The French and so far only edition of Michael Moorcock’s Kaboul found it’s way, direct from Paris, into my happy hands.

This gorgeous volume with magnificent illustrations by Miles Hyman collects six stories from the My Experiences in the Third World War sequence, three previously published stories plus three new tales. The brilliant series tells the story of World War III through the eyes of the Russian KGB spy, Tom Dubrowski, who poses as antiquarian cover, a discreet Jew in a world not devoid of anti-Semitism.

The first of these stories appeared in 1979 with the latter two in 1980 and offered a  Moorcock at perhaps his most prescient. Years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, he predicted the world of post-Soviet Russia with it’s oligarchies, territorial rivalries, and attempts to remain relevant on the world stage. On a more individual level, Dubrowski struggles with what it means to be a citizen of the world, one who understands much of the reality that swirls around him, but feels powerless to do anything about it. In other words, for most of us, a lot like living in the 21st century.

The previously published novellas (“Going to Canada”, “Leaving Pasadena”, “Crossing into Cambodia”) are all currently available in The Best of Michael Moorcock. The new stories (“Kabul”, “Odysseus Came Home”, “Dancing in Rome”) appear here for the first time. Yes, in French. I believe this is the first major work of Moorcock’s to appear initially in French.

I’ve been lucky enough to have read the new stories in English, natch. All three of them were written within the last decade and when combined with the previous, make up some of the best work of Moorcock’s illustrious career. He maybe writing about the end times, but after nearly seven decades, these stories showcase a creator at the peak of his skills, who does not appear near his creative end. I only hope the final three stories will find their way into an English-language edition so everyone else can share in the experience.