Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
New York : Ballantine Books, [1967], First Edition 1935.
Description
The first volume in the classic epic trilogy of parallel worlds, admired by Tolkien and the great prototype for The Lord of the Rings and modern fantasy fiction. According to legend, the Gates of Zimiamvia lead to a land 'that no mortal foot may tread, but that souls of the dead that were great upon earth do inhabit.' Here they forever live, love, do battle, and even die again. Edward Lessingham - artist, poet, king of men and lover of women - is dead. But from Aphrodite herself, the Mistress of Mistresses, he has earned the promise to live again with the gods in Zimiamvia in return for her own perilous future favours. This sequel to The Worm Ouroboros recounts the story of Lessingham's first day in this strange Valhalla, where a lifetime is a day and where - among enemies, enchantments, guile and triumph - his destiny can be rewritten.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member TadAD
I've attempted this book several times and just cannot make myself like it.
LibraryThing member zangasta
Could someone PuLEASE tell me what is supposed to be going on in this ...book?
There are (many) passages that remind me of the idea of giving a monkey access to a typewriter, and enough time, and he is bound to write a work of Shakespeare. This must have been one of the random works produced along
There is one good idea in among the waffle, but I am in no way prepared to claim it worth all the pain. Just in case you think my half star is awarded for that one idea: it is NOT, I would award negative stars if I could.
To those who rave about it on Amazon: are you trying to make others suffer as you have suffered???
There are (many) passages that remind me of the idea of giving a monkey access to a typewriter, and enough time, and he is bound to write a work of Shakespeare. This must have been one of the random works produced along
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the way...There is one good idea in among the waffle, but I am in no way prepared to claim it worth all the pain. Just in case you think my half star is awarded for that one idea: it is NOT, I would award negative stars if I could.
To those who rave about it on Amazon: are you trying to make others suffer as you have suffered???
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LibraryThing member John_Thorne
First book in the Zimiamvian trilogy, and the best. Eddison uses this novel to begin to expound his esoteric philosophy.
LibraryThing member antiquary
One of the greatest fantasy novels ever written, though less read because Eddison chosen to write it in a high renaissance style of English. It concerns a power struggle between Duke Barganax of Zayana, bastard of the late king Mezentius, and Horius Parry, Vicar of Rerek in the middle part of
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Mezentius' empire, who is back by his kinsman Lessingham. Both Barganax and Lessingham are in some sense avatars of an Englishman named Lessingham, and their respective lovers (Fiorinda and Antiope) are in some sense avatars of the goddess Aphrodite. The Eddison decided to work backwards from this srory instead of forwards, the later books in this series (A Fish Dinner in Memison and The Mezentian Gate describe earlier events in the history of Zimiamvia in the reign of Mezentius. Show Less
LibraryThing member Andy_DiMartino
That was a tough read. Nothing like the Worm other than it's complexity, it did not endear itself to me at all though as it's predecessor did.
LibraryThing member threadnsong
A very, very different book from Eddison's most famous work [The Worm Ouroborous]. The character of Lessingham is in both books, though in this one he is returned from death into a vibrant life lived on the same world, Zimiamvia. Instead of one great adventure and travel after another with mythical
Perhaps it is correct to say this book is a successor to "Ouroborous" but I would hazard that it is much less a successor than an addendum. The world presented here has very little bearing on the world of Goldry Bluzco. The shifting alliances, the dalliances, the attempts by the king to woo his lady love (who does not want him), the Queen and her lovely young friend, all are characters presented in a work without the Elizabethan English that so captivated me in "Ouroborous." While there is an index at the back of when a character is first mentioned, it is often not the first mention that drives the story and this convoluted tale becomes increasingly hard to follow and less and less interesting as it progresses.
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creatures, this book has Lessingham and his allies in friction with the bastard son of the late king. There are a number of different leaders and lesser men, a Vicar who serves as the power to the young king, and many, many beautiful women in their own kingdoms.Perhaps it is correct to say this book is a successor to "Ouroborous" but I would hazard that it is much less a successor than an addendum. The world presented here has very little bearing on the world of Goldry Bluzco. The shifting alliances, the dalliances, the attempts by the king to woo his lady love (who does not want him), the Queen and her lovely young friend, all are characters presented in a work without the Elizabethan English that so captivated me in "Ouroborous." While there is an index at the back of when a character is first mentioned, it is often not the first mention that drives the story and this convoluted tale becomes increasingly hard to follow and less and less interesting as it progresses.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1935
Physical description
401 p.; 18 cm
Local notes
Lyrical evoctaions of luxury and sensuality within the story, dedicated to Aphrodite.
The Zimiamvian Trilogy of E.R. Eddison includes 1) Mistress of Mistresses, 2) A Fish Dinner in Memison, 3) The Mezentian Gate.
The Zimiamvian Trilogy of E.R. Eddison includes 1) Mistress of Mistresses, 2) A Fish Dinner in Memison, 3) The Mezentian Gate.