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Tale of the Eternal Champion #8
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a requisite title in the hard fantasy canon, a book no fantasy fan should leave unread. The book's namesake, the brooding albino emperor of the dying nation of Melniboné, is a sort of Superman for Goths, truly an archetype of the genre.
Contents:
•Dear Reader (Elric of Melniboné) • (1993) • essay by Michael Moorcock
•Elric of Melniboné • [The Elric Saga • 1] • (1972) • novel by Michael Moorcock
•Elric of Melniboné • (1993) • interior artwork by James Cawthorn
•The Dreaming City • [The Elric Saga] • (1961) • novelette by Michael Moorcock
•The Fortress of the Pearl • [The Elric Saga • 7] • (1989) • novel by Michael Moorcock
•The Sailor on the Seas of Fate • [The Elric Saga • 2] • (1976) • novel by Michael Moorcock
•The Singing Citadel • [The Elric Saga] • (1967) • novelette by Michael Moorcock
•While the Gods Laugh • [The Elric Saga] • (1961) • novelette by Michael Moorcock
Contents:
•Dear Reader (Elric of Melniboné) • (1993) • essay by Michael Moorcock
•Elric of Melniboné • [The Elric Saga • 1] • (1972) • novel by Michael Moorcock
•Elric of Melniboné • (1993) • interior artwork by James Cawthorn
•The Dreaming City • [The Elric Saga] • (1961) • novelette by Michael Moorcock
•The Fortress of the Pearl • [The Elric Saga • 7] • (1989) • novel by Michael Moorcock
•The Sailor on the Seas of Fate • [The Elric Saga • 2] • (1976) • novel by Michael Moorcock
•The Singing Citadel • [The Elric Saga] • (1967) • novelette by Michael Moorcock
•While the Gods Laugh • [The Elric Saga] • (1961) • novelette by Michael Moorcock
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
9 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,206 books3,715 followersMichael John Moorcock is an English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels.
Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.
During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.
Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.
During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 18, 2016
An ol'Fantasy reliable I go back to time and time again. They don't write them like that anymore. More's the pity. Elric, you ARE the one and only Eternal Champion!
January 23, 2008
Michael Moorcock, Elric of Melnibonë (DAW, 1972)
Perhaps more than any fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings, the six "classic" Elric novels stand as the definitive fantasy novels. Not long after their original American publication in the authorized editions (with stunning Michael Whelan cover art), the TSR folks included a section on Elric in the original AD&D book Deities and Demigods, removed in subsequent printings for legal reasons. Then the gothic metal band Cirith Ungol used some of Whelan's Elric paintings for their album covers. And thus, the legendary books gained fame beyond that of normal readers...
But I digress. Given the unique nature of the growth of the Elric cult, the question needs asked: do the books themselves, the subject matter therein, stand up to all the hype? Yes, they do. Despite having some problems in the execution (clumsy handing of foreshadowing and detail introduction, overuse of exclamation points, inability to call a character by either a first or last name when a character has both [e.g., Dyvim Tvar is never referred to as "Dyvim" or "Tvar," but always "Dyvim Tvar":], etc.), Elric hands us something fantasy readers up to that point hadn't been used to: an antihero, and a sympathetic one to boot.
Elric is the eighty-eighth lord of the island kingdom of Melnibonë, once a power that ruled over the world. Its power has waned in the interim, and some see the sickly Elric as proof of this. His cousin Yyrkoon wants the throne as badly as Elric doesn't. The bulk of the first novel deals with the struggle between Elric and Yyrkoon for the throne, with Yyrkoon's sister Cymoril, who also happens to be Elric's betrothed, caught in the middle between them. It also sets up much of what comes in later books-Elric's meeting with his longtime friend Rackhir, descriptions of the defenses of Melnibonë against outside invasion, the rules which dragons follow on Moorcock's earth.
There are some minor niggles to get through in the way Moorcock presents his characters and their backgrounds; however, that may be retrospect speaking (it's impossible to compare stories Moorock was writing in the sixties, stylistically, to, for example, George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire; Martin is far better at slipping pieces of his characters' backgrounds into the text without drawing our attention to them, but few if any authors working in "genre fiction" were interested in the conventions of high literature at the time these books were written).
