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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Possibly the best fantasy novel I have ever read (although I have not read many) I marvel at the imagination of Michael Moorcock.
Elric is one of the best anti-heroes in all of fiction. This book is a great start to his adventures.
Rather bland but quick read, not surprised it's out of print.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Amazingly terse, just a handful of killer lines and almost no messing around. Good but pulpy.
Re-reading this on audio about 38 years later. :)
I really thought that I wouldn't like this. That it would be dated and terrible. I was totally wrong. I loved it! The audio version was kind of strange because it had constant ambient sound/music in the background, but I didn't hate that.
I'm sure there was some nostalgia that made me enjoy this more than I would have it I had no connection with it, but still it was a cool story and I'm a fan of "purple prose" so it still worked for me after all this time.
Also listening to it on audio blew my mind with some of the pronunciations.
I really thought that I wouldn't like this. That it would be dated and terrible. I was totally wrong. I loved it! The audio version was kind of strange because it had constant ambient sound/music in the background, but I didn't hate that.
I'm sure there was some nostalgia that made me enjoy this more than I would have it I had no connection with it, but still it was a cool story and I'm a fan of "purple prose" so it still worked for me after all this time.
Also listening to it on audio blew my mind with some of the pronunciations.
Bro, read this book to understand how to NOT write a book.
To the guy who said this book was Soulsbourne-like, flat out lied. There is some elements but it's a whisper of a fart.
Even if I wasn't reading it for that genre, it's a stereotypical fantasy book with little deviance from the norm of that time or today's media.
Notes in rabbit notebook.
0/5
To the guy who said this book was Soulsbourne-like, flat out lied. There is some elements but it's a whisper of a fart.
Even if I wasn't reading it for that genre, it's a stereotypical fantasy book with little deviance from the norm of that time or today's media.
Notes in rabbit notebook.
0/5
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Too many times I've been overwhelmed with the daunting task of starting a new fantasy series. Which one do you pick? Most of them are several books long, thousands of pages and hours of reading time for a story that might not even click. And many of them depend on the slow build for payoff at an end that might not even arrive.
Enter Elric of Melnibone. A sword and sorcery fantasy of the highest form. Not bogged down with long-winded descriptions or pages of world building. You know everything you need to know in the first pages, his name is Elric, he has bone-white skin and red eyes and he rules a kingdom with ties to Chaos magic. Boom. Let's go on an adventure.
The plot is razor thin and he's in love with his cousin, but it's got water elementals, chaos demons, a ship that can magically traverse land and sea, a different dimension, warlocks. A really big mirror that can steal memories. Two sentient swords that are brothers or enemies? Sound good? Cool it's concentrated within a <200 pages. Don't like it? It only cost you an hour or two at best. Love it? There's several more books just like it.
What a short book like this loses in depth it more than makes up for in full flung fantasy adventure, giving you the juiciest part of the fruit without the peel and the pit. And here's the crazy thing: The payoff in the final fight feels just as earned as anything else.
You can see why this character has been so incredibly influential to fantasy novels and characters like Drizzt. He is an end all be all OP Cool Antihero.
Enter Elric of Melnibone. A sword and sorcery fantasy of the highest form. Not bogged down with long-winded descriptions or pages of world building. You know everything you need to know in the first pages, his name is Elric, he has bone-white skin and red eyes and he rules a kingdom with ties to Chaos magic. Boom. Let's go on an adventure.
The plot is razor thin and he's in love with his cousin, but it's got water elementals, chaos demons, a ship that can magically traverse land and sea, a different dimension, warlocks. A really big mirror that can steal memories. Two sentient swords that are brothers or enemies? Sound good? Cool it's concentrated within a <200 pages. Don't like it? It only cost you an hour or two at best. Love it? There's several more books just like it.
What a short book like this loses in depth it more than makes up for in full flung fantasy adventure, giving you the juiciest part of the fruit without the peel and the pit. And here's the crazy thing: The payoff in the final fight feels just as earned as anything else.
You can see why this character has been so incredibly influential to fantasy novels and characters like Drizzt. He is an end all be all OP Cool Antihero.
