Reviews

Elric le nécromancien by Michael Moorcock

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outcolder's review against another edition

3.0

I liked it better when Elric was all in love. Now he's one of those, "don't love me, you don't understand how bad I am" tough guys. This Moonglum guy who is following him around now... are we going to have a series of treasure-seeking male companions? Also, the sixties psychedelia, like all the colors, man... in my head the whole thing started to look like it was shot on video with a lot of chroma-key and video feedback, like 1980s no-budget Doctor Who. But I actually enjoy that, so cool. I also like the strange hierarchy of supernatural beings in these stories and that's what makes me want to finish the series. Moorcock said most of his stories are ironic allegories so all this stuff about Lords of Law and Chaos and what may or may not be above them and what they might have been up to before the world was created... I like all that, and trying to guess what it might mean.

hidesawell23's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

2.5

will_cherico's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

WOW. I was loving the Elric saga so far but this one cemented him as one of the best fantasy protagonists I've read. Ending the first story with his accidental slaying of Cymoril because of his naivete and desire for vengeance was an inspired choice, but ending the final story with him taking off after Theleb K'aarna out of a desire for vengeance? Fantastic. He's barely learned anything, and he's absolutely doomed. This entry in the series has served the best as the deconstruction of the high fantasy genre that Michael Moorcock intended. Elric as a hero is constantly torn between an addiction-like need for extreme violence (embodied by Stormbringer, which refuses to be sheathed until it ends a life) and a need for peace, love, and solitude. He's an intentional contradiction that perfectly reflects both the ultra-macho stoicism of Conan the Barbarian and the more emotional-yet-still-ruthless Aragorn. In Moorcock's mind they're all the same - commanded by the sword, a thing whose primary purpose is to kill.
Moonglum is a nice addition to Elric's travels, in large part because he's a lot more positive to the angry prince. I also love Moorcock's subversions of the idea of a deus ex machina. Elric regularly calls on random gods and Chaos Lords to appear out of thin air, but it's never without a price. He's regularly destroying his reputation, killing allies, and the like. It perfectly showcases the extremely harsh world of the Young Kingdoms. This is the one that's got me all in on Elric. I'm with him until his inevitably tragic end.

mbs1236's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

An enjoyable tale and an improvement over the previous one.
Nit yet sure whether this is my favourite of the three Elric novels I have read since a reread of the 1st one is needed to remember what happened in that one.
Still this is what I expected from an Elric novel and hopefully the series carries on this way.
One step closer to the legendary conclusion in Stormbringer!