hippoponymous's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
caitsidhe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
smiorganbaldhead's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5. I was really looking forward to this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. My favorite part is the almost-horror tale of the 2nd part of the book, but I enjoyed the whole thing. It was great to see more of Moonglum, who had been absent from other later Elric novels. There is one sequence I really liked late in the book where Moorcock portrays a character seeming to go mad. At first I was confused, but then started to realize that was the point, which was made clearer when the perspective shifted to a different character. I also found it very amusing how Moorcock included the phrase “Make Melniboné Great Again.”
kylepinion's review against another edition
2.0
I went into this being so stoked. A brand new Elric novel in 2022! But sadly, it’s a bit of a disappointment. Made up of three interconnected stories that find Elric and his pal Moonglum on the bottom end of his world, the centralized premise is aimed at providing more background for Elric’s people and their connections to the dragons (or Phoorn) that they ride and share ancestry with.
That’s all well and good, but how are the stories? The first is just okay, but short enough to not occupy too much time. Honestly, I read it a few weeks ago, and the details are already a bit hazy. The second story is my favorite of the trio, and reminds me the most of classic Elric with a terrific adventure narrative, good supporting cast and a memorable monster to top things off. But the bulk of the book is made up of the third tale, which is a dreary slog and probably needed a tighter editing pass. Critical details are so drowned in overwrought (and repetitive) prose that I found myself not 100% sure I understood what was going on at times.
Maybe when I sit down to really hammer through the Moorcock oeuvre, I’ll revisit this and some of its deeper references to his corpus will land better at least.
That’s all well and good, but how are the stories? The first is just okay, but short enough to not occupy too much time. Honestly, I read it a few weeks ago, and the details are already a bit hazy. The second story is my favorite of the trio, and reminds me the most of classic Elric with a terrific adventure narrative, good supporting cast and a memorable monster to top things off. But the bulk of the book is made up of the third tale, which is a dreary slog and probably needed a tighter editing pass. Critical details are so drowned in overwrought (and repetitive) prose that I found myself not 100% sure I understood what was going on at times.
Maybe when I sit down to really hammer through the Moorcock oeuvre, I’ll revisit this and some of its deeper references to his corpus will land better at least.
johnwillson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
3.5
The first half of this book is two stand-alone, but related, fun short stories starring Elric and Moonglum. The second half of the book is a slow and at-times confusing tale, also related to the first two, that regularly interrupts itself for long semi-coherent reveries, punctuated by free verse, by various characters, often when they are intoxicated or driven mad by magic. The overall experience is confusing and sometimes boring. The big reveal is pretty great, but the final resolution doesn't pay off enough for all the work it takes to get there.
I'm a fan of Moorcock and especially of Elric, but I don't think I'll be re-reading this one, and I wouldn't recommend it as anyone's first Elric book.
I'm a fan of Moorcock and especially of Elric, but I don't think I'll be re-reading this one, and I wouldn't recommend it as anyone's first Elric book.
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