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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating: B-
Elric of Melnibone is a classic Sword and Sorcery fantasy novel about the cursed emperor of the Melniboneans, Elric. Elric is an albino, sickly and weak and must take potions to keep his strength. He is in love with his cousin Cymoril, however Cymoril's brother Yyrkoon plans to depose Elric and take over as emperor with his sister as his wife.
The story follows a massive arc around Elric where he must fight back against Yyrkoon and his army as well as the magical forces that Yyrkoon commands. I listened to this as an audio production and was really impressed with the quality of the work. The voice actor has a diverse range of voices and each character is brought to life through the story. There are audio effects included like music and sounds of fighting/ocean noises. The narrator also whispers and effects manipulate his voice to make the scenes more mysterious. The gods feel truly omnipotent.
Elric is pretty unique and well-developed, the world is rich and completely draws you in. Like all audiobooks I sort of lost my place a few times (ugh) but I still really enjoyed this book. I am not sure if it was only one story or more than 1 included in this volume. I may read the print version sometime to absorb the story a bit better.
The story resolves itself with so much potential in the future books. Worth a read to familiarise yourself with what Sword and Sorcery is.
Elric of Melnibone is a classic Sword and Sorcery fantasy novel about the cursed emperor of the Melniboneans, Elric. Elric is an albino, sickly and weak and must take potions to keep his strength. He is in love with his cousin Cymoril, however Cymoril's brother Yyrkoon plans to depose Elric and take over as emperor with his sister as his wife.
The story follows a massive arc around Elric where he must fight back against Yyrkoon and his army as well as the magical forces that Yyrkoon commands. I listened to this as an audio production and was really impressed with the quality of the work. The voice actor has a diverse range of voices and each character is brought to life through the story. There are audio effects included like music and sounds of fighting/ocean noises. The narrator also whispers and effects manipulate his voice to make the scenes more mysterious. The gods feel truly omnipotent.
Elric is pretty unique and well-developed, the world is rich and completely draws you in. Like all audiobooks I sort of lost my place a few times (ugh) but I still really enjoyed this book. I am not sure if it was only one story or more than 1 included in this volume. I may read the print version sometime to absorb the story a bit better.
The story resolves itself with so much potential in the future books. Worth a read to familiarise yourself with what Sword and Sorcery is.
Not bad., though I didn't find it particularly memorable either. Very much a product of 1970's, pre-Star Wars, fantasy. Somewhere between the first Conan the Barbarian films and Ralph Bakshi's Wizards.
No puedo ser exactamente imparcial con este libro, ya que me trae muchos recuerdos de mi infancia. Se trata de uno de esos libros que marcan en muchos sentidos, pero que, sobre todo, llevan a un acercamiento gradual a un tipo de fantasía y a un tipo de ideas. Como Moorcock viene para el Celsius, decidí volver a leerlo para ver si después de toda la fantasía que he leído desde la última vez que me acerqué, el bueno de Elric todavía tenía algo que decirme.
Reseña completa
Reseña completa
My love of dark fantasy was born here, the first time I read this book as a teenager. Rereading it now I remember why. Still a classic of its time.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was one of the simpler and yet darker fantasies I've ever read and I'm grateful to have read it and learned from it.
Elric is the emporer of Melnibone. His rule is threatened by his cousin Yyrkoon and Elric must decide what lengths he will go to in order to keep his throne and protect the woman and land he loves.
This was an interesting book, in part because it was such a straightforward fantasy. This is, in my mind, a perfect example of a classic fantasy story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also was intrigued by just how dark this book got. It begins with an emporer enjoying a party and quickly gets into his throne being threatened and continually gets darker and more interesting from there.
One thing that really impressed me about this book was the world building and especially how the author handled the world building. There were so many things that were mentioned in passing in the world that weren't part of the plot. Like how Melnibone has many dragons that they can use in battle. Their only discussions of the dragons were why they couldn't use them for the problems encountered in the book and I thought that was an interesting way to deal with the world. I was also impressed that the author made unique cultures in his book that aren't explicitly discussed. Characters periodically talk about how people of Melnibone do things and how they're regarded in the surrounding areas, but this casual mention gives the world building a depth that I haven't seen in a long time.
My biggest criticism is that Elric is an idiot sometimes.No matter how many times Yyrkoon tries to dethrone him and destroy everything, Elric continues to leave him alive. At some point, killing this one man would save countless lives and save you a lot of time and energy and heartache - so why is Yyrkoon still alive? And why did Elric hand his throne over to Yyrkoon as he goes to travel the world?! It doesn't make any sense. I'm excited to see where things go in this series and how Elric will grow as a character, but I'm also already fed up with how dumb he can be.
Recommended for lovers of fantasy (and especially D&D players).
Elric is the emporer of Melnibone. His rule is threatened by his cousin Yyrkoon and Elric must decide what lengths he will go to in order to keep his throne and protect the woman and land he loves.
This was an interesting book, in part because it was such a straightforward fantasy. This is, in my mind, a perfect example of a classic fantasy story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also was intrigued by just how dark this book got. It begins with an emporer enjoying a party and quickly gets into his throne being threatened and continually gets darker and more interesting from there.
One thing that really impressed me about this book was the world building and especially how the author handled the world building. There were so many things that were mentioned in passing in the world that weren't part of the plot. Like how Melnibone has many dragons that they can use in battle. Their only discussions of the dragons were why they couldn't use them for the problems encountered in the book and I thought that was an interesting way to deal with the world. I was also impressed that the author made unique cultures in his book that aren't explicitly discussed. Characters periodically talk about how people of Melnibone do things and how they're regarded in the surrounding areas, but this casual mention gives the world building a depth that I haven't seen in a long time.
My biggest criticism is that Elric is an idiot sometimes.
Recommended for lovers of fantasy (and especially D&D players).