An excellent beginning. If you haven't yet read the Elric novels, whether you are a fantasy fan or not, this is where to begin. ****
Perhaps more than any fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings, the six "classic" Elric novels stand as the definitive fantasy novels. Not long after their original American publication in the authorized editions (with stunning Michael Whelan cover art), the TSR folks included a section on Elric in the original AD&D book Deities and Demigods, removed in subsequent printings for legal reasons. Then the gothic metal band Cirith Ungol used some of Whelan's Elric paintings for their album covers. And thus, the legendary books gained fame beyond that of normal readers...
But I digress. Given the unique nature of the growth of the Elric cult, the question needs asked: do the books themselves, the subject matter therein, stand up to all the hype? Yes, they do. Despite having some problems in the execution (clumsy handing of foreshadowing and detail introduction, overuse of exclamation points, inability to call a character by either a first or last name when a character has both [e.g., Dyvim Tvar is never referred to as "Dyvim" or "Tvar," but always "Dyvim Tvar":], etc.), Elric hands us something fantasy readers up to that point hadn't been used to: an antihero, and a sympathetic one to boot.
Elric is the eighty-eighth lord of the island kingdom of Melnibonë, once a power that ruled over the world. Its power has waned in the interim, and some see the sickly Elric as proof of this. His cousin Yyrkoon wants the throne as badly as Elric doesn't. The bulk of the first novel deals with the struggle between Elric and Yyrkoon for the throne, with Yyrkoon's sister Cymoril, who also happens to be Elric's betrothed, caught in the middle between them. It also sets up much of what comes in later books-Elric's meeting with his longtime friend Rackhir, descriptions of the defenses of Melnibonë against outside invasion, the rules which dragons follow on Moorcock's earth.
There are some minor niggles to get through in the way Moorcock presents his characters and their backgrounds; however, that may be retrospect speaking (it's impossible to compare stories Moorock was writing in the sixties, stylistically, to, for example, George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire; Martin is far better at slipping pieces of his characters' backgrounds into the text without drawing our attention to them, but few if any authors working in "genre fiction" were interested in the conventions of high literature at the time these books were written).
An excellent beginning. If you haven't yet read the Elric novels, whether you are a fantasy fan or not, this is where to begin. ****
August 3, 2020
I’m a sucker for unsympathetic antiheroes, and so the weak, treacherous and narcissistic Elric of Melniboné should have been right up my literary alley. Alas, Michael Moorcock ruins a good plot (or many plots, since this is a collection of stories) with writing so littered with adjectives, adverbs and tired gender stereotypes I had to double-check that this story was not originally published on FanFiction.net.
February 7, 2024
I only read the actual first novel so far. A fun read in the Sword and Sorcery genre with the promise of many great adventures to come.
December 10, 2010
I was first introduced to the brooding sorcerer-emperor of Melnibone in high school(a long, long time ago in a suburbia not far away enough), and instantly related to his sense of not belonging, of always questioning the whys and wherefores of life. Elric is one of fantasy's most intriguing characters, and has sparked some rather heated debates as to whether or not he can be defined as a "hero" in the classic sense. The Elric Saga is classic sword and sorcery fantasy at its best.
And, I loved Robert Gould's artwork for the Berkley editions (which I still own). I've been a fan of his work ever since.
Elric is NOT, Conan, for which many of us with literary leanings can be profoundly grateful. Michael Moorcock took fantasy out of its typical milieu and gave it a sense of epic storytelling with thought-provoking ideas of good and evil, of order and chaos. Elric prototypes now abound in the realm of fantasy fiction, which has been a good thing. Not to mention, both Elric and his creator Moorcock have inspired a lot of great metal bands, like my favorite, Blind Guardian, Hawkwind and of course Tygers of Pan Tang.
My fondest wish has always been to explore further the mysterious island kingdom of Melnibone, since its denizens were just as fascinating as the title character himself. I was always intrigued by the tale of Terhali, the Green Empress. And let's face it, sentient swords with a taste for foe and friend alike are just so cool!
