The Whispering Swarm: The Sanctuary of the White Friars, Book 1

I can only review the first forty pages of this novel, which ought to be sufficient as its fictitiously autobiographical nature suggests that people should be allowed to make up their own minds. Unfortunately, the main character is that of a practical exercise in which the reader must trust the lofty intellectual views of the author to guide the narrative to a point of universal and/or personal importance. With a tone of clinical detachment, the writing centers on credibility-building accounts of trips to libraries and museums, a meteoric rise to an obscure literary underground, and a dismaying abundance of sentences ending with exclamation points to establish the whirlwind enthusiasm of youthful possibility. These misfires are a shade ironic given the book jacket premise, that a secret order of kindly monks exists in an adjacent dimension accessible through London, somehow providing a sanctuary for imagination from the oppressively growing technocratic power of human society. The portrayals of the city's post-war rationalism and the narrator's attitudinal dismissiveness of skepticism are equally one-note and do nothing dramatically to necessitate the reveal of the supernatural element when it inexplicably appears. At that point I put down the paperback in favor of any I might find that would speak more squarely with its audience. Even when seen as the work of an artist who claims fiction should challenge a reader, and perhaps moreso when considered along with 'Behold the Man' and 'Breakfast in the Ruins,' the direction taken by this story is utterly baffling to me.

This is a book that almost certainly shouldn't work, yet does so beautifully. There are hints that the "Michael Moorcock" of the novel is not Michael Moorcock, the author - shifting his birth date by a couple of months, for instance - but the book plays with the notion that Moorcock, the rationalist, was in some way seduced by the attractions of romanticism, going so far as to attempt a rescue of King Charles II - despite Moorcock's own avowed anarchism and despite, of course, the discrepancy in historical epochs. The history of London is very much a part of this book, but it's a skewed history, whether dealing with Moorcock's own supposed autobiography, or the denizens of the mysterious Sanctuary of the White Friars. Fiction and reality mix in a way that recalls European authors - Vian, perhaps, who gets a name-check in the book - rather than conventional modern fantasy. Still, the touch is light, the story is fun, the deeper meanings accessible yet unresolved. It is a great pleasure to see an author who could clearly rest on his laurels, if he wanted to, embarking on a wholly new venture, in (once again) an entirely unexpected direction.

This book is a well written reality-based science fiction/fantasy novel, by one of my favorite authors. While I don't think it will never rival his best works ( the Jerry Cornelius stories or the Dancers at the End of Time series), it is a wonderful example of his work. This book tells the story of the author during his career. He becomes unstuck in time and/or reality and/or dimension. I have been a fan of Moorcock's since the 1970's, and it is fun to see the way his work has changed over the years. Thank you Michael Moorcock.

This is a very fascinating book. The fictional parts are really good with brilliant ideas. I feel this novel is especially exciting and entertaining to us readers of Michael Moorcock stories. It fits in well with tales of 'moonbeam roads' and The Multiverse. The biography really holds my attention and it is a thousand times more interesting than television type biographies. The bio and fiction are woven together beautifully. This book is superb. It takes me places as strong visions in my mind. It moves rather quickly and I really desire to read the next books in The Sanctuary of the White Friars. I love this book. 5 out of 5 stars. In fact, I give it an extra three bonus marks on top of that! (I'll give it an extra perfect personal rating of 9, a strong number ;) ) I highly recommend The Whispering Swarm.

Michael Moorcock is known as one of the masters of science fiction and fantasy. He started early and by age sixteen was running a magazine of fantasy tales in London. He has written over eighty novels and this one is the first in a new trilogy, The Sanctuary Of The White Friars.Moorcock has chosen a memorable structure for this novel. It is a mixture of biography and fantasy. He tells the story of his own early life and life in London in the 60's. He talks about other fantasy and sci fi authors he knew and about the music scene as he is also a guitarist and played in several bands. It talks about the sexual revolution and his own love life, his eventual marriage and his children, two little girls.But as he tells it, a monk he met in one of the publishing houses asks him for tea one day to continue a conversation they had started. He takes Moorcock to a place he could never have imagined, the Alsacia. The Alsacia is a place out of time, a neighborhood set in the past, maybe the 1700's or 1600's. There are old taverns, highwaymen, and the Sanctuary of White Friars, of which the monk is a member. Soon Michael is caught up in a love affair with a woman who robs coaches and a plot to rescue Charles I from Cromwell and the execution he is facing. Michael goes back and forth between his modern life and the one hundreds of years before.This is a fascinating book. Readers will learn about London, both centuries ago and in more modern times. Comingling the two worlds is an interesting concept and using his own life as a basis is a unique choice. Either story would have made a good book and intertwining them is something it takes an author such as Moorcock to pull off. The book could have used some editing as there seems to be repetition at times but fantasy readers will welcome another series by Moorcock. The second novel in the trilogy is being released in early summer 2023. This series is recommended for fantasy readers.

I don't like to review books I don't fully enjoy, particularly those by someone who I have appreciated in the past. This book is on the borderline and I admit there was much to enjoy. However the blending of fantasy fiction with biography cast a cloud over both genres. One of the downsides of this is that by writing about his own life while casting himself as an action hero it made the central character appear more pleased with himself than is I think the case. I suspect I will be in the minority and I'm glad I read it.

This a very odd book.It is billed as an autobiography, but is a very, very unreliable memior.Is it an autobiography with a lot of magical realism?Or maybe a short autobiography intertwined with a long novella?It is fairly certain that some names may have been changed to protect the reputation of individuals.As an autobiography I feel it should be read in conjuction with the 4th Jerry Cornelious novel which seemed to hold a number of autobographical elements.Overall it was very entertaining, if slightly mystifying, which is why I gave it 5*s

Moorcock takes you on a trip through time where you don't know if you're reading fact or fiction. Could it really be true? Makes you think and want to visit these places yourself to see if they do exist.

One of the most extraordinary writers of SF is back. Highly recommended at an amazing price

Excellent addition to the works of MM