The Eternal Champion (novel)

The Eternal Champion (novel)

The Eternal Champion is a fantasy novel by Michael Moorcock. First published in 1970, it is based on stories Moorcock published in Avillion and Science Fantasy. It is the first in a trilogy of books about the Eternal Champion in his incarnation as Erekosë. The sequels are Phoenix in Obsidian (1970), also published as The Silver Warriors, and The Dragon in the Sword (1987).

In the book, John Daker is taken from his ordinary life in the modern world and incarnated in the form of Erekosë, a long-dead hero. He learns that he has been summoned to lead the human race in a fight against the alien Eldren, as he once did in the legendary past. He must balance his 20th-century consciousness with his patchy memories of a past life as a sword and sorcery-type warrior. He also must learn to distinguish the truth, since the rules of his new world are not necessarily the rules of Earth, and he cannot decide whether reports of magical events are real.

Although it lacks the popularity of other books by Moorcock, especially the Elric series, The Eternal Champion is a key text in the mythology of The Multiverse. Many of Moorcock's fantasy and science fiction works tell the story of an "Eternal Champion" who is fated to fight for Humanity, or Law, or the Balance. The Eternal Champion introduces two aspects of the Champion: John Daker and Erekosë. John Daker is unique in that he is aware of his other incarnations and his fate. Through his eyes, the reader is able to learn the identities of many aspects of the Champion. Erekosë is one of the most frequently mentioned aspects of the hero in other books by Moorcock. In one story, told from different viewpoints in The Vanishing Tower and The King of the Swords, Elric and Corum meet a third aspect of the hero who joins with them to form The Three Who Are One. When they ask his name, he tells them to call him Erekosë, because it was in that form that he came closest to knowing peace. In other works, however, it is hinted that Erekosë himself committed a crime of betrayal, and that the Eternal Champion is somehow punished for it.

The Eternal Champion is the story of that betrayal.