And, I loved Robert Gould's artwork for the Berkley editions (which I still own). I've been a fan of his work ever since.
Elric is NOT, Conan, for which many of us with literary leanings can be profoundly grateful. Michael Moorcock took fantasy out of its typical milieu and gave it a sense of epic storytelling with thought-provoking ideas of good and evil, of order and chaos. Elric prototypes now abound in the realm of fantasy fiction, which has been a good thing. Not to mention, both Elric and his creator Moorcock have inspired a lot of great metal bands, like my favorite, Blind Guardian, Hawkwind and of course Tygers of Pan Tang.
My fondest wish has always been to explore further the mysterious island kingdom of Melnibone, since its denizens were just as fascinating as the title character himself. I was always intrigued by the tale of Terhali, the Green Empress. And let's face it, sentient swords with a taste for foe and friend alike are just so cool!
December 31, 2007
Your results may vary with this one, especially if you're a bigger fantasy person then I am and especially especially if you're interested in the history of fantasy. The character Elric was and is a really interesting twist on the genre, and it's nice to have a protagonist whose next move you genuinely cannot anticipate. I'm not in love with all the swordfighting/spellcasting/worldbuilding but if it's your bag then this is the good stuff.
SPOILER
The ending might have cost the book a star all by itself, though, and didn't really spur me on to read the rest of the series. It seriously undercuts the idea that he's doomed by fate when he makes catastrophically stupid decisions all by himself.
SPOILER
The ending might have cost the book a star all by itself, though, and didn't really spur me on to read the rest of the series. It seriously undercuts the idea that he's doomed by fate when he makes catastrophically stupid decisions all by himself.
March 9, 2016
The albino emperor
Read the heroic struggle of the only Melnibonean sovereign equipped with something that resembles a conscience! Through fantastic encounters, epic quests and evocative places, the author depicts one of the most original character in the Sword and Sorcery genre: receiving flaws (physical and/or psychological) where “normal heroes” have qualities, Elric struggle singles him out and immediately it makes him relatable to anyone. No Fantasy reader will be able to resist the fascinating call to adventure.
Read the heroic struggle of the only Melnibonean sovereign equipped with something that resembles a conscience! Through fantastic encounters, epic quests and evocative places, the author depicts one of the most original character in the Sword and Sorcery genre: receiving flaws (physical and/or psychological) where “normal heroes” have qualities, Elric struggle singles him out and immediately it makes him relatable to anyone. No Fantasy reader will be able to resist the fascinating call to adventure.
November 18, 2017
I really couldn't get in to this book, I only read the first book in the collection. I just found it really hard to get into as I really struggled to feel anything but annoyed with the Elryic. Just sucked big time.
February 14, 2021
Tämä Elric-kokoelma oli lojunut kirjahyllyssäni 1990-luvun alkupuolelta saakka. Kokoelma ensimmäisen pienoisromaanin Elric Melnibonélainen (Elric of Melniboné, 1972) olen lukenut useita kertoja, mutta lukeminen on tähän saakka pysähtynyt aina toiseen pienoisromaniin The Fortress of the Pearl. Nyt, kun lopultakin sain koko kirjan luettua loppuun, voin kertoa syynkin: The Fortress of the Pearl on melko heikko esitys. Siinä on melko mukiinmenevä alku ja melko mukiinmenevä loppu, mutta valitettavasti niiden välissä on liki parisataa sivua erittäin pitkästyttävää ja tyhjänpäiväistä tekstiä.
Kolmannessa pienoisromaanissa The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976) otetaan askel parempaan suuntaan, mutta sekin on hajananainen esitys, jonka viittaukset Michael Moorcockin (s. 1939) muihin The Eternal Champion -kokonaisuuteen kuuluviin tarinoihin lähinnä sekoittavat.
Vasta neljäs pienoisromaani tai pitkä novelli The Dreaming City (1961), joka on Moorcockin ensimmäinen Elric-tarina, on huippuhyvä. Sitä seuraavat lyhyet tarinat While the Gods Laugh (1961) ja The Singing Citadel (1967) ovat myös kelpoa pulp-fiktiota, joista selviää, minkä takia Elricistä on tullut niin ikoninen hahmo 1900-luvun fantasiakirjallisuudessa.
