A sequel to Mother London, one of Michael Moorcock's most celebrated books. King Of The City moves forward from the events of that previous book into na relatively recognisable modernity. We see through the eyes of narrator Dennis Dover as we follow his nearest and dearest and also those he is not so keen or close to, but then thats life is it not? In particular we meet his beloved cousin Rosie Beck and his not so beloved frenemy John Barbican Beggs. Dennis becomes a progressive musician/photographer, Rosie becomes a fearless defender of the poor and the disenfranchised,while their mutual friend becomes a billionairre maker of the poor and the disenfranchised and possessor of a rapacious appetite for things other people made.
We follow Dennis and his friends across a series of decades from the seventies to almost the present in a world almost the same as our own. We revisit the dog days of previous decades, bullet pointed by rabid dog days and days when you just wanted to crawl under the bed. Its a visionary tale, more than a commentary on our own worlds progress, or lack off it, over those very same years. Admittedly a lot of things we take for granted have not fully materialised but its never enough to date it.
If you, as the reader, are prepared to give yourself over to the words generated by Michael Moorcock in his books you may well find an alchemical shift take place in the region of your brain that filters information from outside your skull. His detailed world building will sink into the foundations of your imaginations and like the Asgardian realms generated by crafty old Loki whole worlds will grow there. All his worlds, as fantastical as they might initially appear will contain enough familiar elements to draw you along. And although those worlds may not always be as pleasant as you may hope, they will always be as truthful as they need to be. As always his love of music, and his belief in its power to transform, is present for you to lean into.
Its a big book. As Mother London was. The distance that comes with the passing of time makes this book so accessible. Easier to absorb given it feels within living memoery. Painfully plausible.
" Myths and miracles, pards. What would we do without them?" The book joyfully asks us.
The truth being; Michael Moorcock has the means to seed our imaginations but only we can make those seeds grow.
