The History of the Runestaff

The History of the Runestaff

Dust-jacket from the first edition
Author	Michael Moorcock
Cover artist	Bob Haberfield
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Granada
Publication date	1979
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	573 pp
ISBN
OCLC	59182461

The History of the Runestaff is an omnibus collection of four fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock, consisting of The Jewel In The Skull, The Mad God's Amulet, The Sword Of The Dawn, and The Runestaff. Charting the adventures of Dorian Hawkmoon, a version of the Eternal Champion, it takes place in a far-future version of Europe in which the insane rulers of the Dark Empire of Granbretan (the name given to what was once Great Britain) are engaged in conquering the continent. Written between 1967 and 1969, it is considered a classic of the genre, and has proven highly influential in shaping subsequent authors' works.

A subsequent trilogy, The Chronicles of Castle Brass -- consisting of Count Brass, The Champion of Garathorm and The Quest for Tanelorn -- expand on the original saga, both deepening its characters (which in the original stories were a bit two-dimensional) and further linking them to the Moorcockian Multiverse.

Dorian, in the final pages of the third book, happens to confront (along with other champions like Erekose) the malignant entity which used to reside in Elric's Stormbringer and which broke free at the tragic end of the albino prince's saga.

The omnibus has also been published under the title Hawkmoon.

Gollancz have announced plans to release all the Hawkmoon stories in both print omnibus and individual ebook form, starting in 2013. The ebooks will be available via Gollancz's SF Gateway site.

Granbretan is a far-future version of Great Britain, ruled by the immortal King-Emperor Huon, who dwells in a fluid-filled sphere in Londra, its capital. The inhabitants of Granbretan are renowned for their cruelty, and for their practice of wearing masks at all times.