Tämän kokoelman luettuani kyseenalaistan, kannattaako Elric-tarinoita (ja itse asiassa muitakaan fantasiatarinoita) lukea niiden sisäisen kronologian mukaisessa järjestyksessä. Ehkä parempi olisi lukea siinä järjestyksessä, jossa tarinat on kirjoitettu – onhan silläkin merkitystä, missä vaiheessa ja missä järjestyksessä asioita paljastetaan lukijoille.
En tiedä, tarkoittiko Moorcock Melnibonéa tai Imryrriä alun perin allegoriaksi millekään, mutta kun The Fortress of the Pearlissa (1989) puhutaan Melnibonésta imperiumina, joka hallitsi ennen koko maailmaa ja nyt hallitsi enää itseään, mieleen tulee väistämättä Iso-Britannia. Tämä ajatus ei välttämättä ole ollut Moorcockin mielessä vielä vuonna 1961.
Fantasiakirjallisuuden toista vähäpigmettistä sankaria, Andrzej Sapkowskin noituri Geraltia, haukutaan toisinaan Elric-kopioksi. Hahmoille on kieltämättä yhteistä paitsi ihonväri myös taipumus moraalisiin pohdintoihin ja näyttää siltä, että sekä Geralt että Elric toimivat parhaiten lyhyissä tarinoissa. Plagiaattisyytökset ovat liioiteltuja, mutta ei ole epäilystä, etteikö Sapkowski olisi saanut vaikutteita Moorcockilta ja käynyt tämän lelulaatikolla.
Loppuarvio:
Elric of Melniboné ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Fortress of the Pearl ⭐️⭐️
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dreaming City ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While the Gods Laugh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Singing Citadel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kokonaisarvosanaan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ vaikuttaa se, kaksi heikointa pienoisromaania ovat myös kokoelman pisimmät.
Kolmannessa pienoisromaanissa The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976) otetaan askel parempaan suuntaan, mutta sekin on hajananainen esitys, jonka viittaukset Michael Moorcockin (s. 1939) muihin The Eternal Champion -kokonaisuuteen kuuluviin tarinoihin lähinnä sekoittavat.
Vasta neljäs pienoisromaani tai pitkä novelli The Dreaming City (1961), joka on Moorcockin ensimmäinen Elric-tarina, on huippuhyvä. Sitä seuraavat lyhyet tarinat While the Gods Laugh (1961) ja The Singing Citadel (1967) ovat myös kelpoa pulp-fiktiota, joista selviää, minkä takia Elricistä on tullut niin ikoninen hahmo 1900-luvun fantasiakirjallisuudessa.
Tämän kokoelman luettuani kyseenalaistan, kannattaako Elric-tarinoita (ja itse asiassa muitakaan fantasiatarinoita) lukea niiden sisäisen kronologian mukaisessa järjestyksessä. Ehkä parempi olisi lukea siinä järjestyksessä, jossa tarinat on kirjoitettu – onhan silläkin merkitystä, missä vaiheessa ja missä järjestyksessä asioita paljastetaan lukijoille.
En tiedä, tarkoittiko Moorcock Melnibonéa tai Imryrriä alun perin allegoriaksi millekään, mutta kun The Fortress of the Pearlissa (1989) puhutaan Melnibonésta imperiumina, joka hallitsi ennen koko maailmaa ja nyt hallitsi enää itseään, mieleen tulee väistämättä Iso-Britannia. Tämä ajatus ei välttämättä ole ollut Moorcockin mielessä vielä vuonna 1961.
Fantasiakirjallisuuden toista vähäpigmettistä sankaria, Andrzej Sapkowskin noituri Geraltia, haukutaan toisinaan Elric-kopioksi. Hahmoille on kieltämättä yhteistä paitsi ihonväri myös taipumus moraalisiin pohdintoihin ja näyttää siltä, että sekä Geralt että Elric toimivat parhaiten lyhyissä tarinoissa. Plagiaattisyytökset ovat liioiteltuja, mutta ei ole epäilystä, etteikö Sapkowski olisi saanut vaikutteita Moorcockilta ja käynyt tämän lelulaatikolla.
