The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance

On a world called Mercury, a land of heroic kingdoms much like Homer's Greece or the Norse sagas, the noble lords of Demonland, Juss, Spitfire, Brandoch Daha and Goldry Bluszco, are challenged by King Gorice of Witchland, a sorcerer-king who demands their submission. When Goldry Bluszco is carried off by sorcery, Lord Juss leads a long and perilous quest over mountains and seas to rescue his brother, in a war of honour, magic and splendid battles.

E. R. Eddison (1882–1945), an English civil servant and translator of Icelandic sagas, published the novel in 1922, written in a rich, archaic English modelled on that of the sixteenth century. J. R. R. Tolkien read and admired it, and it is a founding work of heroic fantasy; its title, the serpent that eats its own tail, hints at its circular ending. From here, try Grettir's Saga.