The Eternal Ramble - A Haphazard Rave about Elric
I said in a previous post that I might write about the Elric novels I've been reading and to stop myself from debating whether I will or not I am. Many of you will already know something about them even if you've never read them but for those who don't I'll give a quick idea.
Elric is the last emperor of Melnibone, an ancient and decadent empire. He can summon aid from demons and elementals and has a sword of mystical origins which forms a love-hate symbiosis with him. All of this is part of Michael Moorcock's multiverse where Elric becomes just one facet of the Eternal Warrior.
It's epic fantasy but in episodic form. Every novel (of the first five which is all I've read so far) is divided into three and each section is its own story which was published in a slightly different version (or not) in journals. At least that's how they're designed. So the chronology occasionally jumps slightly but the stories do follow one after the other even if some events happen at different points in other characters' lives, by which I mean Corum who pops up twice but is actually also the Eternal Warrior.
With that in mind I have to say I found Elric less compelling overall than Erekose and Hawkmoon who are two other facets or forms of the Eternal Warrior and whose sagas are told in a continuous flowing story. However the shorter format provides for more variety and interest, and if one story isn't so great there's always the next one.
The format also puts Elric into the tradition of Conan, Solomon Kane and other "pulp" figures (those being Robert E Howard's most famous creations). But this is early 20th century pulp in the mid 20th century, which is to say slightly nuts. You never know when Elric is going to leave his own plane of existence, or time stream. He meets demons, crazed agents of chaos, plenty of women who he has wild sex with, and brave heroes like Rakhir the Red Archer - so named because he's an archer who wears red from head to toe, bright crimson at that.
In all I can see why Elric has such a cult following, but while I enjoyed his stories - and will read Stormbringer, the sixth volume which was the last one till there was a seventh - I'm not as fanatical. It's classic, it's fascinating but it's not world-shattering. I remain a Hawkmoon fan first and foremost; long live the Eternal Warrior ... yes that's a redundant comment, although he does die too, frequently actually.
Keep dreaming!
Elric is the last emperor of Melnibone, an ancient and decadent empire. He can summon aid from demons and elementals and has a sword of mystical origins which forms a love-hate symbiosis with him. All of this is part of Michael Moorcock's multiverse where Elric becomes just one facet of the Eternal Warrior.
It's epic fantasy but in episodic form. Every novel (of the first five which is all I've read so far) is divided into three and each section is its own story which was published in a slightly different version (or not) in journals. At least that's how they're designed. So the chronology occasionally jumps slightly but the stories do follow one after the other even if some events happen at different points in other characters' lives, by which I mean Corum who pops up twice but is actually also the Eternal Warrior.
With that in mind I have to say I found Elric less compelling overall than Erekose and Hawkmoon who are two other facets or forms of the Eternal Warrior and whose sagas are told in a continuous flowing story. However the shorter format provides for more variety and interest, and if one story isn't so great there's always the next one.
The format also puts Elric into the tradition of Conan, Solomon Kane and other "pulp" figures (those being Robert E Howard's most famous creations). But this is early 20th century pulp in the mid 20th century, which is to say slightly nuts. You never know when Elric is going to leave his own plane of existence, or time stream. He meets demons, crazed agents of chaos, plenty of women who he has wild sex with, and brave heroes like Rakhir the Red Archer - so named because he's an archer who wears red from head to toe, bright crimson at that.
In all I can see why Elric has such a cult following, but while I enjoyed his stories - and will read Stormbringer, the sixth volume which was the last one till there was a seventh - I'm not as fanatical. It's classic, it's fascinating but it's not world-shattering. I remain a Hawkmoon fan first and foremost; long live the Eternal Warrior ... yes that's a redundant comment, although he does die too, frequently actually.
Keep dreaming!
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