Loppuarvio:
Elric of Melniboné ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Fortress of the Pearl ⭐️⭐️
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dreaming City ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While the Gods Laugh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Singing Citadel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kokonaisarvosanaan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ vaikuttaa se, kaksi heikointa pienoisromaania ovat myös kokoelman pisimmät.
January 17, 2021
I finally made it through this book. There were times when I wanted to abandon it, I was very close, but I still kept reading. I'm disappointed. I heard so many good things about this!! And I must admit that I really disliked it. There are some awesome ideas and the main character is interesting and intriguing.. but he's also super annoying. His stubbornness, his absolute silly decisions.. arg!! Also I thought I'm in for grandiose, epic fantasy. It was that in the beginning and I really enjoyed stormbringer, but then it rather turns into hundreds of pages of a stoned man's hallucinations full of dimensions and other worlds and Dreamworld and your head's gonna explode because it can't comprehend the crazy stuff it sees, man!! Haha! Ok, I'm exaggerating, but yea, this was really not my idea of an epic fantasy story with a dark twist. Also the last three books are so short!! Stories are crammed into forty pages that could fill a whole 300 page book! After all this odyssey elric comes back home and this is dealt with within a few pages!! NO!! Yep, this wasn't my book, sorry.
March 8, 2025
I remember hearing about Elric when I was a student but I never read it. This collection set in the order of the Elric's chronology is a good selection of short stories which gives an impression of Elric's character. That character is, as many other reviews have suggested, the main interest here. He is the antithesis of a hero, but all the more engaging for that, particularly in the context of a fantasy setting. The other characters and the plots are a bit thin if I'm honest, but it's mostly worth it for Elric's sardonic approach to life.
October 18, 2018
A massive work of imagination, which (following on from Tolkien) undoubtedly helped create the modern "swords and sorcery" genre.
Elric is a flawed sorcerer prince of a dying race who struggles with his dependency on his powerful yet malign magical sword. He encounters all sorts of strange foes as he travels and thus there's plenty of battles and tight scrapes for our (anti-)hero to escape from, often at the expense of his friends.
Elric is a flawed sorcerer prince of a dying race who struggles with his dependency on his powerful yet malign magical sword. He encounters all sorts of strange foes as he travels and thus there's plenty of battles and tight scrapes for our (anti-)hero to escape from, often at the expense of his friends.
November 26, 2022
Not quite as good as I remembered from many years ago when these were my go-to fantasy books.
Perhaps it's a style thing in terms of modern writing, or simply an age thing (in terms of me), but certainly lacking the 'spark' that I used to find.
Perhaps it's a style thing in terms of modern writing, or simply an age thing (in terms of me), but certainly lacking the 'spark' that I used to find.
July 18, 2018
This really wasn't for me. I disliked the writing and the characters. I've read some incredible fantasy recently and this didn't compare.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
April 24, 2020
An overall brilliant collection of fantasy stories from Michael Moorcock. I would recommend internal chronological order over published order.
Elric of Melniboné - ****
Released in 1972 Elric of Melniboné is a prequel to the Elric Saga but can definitely be read beforehand. It introduces Elric, Albino Prince of Ruins, before he became the wandering antihero of earlier and later books and still has hope that Melniboné can better itself. This introduces many of the important characters in the Elric Saga such as Yyrkoon, Cymoril, Dyvim Tvar and, of course, Stormbringer Elric's sword and Elric's curse.
It is a fun, engaging story with great action and many a moody introspective moment from Elric, he heads to many weird and crazy locations such as the world Stormbringer is found on and Melniboné itself. While great, something didn't fully connect for me as much as the other stories as well as so this is nocked the book down down a star.
The Fortress of the Pearl - *****
Released in 1989, this is my second favourite story in the collection, Elric journey's into the mind of of a tribe's holy girl alongside the Dreamthief Oone so as to retrieve the Pearl from the fortress in her mind and save himself, the girl and a boy held hostage in the nearby city of Quarzhasaat.
