'The Oak & The Ram' – Michael Moorcock (Granada)
I've developed a really annoying habit, just recently, of picking up a book, reading about fifty pages and then putting it down for fifty pages of something else. This last week then has been really satisfying as I've gone about polishing off some of these unfinished books. I still need to make more of a dent in the August TBR pile but I'm feeling good about my reading, so far, this month which is a hell of a lot better than I felt last month... Lets see how the rest of the month goes, onto 'The Oak & the Ram'.
I actually read 'The Bull and the Spear' back in January, of this year, but a small dose of Covid put paid to any attempt to read 'The Oak & The Ram', just couldn't do it. By the time I was feeling more myself again, life had moved on and I was reading other books instead; poor old 'The Oak & The Ram' got left on a shelf and forgotten about. Until now that is, I found my copy again and finally finished it over the last couple of days.
Spring has returned to Caer Mahlod. The Mabden have won a victory over the Fhoi Myore, awful gods of the Cold Folk. Yet the gods of Limbo still threaten other Mabden Lands, and the High King Amergin lies wasted, held under an enchantment in a far off place. Only the magic properties of the Golden Oak and the Silver Ram can restore the enfeebled Archdruid to his former might.
Thus Corum embarks on his second great quest and though he must visit awesome and treacherous places and struggle with fearful enemies, he vows to return with Amergin safe, or not return at all...
I like 'The Oak & The Ram' even though, at it's heart, it's a book whose sole purpose is to get everything in order for the final act in 'The Sword and The Stallion'. You know that all the good stuff is being saved for the final book and that's the way it should be (I mean seriously, what would be the point otherwise? Can you imagine...) but where does that leave 'The Oak & The Ram'? A book that just positions the main players... Or does it?
Before we go into any greater depth (although this is me at one in the morning, don't expect too much depth), I think what I like most of all about this book is that it really knows what it is and makes no attempts to be otherwise. It knows it's a 'bridging book' and just gets on with all that entails, I think that singular focus really helps the book deliver on that promise and leave time for more of the sword and sorcery style adventures that we've come to expect from Corum. There's plenty of sword fights and quests for lost treasure along with meeting strange new allies and enemies along the way. It's all exciting stuff but we knew that would be the case, Moorcock has plenty of form for this style of writing and he doesn't hold back here. Nothing comes without cost in Moorcock's world and Corum is tested pretty much every chapter (especially when he fights Sreng, I loved that bit). What I would say though is that the rhythm of the plot is very easy to pick up and as a result, you know not only when things are going to happen but you will also find yourself expecting rescues that invariably arrive on cue. So maybe the plot is a little predictable but you could say that it is the fate of heroes, and their stories, to be a little predictable from time to time, that's why we love them ;o)
Talking of heroes... In my post on 'The Bull and The Spear', I asked what a hero does when they have nothing left to fight for and found that the book gave a pretty compelling answer. 'The Oak & The Ram' doesn't need to ask any questions like this as Corum is pretty much in 'full heroic flow' at this point. Corum knows what is expected of him and is happy to deliver on his promise to fight for, and defend, the Mabden people. A hero's life can be a simple one when they have someone who will point them at trouble and bid them sort it out. That's where Corum is right now and I think he's enjoying having a purpose right now. Honestly, Corum may not have an easy time of it but it's like watching a puppy chase a stick, seeing Corum wholeheartedly bound into action. If he had a tail, it would be wagging.
It's not all 'battle frolics' though as we start to see hints that Corum's ultimate fate will be a tough one. Fulfilment of prophecy is starting to bite hard and it's at times like these that we realise that Corum needs a good quest to take his mind off more long term issues. I think that the sense of foreboding, in the final moments of the book, really sets things up nicely for 'The Sword and The Stallion'. I know how it ends and I'm still caught up in that 'wave' that takes you from book two, into book three.
'The Oak & The Ram' knows what it is here for and just gets on with it, delivering a whole load of exciting moments while gearing everything up for the final Corum book. I'll try and finish that one off a little more promptly than I did with this book...
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