The Worm Ouroboros

If there was an award given out for the Most Influential Fantasy Novel Ever Written That No One Ever Reads, this book would get it. The book tells a stylized story of the epic battle between the Lords of Demonland and the evil King Gorice of Witchland, set in an world ripped straight from the pages of a classic Norse saga. Like most of the authors mentioned on this recommendation list, Eddison's prose is beautiful -- a work of art in itself. If you are one of those readers who's got a phobia about classic English (read archaic English), I suspect this novel is not one that will appeal to your senses. If you do enjoy classic English (read: English in the style of the King James Bible), then this book is going to make you might happy. This book harkens back to the Greek Classics and the Norse sagas in form and style. Eddison is a man obsessed with the concept of the Heroic, in much the same way of Homer's own fascination. The doomed hero, the passionate hero, the reckless hero, the hero that combines all of these. This is what Eddison wants to detail in his epic style and write about heros he does! The Worm Ouroboros is Eddison's ode to heroism -- and what an ode it is. This is a book that features the All Star Team of some of the most courageous and honorable heros and the most villainous of villains. Keep in mind that Eddison's work predates Tolkien's works. So don't go into the novel expecting to read about the elves, demons, sorcerous, and fairies that you're used to in a Tolkien-derrived novel. It's a strange world created by Eddison, but also a wonderful, romantic world too. So if you want a book that celebrates the reckless hero, dressed up in a stylized language and format that would have Homer himself proud, The Worm Ouroboros is that book.