This was a brilliant, if a little long, story that fully dives into the weirdness of Moorcock's Multiverse with the walk through the Dreamland's with Oone and the things they find there. Satisfying all the way through I enjoyed the ending especially.
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - *****
Released in 1976, this is my favourite story of the entire collection. Escaping capture on a ship that seems to travel between the dimensions of the multiverse, Elric ends up meeting incarnations of himself from other worlds, becoming stranded in a strange pocket dimension all before returning home and traveling to an ancient lost city where his long lost ancestors lived long ago.
This fully embraces the strange possibilities of the multiverse, including a team up with popular Moorcock protagonists Hawkmoon, Corum and Erekose and weird adventures through other dimensions and into ancient eldrich cities in forgotten forests. Definitely my favourite Elric story so far.
The Dreaming City - ***
Released in 1961, The Dreaming City is the first Elric story and it shows. A bitter Elric, cheated by his cousin of his birthright and beloved, plots revenge.
This felt incredibly rushed and ever so slightly out of character for Elric. It seems strange that he'd go from a man seeking to change Melniboné for the better into . It feels as if something is missing to explain why Elric has suddenly become this way which is mostly due to this being written before the previous stories.
While the Gods Laugh - ***1/2
Released in 1961, While the Gods Laugh is an improvement over The Dreaming City. Elric meets a woman from a winged race and together they search for the book of the Ultimate Truth.
This story is better than the previous one with a little more character given to the cast and a fair amount of lovely angst for Elric. This is also the introduction of Moonglum who I understand is important in the later Elric stories. But apart from the ending and Moonglum this story isn't too memorable for me.
The Singing Citadel - ****
Released in 1967, The Singing Citadel is a great short story for Elric. Elric is approached by the Queen of Jhakor to investigate a mysterious singing citadel that has appeared in the West of her nation.
I found this story fun with a great central concept behind it as well as further exploration of the workings of the multiverse and the Lord's of Chaos. Some great weird imagery inside the citadel itself but apart from that I've nothing much else to say, great short story.
Overall
Overall I'd definitely recommend this collection to fans of fantasy, sword and sorcery, angsty protagonists, Michael Moorcock and weird and fun concepts.
Elric of Melniboné - ****
Released in 1972 Elric of Melniboné is a prequel to the Elric Saga but can definitely be read beforehand. It introduces Elric, Albino Prince of Ruins, before he became the wandering antihero of earlier and later books and still has hope that Melniboné can better itself. This introduces many of the important characters in the Elric Saga such as Yyrkoon, Cymoril, Dyvim Tvar and, of course, Stormbringer Elric's sword and Elric's curse.
It is a fun, engaging story with great action and many a moody introspective moment from Elric, he heads to many weird and crazy locations such as the world Stormbringer is found on and Melniboné itself. While great, something didn't fully connect for me as much as the other stories as well as so this is nocked the book down down a star.
The Fortress of the Pearl - *****
Released in 1989, this is my second favourite story in the collection, Elric journey's into the mind of of a tribe's holy girl alongside the Dreamthief Oone so as to retrieve the Pearl from the fortress in her mind and save himself, the girl and a boy held hostage in the nearby city of Quarzhasaat.
This was a brilliant, if a little long, story that fully dives into the weirdness of Moorcock's Multiverse with the walk through the Dreamland's with Oone and the things they find there. Satisfying all the way through I enjoyed the ending especially.
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - *****
Released in 1976, this is my favourite story of the entire collection. Escaping capture on a ship that seems to travel between the dimensions of the multiverse, Elric ends up meeting incarnations of himself from other worlds, becoming stranded in a strange pocket dimension all before returning home and traveling to an ancient lost city where his long lost ancestors lived long ago.
This fully embraces the strange possibilities of the multiverse, including a team up with popular Moorcock protagonists Hawkmoon, Corum and Erekose and weird adventures through other dimensions and into ancient eldrich cities in forgotten forests. Definitely my favourite Elric story so far.
The Dreaming City - ***
Released in 1961, The Dreaming City is the first Elric story and it shows. A bitter Elric, cheated by his cousin of his birthright and beloved, plots revenge.
