Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, #3) in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Oct 15, 2014 Joseph rated it really liked it

I first encountered Elric back in high school -- borrowing a friend's paperbacks (DAW editions with the Michael Whelan covers), then later acquiring my own set (the Berkleys with the Robert Gould covers). At the time, he blew my mind, man, he blew! my! mind!

I revisited Elric and his other incarnations many times over the years -- I was very happy when White Wolf started publishing the "complete" Eternal Champion series in hardcover. And now I'm revisiting the Doomed Albino Prince through the 6-v I first encountered Elric back in high school -- borrowing a friend's paperbacks (DAW editions with the Michael Whelan covers), then later acquiring my own set (the Berkleys with the Robert Gould covers). At the time, he blew my mind, man, he blew! my! mind!

I revisited Elric and his other incarnations many times over the years -- I was very happy when White Wolf started publishing the "complete" Eternal Champion series in hardcover. And now I'm revisiting the Doomed Albino Prince through the 6-volume series Del Rey issued five or six years ago.

Happily, I'm finding that the stories still hold up, although they're not without their imperfections.

The Del Rey series arranges the Elric stories in (mostly) order of publication rather than internal chronology. This volume essentially comprises the fourth (The Vanishing Tower) and first Elric of Melniboné) installments of the series I remember from back in the day. It's interesting to read them in order of publication because you can really see Moorcock's development as a writer; particularly in Elric of Melniboné, the story in which we learn exactly how & why Elric pledged himself to Arioch and acquired Stormbringer. (SPOILER: It's all Yrkhoon's fault.) We also get our first real glimpse of Melnibonéan life before the fall of Imrryr -- it's suitably beautiful and decadent and grotesque, from the slave choirs (each member surgically altered to sing one perfect note) to Doctor Jest, the royal um, acquirer of information from reluctant sources.

The Sleeping Sorceress proper continues Elric's conflict with the sorcerer Theleb K'aarna of Pan Tang, and includes one of the two "crossover" events in the Eternal Champion cycle -- when Elric and one or more of his other incarnations (Corum and Erekosë, in this case) are brought together by cosmic forces.

The writing is in all cases colorful and fast paced and economical -- these novels, as originally published, hovered around the 200 page mark each. Elric is a bit Gothic and a bit melodramatic, but really, that's part of his charm ... ...more

2 likes · Like · see review