Just not really my cup of tea.
Will continue on and see how the rest of the series goes. ( )

My feelings on this book are mixed. Purely as a story, I did not much like it. It was painful watching Jherek, unaware of the social conventions of Victorian England, attempt to woo Mrs. Underwood, and even worse watching him stumble through Victorian London, utterly oblivious to the inappropriateness of his behavior. This left me feeling a kind of vicarious embarrassment that made reading An Alien Heat a chore, not a pleasure. I also found myself agreeing with Li Po, a captive from the 23rd century, as he berated the humans living in the very distant future: "What ghosts you are. What pathetic fantasies you pursue. You play mindless games, without purpose or meaning, while the universe dies around you." Based only on the plot, and the main thread of the narrative, I'd probably have given An Alien Heat two stars.

However, the book is somewhat redeemed for me by its background detail: its world-building. There were many references to the storied past of humanity. Dozens of past ages, usually with tantalizingly evocative names, are mentioned in just a few paragraphs, leaving me wishing that Moorcock had written something more about them. Of course, given that the remaining humans at the end of time are more concerned with spectacle, their own peculiar sense of aesthetics, and above all, with avoiding boredom, and don't care much about historical accuracy, those past ages might end up being less interesting than they sounded. But this was sufficiently intriguing that I gave the book overall three stars. ( )

I struggled through this bit by bit over several days, I'm not really sure why I stuck with it. Perhaps it was once a groundbreaking, fascinating novel but to me it was very dated, simplistic, crass and deeply unfunny. The kind of funny where all the jokes are highlighted and very apparent but not in the slightest bit amusing (like Jimmy Carr).
Very disappointed having really enjoyed the Elric stories. ( )

I've made a point of buying several Moorcock books in my various trips to library sales. Given his outspokenness about various science fiction and fantasy writers, such as Heinlein and Tolkien, one might think that his own fiction would be a worthy counterpoint to such. Alas, if this book is an example of Moorcock's best work – as some have claimed – then I am loath to read any of the other books that I have picked up. (Though, I will still probably read some of the Elric series...at some point, maybe.)

The story is confused, and somewhat confusing, at least at the beginning. While there are a few clever turns of phrase and droll ironies of clashing culture (some of the historical inaccuracies believed by the characters reminds me of Poe's "Mellonta Tauta"), there is little to motivate the reader to discover what happens to the characters in the story. In fact, had it not been so short of a book – just shy of 150 pages – I likely wouldn't have bothered to finish it. I don't expect to read any of the sequels.

I will say that Moorcock has a way with description. Probably the best aspect of the book is his ability to evoke images, often incredibly fantastic ones. ( )

Michael Moorcock is a blast from the past. In this 70's satire of a future where all is possible an permissible, he wastes no time in getting to the mo-fo-ery. Jherek is playing games to find new emotions when the realities of space aliens, the end of the universe and time travel are just too boring for words. It's goofy and light-hearted and weird and I wonder where it will head next. ( )