This felt incredibly rushed and ever so slightly out of character for Elric. It seems strange that he'd go from a man seeking to change Melniboné for the better into . It feels as if something is missing to explain why Elric has suddenly become this way which is mostly due to this being written before the previous stories.
While the Gods Laugh - ***1/2
Released in 1961, While the Gods Laugh is an improvement over The Dreaming City. Elric meets a woman from a winged race and together they search for the book of the Ultimate Truth.
This story is better than the previous one with a little more character given to the cast and a fair amount of lovely angst for Elric. This is also the introduction of Moonglum who I understand is important in the later Elric stories. But apart from the ending and Moonglum this story isn't too memorable for me.
The Singing Citadel - ****
Released in 1967, The Singing Citadel is a great short story for Elric. Elric is approached by the Queen of Jhakor to investigate a mysterious singing citadel that has appeared in the West of her nation.
I found this story fun with a great central concept behind it as well as further exploration of the workings of the multiverse and the Lord's of Chaos. Some great weird imagery inside the citadel itself but apart from that I've nothing much else to say, great short story.
Overall
Overall I'd definitely recommend this collection to fans of fantasy, sword and sorcery, angsty protagonists, Michael Moorcock and weird and fun concepts.
September 18, 2013
This book really excited me when I started to read it. The first book in this collection was exactly what I like from a fantasy novel - good characters, good locations, good story-telling, mystery, intrigue. Unfortunately reading the book as a collection of stories, it all just seemed to lose its way. It felt very disjointed and lacked any sense of continuity.
Elric is a very interesting character, but as he's meant to be protrayed as an evil protagonist, it never really came across that way. When he did end up doing something particularly evil it wasn't him it was his sword and he was left devastated it by it, so not really infitting with the 'anti-hero' that he was trying to portray. The ability to summon elements to his will was just 'there' in the book - there was no sense of hardship to do so, or the chance that things may not go as they should.
As fantasy books these were all OK. Dated now in style, a little, but well written with good descriptions of environments, etc. As a series it left a lot to be desired. I was left disappointed at the way it all just seemed to tail off towards the end, and the overall ending of this collection of books was very unimaginative.
The premise could have made this so much more than it was. It almost feels like the author realised what a good character he had created with the original story with Elric and the city he had created, and tried to cash-cow from it, but it just lost a lot of appeal the longer it went on, and this is a serious trawl of a book at 700 pages long.
I'm glad I saw this book through to the end, but it did feel stale and tired towards the end, and I was let down by how much the story jumped from one situation to the next and didn't really tie together at all except for the fact the main character of Elric was in each story.
If you like 'classic' old style fantasy I'm sure this will be for you and worth a read, but it didn't really keep me hooked as I thought it would when I first started reading.
Elric is a very interesting character, but as he's meant to be protrayed as an evil protagonist, it never really came across that way. When he did end up doing something particularly evil it wasn't him it was his sword and he was left devastated it by it, so not really infitting with the 'anti-hero' that he was trying to portray. The ability to summon elements to his will was just 'there' in the book - there was no sense of hardship to do so, or the chance that things may not go as they should.
As fantasy books these were all OK. Dated now in style, a little, but well written with good descriptions of environments, etc. As a series it left a lot to be desired. I was left disappointed at the way it all just seemed to tail off towards the end, and the overall ending of this collection of books was very unimaginative.
The premise could have made this so much more than it was. It almost feels like the author realised what a good character he had created with the original story with Elric and the city he had created, and tried to cash-cow from it, but it just lost a lot of appeal the longer it went on, and this is a serious trawl of a book at 700 pages long.
I'm glad I saw this book through to the end, but it did feel stale and tired towards the end, and I was let down by how much the story jumped from one situation to the next and didn't really tie together at all except for the fact the main character of Elric was in each story.
If you like 'classic' old style fantasy I'm sure this will be for you and worth a read, but it didn't really keep me hooked as I thought it would when I first started reading.
September 11, 2014
Perhaps the greatest thing that can be said about Moorcock is he's one of those writers that makes the reader want to become a writer themselves, so good is his story. The early works of Stephen King have a similar effect. In this tale of the eternal champion series (with its striking white cover that looks good on the shelf) Moorcock presents, vividness, imagination, and one of fantasy's great heroes - a tragic, romantic, destiny driven figure, the equal to anything from Norse mythology or the great Greek sagas.
