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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Rating: 3/5 stars
This was a fun read, but a bit on the light side. If I had read this in my younger days, I think I would have been blown away. But, at this point it felt more like a fun diversion.
I have to admit, the slavery in this story really did not sit well at all. Or the lack of solid female characters. I guess it is to be expected considering the time frame written and the classic fantasy world setting. Still, ugh.
Perhaps it improves over time. I do want to move on to the next book, but my library only has the first 2 books. There isn't enough here for me to want to seek out more.
This was a fun read, but a bit on the light side. If I had read this in my younger days, I think I would have been blown away. But, at this point it felt more like a fun diversion.
I have to admit, the slavery in this story really did not sit well at all. Or the lack of solid female characters. I guess it is to be expected considering the time frame written and the classic fantasy world setting. Still, ugh.
Perhaps it improves over time. I do want to move on to the next book, but my library only has the first 2 books. There isn't enough here for me to want to seek out more.
Yes, I can respect that he set the stage for a lot of fantasy writing. But what the hell?
1. Hero woos pretty lady: "I sense there is tragedy implicit in our love." Somehow this works.
2. Villain bad-touches and sister-naps pretty lady. Incest rape...yay...
3. When hero saves pretty lady she is *naked*, covered in runes, enchanted to sleep forever.
But hey, happy ending, right?
4. Hero lets villain take over his empire for a year *and leaves her with him*!?
What. The. Hell.
Oh, also there's a magical anus.
1. Hero woos pretty lady: "I sense there is tragedy implicit in our love." Somehow this works.
2. Villain bad-touches and sister-naps pretty lady. Incest rape...yay...
3. When hero saves pretty lady she is *naked*, covered in runes, enchanted to sleep forever.
But hey, happy ending, right?
4. Hero lets villain take over his empire for a year *and leaves her with him*!?
What. The. Hell.
Oh, also there's a magical anus.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Elric of Melniboné is my first adventure into the multiverse of Michael Moorcock and a fine adventure it is too.
I have seen the author mentioned a number of times on Goodreads and the other day, whilst browsing in a Spanish bookshop that sells the occasional paperback in English, I happened to come across a collection of 17 Moorcock novels.
I’m supposed to be saving the centimos but I didn’t want to pass such a great opportunity.
Many of the ones I purchased are part of The Elric Saga, Dancers at the End of Time and Corum stories. These are linked in a number of ways. As far as I understand, there’s a battle between gods of Law and Chaos, with characters crossing paths numerous times.
It goes without saying the writer is prolific. He started writing novels in the 1950’s and is still churning them out today. Most of his works compromise of science fiction and fantasy.
The characters in Elric of Melniboné are great, even if the writing isn’t particularly groundbreaking. Moorcock said, “I think of myself as a bad writer with big ideas, but I'd rather be that than a big writer with bad ideas”. That is the perfect definition of his work.
Elric of Melniboné is pure, unadulterated fun that I enjoyed from start to finish. Moorcock’s imagination is brilliant. I loved the world he created, and I can’t wait to see more of it. If you love high fantasy with a cynical edge, I highly recommend it.
4/5
I have seen the author mentioned a number of times on Goodreads and the other day, whilst browsing in a Spanish bookshop that sells the occasional paperback in English, I happened to come across a collection of 17 Moorcock novels.
I’m supposed to be saving the centimos but I didn’t want to pass such a great opportunity.
Many of the ones I purchased are part of The Elric Saga, Dancers at the End of Time and Corum stories. These are linked in a number of ways. As far as I understand, there’s a battle between gods of Law and Chaos, with characters crossing paths numerous times.
It goes without saying the writer is prolific. He started writing novels in the 1950’s and is still churning them out today. Most of his works compromise of science fiction and fantasy.
The characters in Elric of Melniboné are great, even if the writing isn’t particularly groundbreaking. Moorcock said, “I think of myself as a bad writer with big ideas, but I'd rather be that than a big writer with bad ideas”. That is the perfect definition of his work.
Elric of Melniboné is pure, unadulterated fun that I enjoyed from start to finish. Moorcock’s imagination is brilliant. I loved the world he created, and I can’t wait to see more of it. If you love high fantasy with a cynical edge, I highly recommend it.
4/5
A friend recommended Moorcock's Elric to me a long time ago. I tried reading this book back then and didn't "get" what he saw it. A few years ago my sister's godmother gave me the collected works of Elric so I tried again. Still didn't get what my friend saw in the book. It seemed to me a rough outline for a great idea.
Then it dawned on me. My friend loves Moorcock's writing style but can't stand Stephen King's style. They are almost completely opposite in styles. King describes damn near everything. Moorcock barely tells you anything.
He found a badass sword. He killed people invading his homeland. He wandered. He did stuff. He killed some things. In his lack of telling you anything I felt absolutely no reason to care about Elric, the world, or whatever the story may have been.
Then it dawned on me. My friend loves Moorcock's writing style but can't stand Stephen King's style. They are almost completely opposite in styles. King describes damn near everything. Moorcock barely tells you anything.
He found a badass sword. He killed people invading his homeland. He wandered. He did stuff. He killed some things. In his lack of telling you anything I felt absolutely no reason to care about Elric, the world, or whatever the story may have been.
3.5 stars, rounded down. I've finally read Elric. I enjoyed it for the most part. The earlier stories were lacking and not much different from each other, aside from the sack of Imrryr. As the final quartet got going, it did pull me in more. The final story is doubtless my favorite, and a fitting end to the saga.
Taken out of context of time, Elric the character is much less interesting than when considering his place in time of fantasy/sword & sorcery. Even if I had been aware of him 20 years after first publication, when I was a teen, I probably would have avoided the stories, given the state even then, of the genre. I know for a fact I heard about him with great reverence in the 1986—1992 timeframe from at least two friends. Still, I wasn't ready. Something told me that I was ready now, and indeed, this was the perfect time for me to appreciate the tragic hero. Thank you, Elric, for the world of Law, with just enough Chaos.
Taken out of context of time, Elric the character is much less interesting than when considering his place in time of fantasy/sword & sorcery. Even if I had been aware of him 20 years after first publication, when I was a teen, I probably would have avoided the stories, given the state even then, of the genre. I know for a fact I heard about him with great reverence in the 1986—1992 timeframe from at least two friends. Still, I wasn't ready. Something told me that I was ready now, and indeed, this was the perfect time for me to appreciate the tragic hero. Thank you, Elric, for the world of Law, with just enough Chaos.
3.5 Stars
A surprisingly effective fantasy story that examines the struggle between how one is raised vs. how one learns. It also has some really cool magic with actual limitations and consequences. The writing style is a bit blunt, but it serves the narrative well enough. I came into this expecting it to be bad, but it won me over.
A surprisingly effective fantasy story that examines the struggle between how one is raised vs. how one learns. It also has some really cool magic with actual limitations and consequences. The writing style is a bit blunt, but it serves the narrative well enough. I came into this expecting it to be bad, but it won me over.
adventurous
fast-paced
After reading Tolkien for the last two years, it's nice to be able to read something with great story telling that is a little more straight to the point. Sure the world building isn't as vast as Tolkien or Sanderson, but this story is about the people, the malice, the love, and a ton of kickass sword, sorcery, and action!