building of this man's history I was interested, because I wanted to know how the character I'd heard about from past books ended up as such an...odd...character in this one. I didn't get enough info to satisfy my curiosity, but I did get something at the end.
The book is divided into episodic format. Each episode is of short story to novella length, and the cases detailed may or may not relate to each other. I say that because I wasn't near enough interested to pick up all the little clues. If they didn't jump out at me, I didn't look for them. But the format did make for a faster read, and that I appreciated. The design of this book also very much catered to the writing style of it, which was a nice touch.
Because I haven't previously read any of Moorcock's work, I can't easily say who'll like this and who won't. I think if you're a fan of the author, you don't want to miss this. If you're a fan of this kind of detective caper/adventure style, like the kinds of protagonists that you'd see in, say, Matthew Hughes's short stories, you should check this out. But if you don't fit in either category, just pick up the book in the store and start reading from the beginning. TRUST ME, this is the kind of book you know your verdict within in the first couple of pages.
Next up: Maledicte by Lane Robins