Moorcock doesn't always get it right - the eternal champion's constant world weariness can grate, and the writing is less polished than Moorcock's later works, but this is a fantasy tour de force.
Epic - in every sense.
Moorcock doesn't always get it right - the eternal champion's constant world weariness can grate, and the writing is less polished than Moorcock's later works, but this is a fantasy tour de force.
Epic - in every sense.
March 23, 2008
Yes - well - if you like sword and sorcery fantasy, then this is one of the great texts after Conan and the Old Testament of Tolkien. If you only skim the genre, then this quasi-fascistic fantasy (aren't so many of them wonderfully politically incorrect) of magic, blood and swords with names and bloodlines is probably the one to read. My patience is only for about one of these types of book every two or three years but I could actually see myself re-reading this in place of a more modern example. This is, of course, adolescent stuff - but find the inner boy and enjoy it (and especially if you are a girl). edit | delete review
April 24, 2011
Enjoyable reading. An omnibus following the adventures of the powerful albino sorcerer Elric. A book of dragons, ritual sorcery, questing philosophy, romance, tragedy, friendship, gods, elementals and the futility of existence and our lack of control over our own destiny. The books contained in the omnibus are: Elric of Melnibone, The Fortress of the Pearl, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, The Dreaming City, While The Gods Laugh and The Singing Citadel.
October 16, 2024
Ah, such a pleasure!
Back to the old stories - the feeling is still as good as the first time.
Fortress of the Pearl is definitely different in style and pace, much more meandering, yet still satisfying. Had it been written in the old times it would be about a third of the current length :)
Still, joy, joy, joy. Getting lost in the Multiverse - cannot wait to continue (and then I should probably visit Erekose as well, I have never read all of his cycle)
Back to the old stories - the feeling is still as good as the first time.
Fortress of the Pearl is definitely different in style and pace, much more meandering, yet still satisfying. Had it been written in the old times it would be about a third of the current length :)
Still, joy, joy, joy. Getting lost in the Multiverse - cannot wait to continue (and then I should probably visit Erekose as well, I have never read all of his cycle)
January 24, 2011
Really wanted to give it 4 stars, but it's very inconsistent quality-wise. Some pieces are extraordinary, while other parts are a mess. The sword & sorcery is usually imaginative and even breathtaking. The parts, where Moorcock describes Elric's doubts are mostly an embarrassing yawn-fest. Three stars then - I liked it, it was close to being great, but missed the mark by a bit.
March 13, 2011
An enjoyable adventure, with a strong flavour of a role-game in it. That I didn't particularly appreciate, and the gods who let themselves be summoned and who aid the humans. But I surely liked the ship that sails through sea and land, the trick of the Memory Mirror and of course the black swords with a will of their own!
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May 25, 2013I loved it! Actually, what's not to love? Blood and gore, a soul-eating sword, a morose albino emperor, 1/2 demon 1/2 human. Oh, and don't forget, mercenary sidekicks galore, lovely women, many a quest and a memorable ending.
Yeah, Elric!
Yeah, Elric!
October 28, 2015
The book offers this collection of the Champion Eternal saga, till the conclusion of it.
I will not say much, I will just say, that this book, has filled me with a variety of emotions.
Elric is the only one who could carry out such a fate, and what a fate was that!
I will not say much, I will just say, that this book, has filled me with a variety of emotions.
Elric is the only one who could carry out such a fate, and what a fate was that!
January 22, 2008
awww yeah, donchoo mess with the albino and his sword stormbringer! because it will end in D00M!
June 5, 2008
Good fantasy, but not as mindblowingly awesome as my mother insisted it was. Very, very easy to read.
May 26, 2011
I love the tale of the albino sorcerer. I love Elric, I think he is the best of Moorcock's Eternal Champions.
June 26, 2011
Actually fleshed Elric out more... which I would have thought impossible at this point. A great add to the classic saga.
April 16, 2013
I'm moving this off my "to read" list. I read it when I was young, sort of remember it, and would like to reread it once time allows.
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