The Oak and the Ram [Dramatized Adaptation]

Corum, Book 5

By: Michael Moorcock

Narrated by: full cast, Nanette Savard, Chris Genebach, Tim Getman, Bradley Smith, Thomas Keegan, Andy Clemence, Danny Gavigan, Nora Achrati, David Jourdan, Lawrence Redmond, Chris Davenport

Spring has turned to summer, the hottest and most abundant summer ever remembered in the Mabden lands. But in the mists lurks an insidious coldness - the icy presence of the Fhoi Myore. Despite being slowly decayed by the warmth of the world, these harbingers of death will stop at nothing to overwhelm the Earth.

The High King of the Mabden, Amergin, must unite the race in the fight against the Fhoi Myore. But Amergin is in thrall to the dark magic of the Gods of Limbo. It falls to Corum of the Silver Hand to restore the rightful power of the High King with the miraculous forces of two legendary talismans: the Golden Oak and the Silver Ram....

Performed by Nanette Savard, Chris Genebach, Tim Getman, Bradley Smith, Thomas Keegan, Andy Clemence, Danny Gavigan, Nora Achrati, David Jourdan, Lawrence Redmond, Chris Davenport, Karen Novack, Gregory Wooddell, Christopher Graybill, Elizabeth Jernigan.

©1973 Michael Moorcock and Linda Moorcock (P)2016 Graphic Audio, LLC

Returning the king to launch the attack

Michael Moorcock’s The Oak and the Ram is the second volume in his follow-on Corum trilogy. The monsters that bring winter to the land are gaining more and more power and ground. The humans need to unite to respond, but the uber king of the humans has been ensorcelled and believes himself to be a sheep. Corum commits to bringing the king back. With the aid of an invisibility cloak, he manages to retrieve the king. Fortunately, his dwarf giant friend can carry the king off.

Moorcock continues to have Corum play the ‘white knight’ role to humans who seem ambivalent about fighting extinction. He also drops hints that Corum’s time is running out or rather that his time is passing as humanity takes the reins.

The narration is of a dramatized type with lots of background sounds (horses clomping, music, and lots of grunting), as well as a clear theatrical style sometimes bordering on histrionic.