Rating: 
Summary: A most fascinating nomad, Oswald Bastable
Review: Moorcock proves himself once again--he is a fine writer with a much-better-than-average grasp of many genres, which mesh well within his book. "A Nomad of the Time Streams" is sci fi in the best H.G. Wells tradition, with Bastable's bemused and uncomfortable Edwardian observations of a world torn apart by war. What fascinated me most was how zeppelins are the central theme of all three books; Moorcock presents three "what if" stories by mixing and matching historical events of the 20th Century and placing them in different years--nuclear war (the bombing of Hiroshima) in 1973, Armageddon (or something like it) in 1904, and a Russia where the October Revolution of 1917 failed in 1941. Definitely recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A most fascinating nomad, Oswald Bastable
Review: Moorcock proves himself once again--he is a fine writer with a much-better-than-average grasp of many genres, which mesh well within his book. "A Nomad of the Time Streams" is sci fi in the best H.G. Wells tradition, with Bastable's bemused and uncomfortable Edwardian observations of a world torn apart by war. What fascinated me most was how zeppelins are the central theme of all three books; Moorcock presents three "what if" stories by mixing and matching historical events of the 20th Century and placing them in different years--nuclear war (the bombing of Hiroshima) in 1973, Armageddon (or something like it) in 1904, and a Russia where the October Revolution of 1917 failed in 1941. Definitely recommended.
Rating:
Summary: E. Nesbit put to good use
Review: Of all Moorcock's work, this series is the one I most readily enjoy. Elric and the others are all very well, but it's a lot more jarring and thought-provoking (for me, anyway) to see how Moorcock's examinations of racism and imperialism (and all the other evils against which the "Eternal Champion" battles) are applied in these masterful parallel worlds of the twentieth century. Particularly impressive is how he recasts various historical figures in slightly different roles, not least a member of E. Nesbit's Bastable family as the main character (I think). Some of the cameos are harder to spot, but greater fun for it. I'd love to mention a few, but it would probably spoil the plot, or at least the surprise. This selection of the "Eternal Champion" is worth twice this price, offering fantastic, defiant Jules Verne/ H.G.Wells/sort-of-William Morris entertainment!
Rating:
Summary: This compilation is excellent.....
Review: Oswald Bastible is an excellent character. This is definitely Moorcock at his best. If you like an adventurous read, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of Moorcock's very best
Review: The three volumes of the Oswald Bastable series are collected here in a somewhat revised form (the final chapters of "The Steel Tsar" have been completely rewritten and some minor changes have been made to make these stories fit more neatly into the Eternal Champion framework."The Warlord of the Air" is one of Moorcock's best novels; perhaps best appreciated if you also read "The English Assassin" and "The Condition of Muzak." The two sequels, "The Land Leviathan" and "The Steel Tsar" are less successful, but in this revised context, read as a single text are well worth the price, and then some. A first rate example of alternate world SF; fans of sword and sorcery a la Elric may be disappointed, but this is a stunning evocation of the Edwardian Dream. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The series just gets better!
Review: This book is probably the most science-fictional of the four books in the series I have read thus far, and I'd probably consider it the best. The three tales of Oswald Bastable are rife with ideas and imagination. As usual, here are comments on the individual books:
Warlord of the Air: Great introduction to Bastable. I thought Moorcock in the beginning was him, so it was neat to see Bastable actually show up later. The future of 1973 that he goes to is great on the surface, but dark underneath, and the political arguments are anything but one-sided, highlighting both sides. Oh, and Oswald drops a bomb. The Land Leviatian: This one reminded me of Heinlein's novel Farnham's Freehold, for some reason. The premise of blacks taking over the world in response to the crimes against them by whites is an interesting study of our world. Still, Bastable still feels lousy for helping to destroy the obviously unrepentant whites. Go figure. The Steel Tsarr: Longest of the three, and probably the most complex, set in a democratic Russia at war with its Cossacks. Poor Bastable finally gets some peace with the help of Mrs Perrson. And is it me, or is the Steel Tsar a dead ringer for Stalin? I enjoyed reading about Bastable and hopefully Moorcock will include more about him in the later book in the series. In this one, he mentions that Bastable is mentioned in Warriors at the End of Time, so perhaps he's there. I can't wait
Rating:
Summary: One of Moorcock's most enjoyable EC volumes.
Review: This is a book that mixes political commentary with fantastic voyages. Being more of prone to reading sword and sorcery types of novels, I was a bit apprehensive going into this one, but it kept me turning the pages until the end. Our hero is thrust through a series of alternate realities for how our world might have turned out if certain turns of events were different. There isn't really anything magical or fantastic about these alternate realities, which is what makes it exciting. You feel like things could have been that way. It was a thoroughly enjoyable departure from dark sorcery and demons of other Eternal Champion novels - not that I don't love those!
Rating:
Summary: One of Moorcock's most enjoyable EC volumes.
Review: This is a book that mixes political commentary with fantastic voyages. Being more of prone to reading sword and sorcery types of novels, I was a bit apprehensive going into this one, but it kept me turning the pages until the end. Our hero is thrust through a series of alternate realities for how our world might have turned out if certain turns of events were different. There isn't really anything magical or fantastic about these alternate realities, which is what makes it exciting. You feel like things could have been that way. It was a thoroughly enjoyable departure from dark sorcery and demons of other Eternal Champion novels - not that I don't love those!
Rating:
Summary: Another brilliant trailblazer
Review: When this first appeared in the early 70s as an Ace Special it must have hit people as a revelation, because nobody had thought of doing this particular kind of alternate history story before -- the future as imagined by the past. Since then there have been many honourable and excellent successors, but if you want to read the grand-daddy of steam-punk, a massive influence on some of the finest modern fantasy and sf writers (not to mention ahem R.Dreyfuss & H.Turtledove), this is still one of the finest. And, like Wells, it has a very specific moral and political examination to make. It doesn't once detract from the typical Moorcock pace. It's hard to think fast and follow the action sometimes but I must say to readers who are familiar with earlier editions, this has a huge amount of rewriting, especially in the final volume, and is a much better series for it. Almost a lament for lost idealism and the end of innocence -- when you slowly realize, you could also be unwittingly on the side of the 'bad guys'. Wonderful recreation of atmosphere and full of ideas which have since influenced the whole the field,not to mention literary fiction, movies, records and comics! Moorcock radically influenced the modern graphic novel (Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman are among many who have both generously acknowledged their huge debt to Moorcock). Yet, given his influence, he and his colleague J.G.Ballard, are hardly acknowledged by the sf field. Happily the mainstream world seems to appreciate them! This is a book much admired by the 'literary world' and cited by black authors as a respectful insight into the nature of racism and imperialism. This is the full-strength original, giving clear signals as to its own homages, and they read it here first!
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