Gloriana: Or, The Unfulfill'd Queen

This is to be read and enjoyed like a good red wine. If you don't know what that means best you look for lighter fare.

story would have had a lot more impact with less rambling.To tell the truth I had no idea what I was getting into, but once started, I must finish.

This book is definitely the product of its day. While successful in its own errant way, in no way does it resemble a modern fantasy novel. That saddens me, as experiments like this are fantastic in their own right, even if they do feel dated later on.

As described and deliverd promptly.

ok,but not as good as others

Michael Moorcock’s exquisite imagery tugs at every sense. His use of language is delicious and mouthwatering, reeling in the reader with perfect prose and imperfect characters. This is a story where the barrier between fantasy and realism are blurred, perhaps because the story is timeless, as are the inner demons each character confronts.Gloriana is timeless: evocative of fairytales and the best of mythology. Reminiscent of an evening at the theater, complete with a handkerchief to catch tears. Gloriana is a story of love and passion, cruelty and deceit, and reveals the unraveling of humanity and the fierce, untamed love that pulls it back together. Gloriana is a sumptuous piece of literature: an important, unbridled, and passionate piece of art.

Queen Gloriana rules the greatest empire in the history of the world, Albion. Under her rule, the vast kingdom has thrived as peace has led to enormous prosperity. Everyone in the vast realm from the Americas to Asia believes that Gloriana's enlightened leadership has led to the Golden Age as never heard of before.On a global scale, Queen Gloriana knows she has a place in the future history books; on a personal level, she cannot achieve an orgasm as the weight of her monarchy has taken its toll. Though her image is that of high morals, Gloriana has tried every fetish known and a few unknown to get relief. To hide her debauchery she depends on ruthless Chancellor Montfallcon to brutally keep everyone in line. He spies on everyone at court. However, he alienates his best operative Quire, who begins a plan of vengeance starting with the destruction of Gloriana that will consequently extinguish Albion, starting with seducing Her Highness to fall in love with him.GLORIANA, OR THE UNFULFILL'D QUEEN is a reprint of a late 1970s award winning satirical fantasy that holds up well in a world filled with spin doctors and the Lewinsky incident. The story line focuses on a Queen Elizabeth I like character whose public image is so different than her private reality. Gloriana has unfulfilled needs that send her seeking any form of sexual encounter to scratch her itch while acting virginal pure to her adoring subjects. Though at times the plot seems long winded as Michael Moorcock insures his audience sees the duality (duplicity) of Queen Gloriana, fans of erotic fantasy filled with plenty of treachery and intrigue will feel fulfilled with this tale.Harriet Klausner

_If I could only have one volume of Moorcock in my library, I do believe that this would be it. I have heard this exquisite fantasy compared with Peake's Ghormanghast- except that an American will find Gloriana actually readable and enjoyable._I can't think of a richer fantasy world encompased in a single self-sufficient novel. And while it is fantasy, it is not sugar-sweet and naive, it is fantasy most worldly and sophisticated. This global Elizabethan empire is quite convincingly atmospheric, as is London and the great palace itself. You want it to exist, hell, you want to go there._You would not hesitate to pledge fealty to Gloriana the First, Queen of Albion, Empress of Asia and Virginia. You want to believe in the ideal she represents, in a world that would otherwise redescend into darkness and madness....

I am going to take a different look at this book. To get it out of the way, I agree with the other reviewers here that this is a great book, one of Michael Moorcock's best and as a stand alone you don't have to be well versed in all the permutations of the multiverse to enjoy it.Now this is where my alternative take comes in. In some ways, Gloriana could be the unofficial (and superior) sequel to the original History of the Runestaff books with Hawkmoon.Bear with me. Gloriana is the daughter of Flana. In the Hawkmoon stories, Queen Flana took over ruling Granbretan when the Dark Empire fell, and worked to tear down what was left of the old regime. In Gloriana, England is recovering from the tyranny of King Hern, and Gloriana and her supports are desperate that the dark days do not come back.On top of that, the whole atmosphere is just how I imagined Granbretan would be - refined decadence and sudden brutality, intrigue and sensuality all bound together.Now Gloriana is a standalone novel, and my interpretation is more a piece of fun than something that should be taken entirely seriously. But I am sure that the correspondences I have outlined were intentional. After all, history mirrors itself across the planes in the multiverse, and anything is possible, right?It added a level of enjoyment to an already excellent book. Whether you agree with my alternative view of Gloriana or not, you won't regret reading it

Dark and intense, this one burns slowly but get more intriguing by the chapter. Its been along time since I delved into one of Moorcock's novels. I used to be an avid reader of his Elric books back in the 70s. I feel I have grown up with him like you do a series of albums from a favourite rock band, perhaps because as he was in a band perhaps. Another one of my favourite rock band novelists was Mick Farren. Similar style in some respects, always psychedelic, bordering on sexually deviant, these books are dark. Gloriana feels it like it was written in the 70s, that's no bad thing in my book. I felt the end was a little rushed, the alternative scene at the end of the book was unnecessary but changed for pc reasons. I find this odd because the trend of modern day books are so often horrifyingly sick in comparison. Anyway, I very much enjoyed the book.

Murder, treachery, love, lust, evil, heroism, all tied up in a superbly written tale of idealism cynicism and politics. George Martin must lay awake at nights wishing he could create a character like Quire.

I have this book on paper and just wanted a Kindle copy. This is one of my favourite Moorcock books along with the Dancers at the end of time series.

Despite the re-writes, this remains a beautifully realized vision replete with wonderful and believable characters (even the grotesques) that inhabit a universe somewhat at angles to our own and out there on the edge of the multiverse. Moorcock always was an excellent writer, this has to be one of his master works.