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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Reading the first 2022 Omnibus of Elric novels thanks to Blind Guardian and an Amazon sale. This first book was a good introduction and wayyy darker than I expected.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the wild adventures of Elric and was drawn into the story as he struggled with his personal theology and how to rule. I found him very flawed, like all humans, and the fantasy world was interesting.
The only thing that made my rating lower was Elric seemed too foolish when he should know better. (There is hopeful and then there is denial.) Elric definitely leaned towards denial at moments, and I was so frustrated! Despite this, it was still a fun, good, read.
The only thing that made my rating lower was Elric seemed too foolish when he should know better. (There is hopeful and then there is denial.) Elric definitely leaned towards denial at moments, and I was so frustrated! Despite this, it was still a fun, good, read.
3.5
Seems like it’s just setting the stage for the next couple of books but idk how much i’d enjoy the rest of them.
Seems like it’s just setting the stage for the next couple of books but idk how much i’d enjoy the rest of them.
Two pages in I though, “Hey, bet this was written in the ’70s.” Flip to the copyright: 1972. It is that simple and obvious sort of fantasy writing that is very easy to date. I know writing styles come and go, but this style is not one of my favorites. Some elements of the book were interesting and I can see why it is listed as an “inspiration” for some modern fantasy efforts, but overall I did not enjoy the stock characters, the overarching “save the female” storyline or the writing. If it weren’t for the shortness of the book, I probably would have set it aside unfinished (and I am not the sort of person that leaves books unfinished).
I put this down a while ago and finally finished it last night. The writing style was "meh," but if you can get past that, the story itself isn't bad.
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Might be near impossible to find this novella on its own, but I am enjoying [b:The Weird of the White Wolf|984902|The Weird of the White Wolf (The Elric Saga, #3)|Michael Moorcock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1473810195l/984902._SY75_.jpg|970397], so I would like to see Elric's origins.
The begging of Elric's journey is a fantastic one. I'm quite sad I never got a chance to read it earlier.
Funny enough, I know about Elric and Stormbringer through the RPG that was on sale in the 80s, but never got round to reading the actual books until now. This was a positive experience. Yes, there are the usual tropes (it's about royalty, it's about war, it's about being a chosen one, etc.), but the book manages not to be naively generic like Eddings, for example. Perhaps it's the grey zone morality, which the main character and his home nation inhabit. Also, brilliant for showing (like Fritz Leiber) that fantasy books do not have to be 800+ pages long to be interesting.