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scott_scott's review against another edition
4.0
Good! I enjoyed the actual text of the novel "Elric of Melnibone" quite a bit, the start was a little slow and seemed to be already familiar from the "volume 0" script from the graphic novel explaining Elric's ancestors and their dealing with the elementals and Arioch.
But once the action really kicked in I enjoyed the main story a lot. The first 2 introductions are written by alan moore and john clute ABOUT michael moorcock, and so you can get the impression that theyre really bigging him up, but don't worry, moorcock's own essays aren't self-agrandising. he writes about the history of fantasy as a style, his aims for using it, it's historical forms, and other inspirations he had when writing, or helping with comic versions being made.
The little Earl of Aubec chapter at the start was OK, but again like the main novel, i enjoyed the second half a lot more because that's when moorcock's use of supernatural settings for describing the subconscious get more obvious.
I would recommend it, and the inside first few pages also give you the reading list for the order to read elric and his other stories in , in terms of in-story timeline as opposed to writing order, since the graphic novel script and "elric of melnibone" itself are both taking place as prequels to the first elric serialisations that later got published as novels.
I think it is a good balance of what you traditionally consider fantasy from that time in the 20th century, but also has interesting events that you didn't expect, or panned out in a way that leads on to something you can't easily predict.
I would recommend someone to read this if they want to know what exactly Moorcock aimed to do with his stories, and also the significance of Elric for future stories if they have just heard either name mentioned and want to know more without feeling like the have to buy the whole series second-hand or something just to work out what the point of it all is.
But once the action really kicked in I enjoyed the main story a lot. The first 2 introductions are written by alan moore and john clute ABOUT michael moorcock, and so you can get the impression that theyre really bigging him up, but don't worry, moorcock's own essays aren't self-agrandising. he writes about the history of fantasy as a style, his aims for using it, it's historical forms, and other inspirations he had when writing, or helping with comic versions being made.
The little Earl of Aubec chapter at the start was OK, but again like the main novel, i enjoyed the second half a lot more because that's when moorcock's use of supernatural settings for describing the subconscious get more obvious.
I would recommend it, and the inside first few pages also give you the reading list for the order to read elric and his other stories in , in terms of in-story timeline as opposed to writing order, since the graphic novel script and "elric of melnibone" itself are both taking place as prequels to the first elric serialisations that later got published as novels.
I think it is a good balance of what you traditionally consider fantasy from that time in the 20th century, but also has interesting events that you didn't expect, or panned out in a way that leads on to something you can't easily predict.
I would recommend someone to read this if they want to know what exactly Moorcock aimed to do with his stories, and also the significance of Elric for future stories if they have just heard either name mentioned and want to know more without feeling like the have to buy the whole series second-hand or something just to work out what the point of it all is.
markhodderauthor's review against another edition
3.0
My journey through Moorcock—revisiting old favourites for the first time in many years while also discovering new material—now arrives at Elric. Despite being the author's most acclaimed fantasy creation, Elric was never my favourite. I always preferred Corum and Hawkmoon. It's not that I don't like Elric, but I always felt that, after the early stories, which ended with Elric killed, Moorcock saw that he'd murdered a money spinner, so resurrected him in a sequence of tales that, in my view, don't possess the same degree of audacity. However, here the saga begins, with a mixed bag of stories hung about the original debut tale. The central story is as great as it ever was. The rest are nice to have collected together but fail to make the grade.
sookieskipper's review against another edition
3.0
Its still early to empathize or even understand Elric given his eccentricity and actions that seems to stem from impluse. His adventure will make you breathless and the swashbuckling fun.
And then there are brother swords.
As I read this, I see its influence on many modern fantasy writers. The moment I read the sword has a "brother", I immediately thought of Voldemort and HP. There is a mirror that shows memories. It goes on.
The story may seem very bleak and superficial as Moorcock keeps the flow simple and even characters quite simple just so the world could be understood easily.
This book as such may not be great but the series most definitely is. At least I hope so!
And then there are brother swords.
As I read this, I see its influence on many modern fantasy writers. The moment I read the sword has a "brother", I immediately thought of Voldemort and HP. There is a mirror that shows memories. It goes on.
The story may seem very bleak and superficial as Moorcock keeps the flow simple and even characters quite simple just so the world could be understood easily.
This book as such may not be great but the series most definitely is. At least I hope so!
scottish_kat's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really undecided on this book, on one hand the lack of detail, depth and character development was really refreshing ("after several years travelling he arrived" still makes me laugh) and on the other hand those same things are extremely frustrating.
I have several more of these books in my TBR wall, I'll probably dip into them as fillers between meatier tomes but I doubt I'll ever be a fan.
I have several more of these books in my TBR wall, I'll probably dip into them as fillers between meatier tomes but I doubt I'll ever be a fan.
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