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ferrozm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gaiebel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kreppen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fastasashark's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
selma___'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
danieltol's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Great flavour of fantasy! Pulpy and dark with lots of fighting, sorcery and monsters. Just how I like it!
mbs1236's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bhirts's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe like 3 1/2 stars.
I’m not entirely sure where I stand on the Elric “saga”. It’s an incredibly obtuse cycle to penetrate, simply in terms of where to start and how to proceed. It seems the whole thing sprung up somewhat organically over decades, which is compelling and respectable; however, from where I stand in the 2022, it’s difficult to reconcile the shadow of “the Elric saga”, universally praised even outside of “fantasy”, and the kind of haphazard seeming pile of interrelated tales which it consists of. Unfortunately the stories are often compared to Tolkien etc, and other singular sequences, rather than , for instance, the Conan “tales”.
But I think as I “settle in” it will grow on me. Much is made of Elric’s melancholy and physical frailty and “moral ambiguity”. The first two I found to be ALMOST embarrassing: passages about how only Elric pondered the deeper things and had a love for philosophy while the Melnibonéans surrounding him cared only for dancing and pleasure seemed a little too… “catered” to the kind of bookish young man who might read fantasy; especially coupled with the kind “vulnerability” Elric carries, which is essentially no vulnerability with his ultra powerful magic and his ultra powerful magic sword, just enough to give his “pathos” a kind of validity and inherent sympathy.
But the “moral ambiguity” has been pleasantly surprising in its weight. Unlike most of the “morally ambiguous” antiheroes of the 90s onward, Elric isn’t just a hero doing heroic things but extra violently, or with a “goth” aesthetic, or with a gruff, antisocial personality, he is a man who the reader will find mostly good if somewhat reluctantly heroic, who’s “anti heroic” moments feel like they spring from real weakness of character. There is a tragic element, and a surprising element to these failures, rather than the “cool” and satisfying feeling of schadenfreude of, say, a 90s superhero outright killing a villain rather than leaving them for the authorities or something. They lend a kind of Classical/Greek doom to the cycle.
The other big merit I think these stories possess is there wildness and scope. I haven’t read much “contemporary” fantasy prose, most of my exposure to current sort of “crowd-sourced” fantasy tropes come from movies and video games, and when I read “fantasy” it’s from an era much more intimately connected with myth and folklore; thus at first the… I’m not sure how to put it, the cinematicism? of the Eric stories was slightly off putting. Violent, quick, “full of special effects”, and somewhat abbreviated in its “lore building”, the style has since grown on me with it’s ability to not “lose steam”, and if anything, pick up momentum. The scope of these three stories covers about all four corners of the speculative fiction map, and from what I’ve gathered from afar the next book, The Weird of the White Wolf, is even crazier.
It’s also short, which in this case I believe is a real credit.
Would recommend.
I’m not entirely sure where I stand on the Elric “saga”. It’s an incredibly obtuse cycle to penetrate, simply in terms of where to start and how to proceed. It seems the whole thing sprung up somewhat organically over decades, which is compelling and respectable; however, from where I stand in the 2022, it’s difficult to reconcile the shadow of “the Elric saga”, universally praised even outside of “fantasy”, and the kind of haphazard seeming pile of interrelated tales which it consists of. Unfortunately the stories are often compared to Tolkien etc, and other singular sequences, rather than , for instance, the Conan “tales”.
But I think as I “settle in” it will grow on me. Much is made of Elric’s melancholy and physical frailty and “moral ambiguity”. The first two I found to be ALMOST embarrassing: passages about how only Elric pondered the deeper things and had a love for philosophy while the Melnibonéans surrounding him cared only for dancing and pleasure seemed a little too… “catered” to the kind of bookish young man who might read fantasy; especially coupled with the kind “vulnerability” Elric carries, which is essentially no vulnerability with his ultra powerful magic and his ultra powerful magic sword, just enough to give his “pathos” a kind of validity and inherent sympathy.
But the “moral ambiguity” has been pleasantly surprising in its weight. Unlike most of the “morally ambiguous” antiheroes of the 90s onward, Elric isn’t just a hero doing heroic things but extra violently, or with a “goth” aesthetic, or with a gruff, antisocial personality, he is a man who the reader will find mostly good if somewhat reluctantly heroic, who’s “anti heroic” moments feel like they spring from real weakness of character. There is a tragic element, and a surprising element to these failures, rather than the “cool” and satisfying feeling of schadenfreude of, say, a 90s superhero outright killing a villain rather than leaving them for the authorities or something. They lend a kind of Classical/Greek doom to the cycle.
The other big merit I think these stories possess is there wildness and scope. I haven’t read much “contemporary” fantasy prose, most of my exposure to current sort of “crowd-sourced” fantasy tropes come from movies and video games, and when I read “fantasy” it’s from an era much more intimately connected with myth and folklore; thus at first the… I’m not sure how to put it, the cinematicism? of the Eric stories was slightly off putting. Violent, quick, “full of special effects”, and somewhat abbreviated in its “lore building”, the style has since grown on me with it’s ability to not “lose steam”, and if anything, pick up momentum. The scope of these three stories covers about all four corners of the speculative fiction map, and from what I’ve gathered from afar the next book, The Weird of the White Wolf, is even crazier.
It’s also short, which in this case I believe is a real credit.
Would recommend.
7thseverian's review against another edition
5.0
Elrics ability to just find some dudes to hang with remains unmatched