Fireclown, from The Winds of Limbo, makes an appearance at The End of Time, which is my favorite Moorcock setting. That said, this was not my favorite End of Time novel. Liked the "minor" characters more than the main ones and felt puzzled by why Moorcock included a scene of violence against Miss Ming. Read the Dancers at the End of Time trilogy (An Alien Heat, The Hollow Lands, and The End of All Songs) and maybe let this one go... ( )

A Messiah at the End of Time brings the return of the Fireclown. But this time, instead of arriving during a period of turmoil and social unrest, he arrives at the End of Time where, to be quite candid, people just couldn't give a damn. His best efforts at causing mayhem and destruction were mere annoyances to people who could recreate anything their minds could envision with the twist of a ring. He was described as pathetic and insignificant. Which is quite different than in his first appearance.

The Fireclown also refers to himself as the Eternal Champion. I found this somewhat odd. In retrospect, I guess I can see it. In the first book he appeared in, he was definitely the agent of change from a sterile Lawful society into a society with more chaos. In this book, though, I can't really see what he's battling against. The End of Time could only really be viewed as Chaos - and the Fireclown doesn't seem to be someone who would be interested in promoting an increase in Law and Order.

At any rate, the Fireclown becomes enamored of Miss Mavis Ming - the fat, vacuous, pariah of the End of Time. No one can understand his interested in her, least of all her. At the end, though, Miss Ming's host, Dr. Volospion, ends up making a bargain with the Fireclown and trades Miss Ming for a cup. This whole sequence plays like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - where the tricksters get tricked and the layers of deception stack layer upon layer until you're not quite sure who tricked who. Nor was I quite sure that the Fireclown and Miss Ming were actually released or if they were simply trapped in an illusion in Dr. Volospion's menagerie. ( )