Synopses & Reviews
The Worm Ouroboros, first published in 1922, is the most acclaimed fantasy novel predating J.R.R. Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings. It concerns the schemes and great wars of imaginary heroes, men called by names such as Witches, Demons, Goblins, Imps and Pixies, but men nonetheless. The scenery is spectacular, from the vivid landscapes to the sumptuous thrones and costumes. Eddison's invented world comes to life with his vibrant and real characters, and the language in which he tells his tale. This book, along with the works of Tolkien, Dunsany and others, shaped modern fantasy and as such is a cornerstone of fantasy literature. Introduction by Douglas A. Anderson, author of
The Annotated Hobbit and series editor for Cold Spring Press fantasy classics.
I read the works of Eddison with great enjoyment for their sheer literary merit. I still think of him as the greatest and most convincing writer of invented worlds' that I have read. J.R.R. Tolkien
Talking about making a world,' haveyou read Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros? Good to the taste as home cured ham. C.S. Lewis
As you value your aesthetic soul, don't fail to read The Worm Ouroboros, by E. R. Eddison, within 24 hours!!! Art? Phantasy? Prose-poetry? Look and see! Man, what a style! H.P. Lovecraft
Eddison is unequaled in the vigor, the vividness, the passionate intensity of his imagining, the brooding sadness that underlies it, and the cockeyed magnificence of his language. Ursula K. Le Guin
A miraculous poetic epic of sorcery and swordsmanship, of heroism and the blackest of villainy. The Worm Ouroboros is the greatest high fantasy of them all. Robert Silverberg
About the Author
E. R. Eddison (1882-1945) was born in Yorkshire and educated at Oxford. Professionally, he was for many years a civil servant at the British Board of Trade. Privately he was devoted to literature, particularly to the classics, the Icelandic sagas, and the Elizabethan dramatists. He published five novels, of which this is his most famous by far.
COVER ARTIST BIO: Mike Dringenberg is one of the top illustrators in the fantasy/scifi genre. He has done covers for DelRey (three Tolkien covers for The Silmarillion, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, and The Tolkien Reader); for Bantam (Jeff Vandermeer, Veniss Underground, a World Fantasy award nominee, Best Novela), for Tor (Kij Johnson, Fudoki, a World Fantasy award nominee, Best Novel); as well as covers for Night Shade and other publishers. Driingenberg was a co-creator of the Sandman series of books with Neil Gaiman and has also done record album and CD covers, and associated promotional art, for clients as diverse as The Legendary Pink Dots and Tori Amos.