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starch_potato 's review for:
Elric of Melniboné
by Michael Moorcock
I can see why many people like this book - the magic is definitely there.
But when it comes to the actual story and characters, I found this book extremely lacking. There are many good ideas here, and the prose itself is very good - the problem is the storytelling.
Characters:
Elric: the only character with any depth, he is an all-in-one character: he is physically very weak, except when on his medication (or under some other magic) which makes him the most physically competent. He is a master warrior who rushes into battle, yet is also a pacifist who dislikes violence. He is a powerful sorcerer who's spells the reader knows nothing about, making him either strong or weak depending on which spells the author gives him access to at any moment. He is tired of life, but goes on adventures - first because the plot demands it, later because he chooses to. He is a moody teenager who wants nothing to do with the world, who also fights to the death to protect his position as emperor of a kingdom he hates.
His philosophical nature is one of weariness and resentful of everything to do with vigor - fighting, ruling, growing in strength; all in contrast to his role in the story, that of a warrior-emperor-sorcerer in charge of the most powerful kingdom in the world, who goes on epic quests.
Yyrkoon: a stereotypical villain with no depth (as for the ending, see the section about the story).
Cymoril: a stereotypical damsel in distress. Now, I have no issue with stories about men who save women; not every woman needs to be a competent warrior. But Cymoril is barely a person:
Story:
The story, while imaginative and fast paced, falls into every trap of bad storytelling cliches. I have only read a little of Conan, but his influence on Elric is clear. Only, Elric's author did not understand why Conan works as a character: Conan is a savage man fighting magical forces which he does not understand, so it makes sense to keep the reader in the dark about magic in general. The same works for other fantasy stories where magic is alien and mysterious. But here, Elric is a powerful sorcerer from the get go, yet the reader has no idea what he is capable of. This results in several Deus-ex-machinas, where Elric is in mortal danger and simply calls on a new powerful spell that saves his life - this is straightforward bad writing.
Another issue is his health - he forgets his medicine when the story needs him to, or otherwise grows weak at strategically-chosen moments.
The story itself feels anything but natural; it feels like a checklist, and many of the plot points are far too artificial. Examples:
Dragons:
The mirror:
Underworld: Elric goes to the "underworld", but spends five minutes there without any thematically-interesting events occurring - the concept of underworld is very symbolic and thematically-rich, but here it is thrown in simply because it's a trope.
Cursed swords, the final battle, and the ending:
Then Elric realizes both he and Yyrkoon were manipulated throughout the story, undoing every decision ever made by any of them and allowing him to forgive everything Yyrkoon did - all he did to Cymoril, his attempt on Elric's life, and all the lives lost along the way.
Then we get the ending: first, Elric insists Cymoril becomes empress. The same Cymoril who spent every waking moment praying to be saved by her lover, and who gave no indication of being even remotely qualified for the job. She refuses, and Elric has no other candidate - he goes over the handful of named characters and no one fits, as if there are no people in the entire kingdom other than the very few we met so far. So he chooses Yyrkoon, rendering the entire story meaningless.
To be clear: the idea itself is fine (most ideas in this book are pretty good). if we were shown how Yyrkoon changed, if Elric had an arc of realizing he is not meant to rule and that Yyrkoon is more fit for it, that could have been really interesting. But the only arc here is that Elric declares Yyrkoon to be a changed man (because that's what the plot needs, not because that's where the story led us), and decides he needs to go on another adventure before he can be emperor. Good ideas - bad storytelling.
But when it comes to the actual story and characters, I found this book extremely lacking. There are many good ideas here, and the prose itself is very good - the problem is the storytelling.
Characters:
Elric: the only character with any depth, he is an all-in-one character: he is physically very weak, except when on his medication (or under some other magic) which makes him the most physically competent. He is a master warrior who rushes into battle, yet is also a pacifist who dislikes violence. He is a powerful sorcerer who's spells the reader knows nothing about, making him either strong or weak depending on which spells the author gives him access to at any moment. He is tired of life, but goes on adventures - first because the plot demands it, later because he chooses to. He is a moody teenager who wants nothing to do with the world, who also fights to the death to protect his position as emperor of a kingdom he hates.
His philosophical nature is one of weariness and resentful of everything to do with vigor - fighting, ruling, growing in strength; all in contrast to his role in the story, that of a warrior-emperor-sorcerer in charge of the most powerful kingdom in the world, who goes on epic quests.
Yyrkoon: a stereotypical villain with no depth (as for the ending, see the section about the story).
Cymoril: a stereotypical damsel in distress. Now, I have no issue with stories about men who save women; not every woman needs to be a competent warrior. But Cymoril is barely a person:
Spoiler
when we first meet her, all she talks about is how much she loves Elric. After she is kidnapped, all she talks about is how Elric is going to save her. Then she is turned into a literal sleeping-beauty, losing whatever agency she had left. She has no story of her own, no character arc, and nothing on her mind except for her lover.Story:
The story, while imaginative and fast paced, falls into every trap of bad storytelling cliches. I have only read a little of Conan, but his influence on Elric is clear. Only, Elric's author did not understand why Conan works as a character: Conan is a savage man fighting magical forces which he does not understand, so it makes sense to keep the reader in the dark about magic in general. The same works for other fantasy stories where magic is alien and mysterious. But here, Elric is a powerful sorcerer from the get go, yet the reader has no idea what he is capable of. This results in several Deus-ex-machinas, where Elric is in mortal danger and simply calls on a new powerful spell that saves his life - this is straightforward bad writing.
Another issue is his health - he forgets his medicine when the story needs him to, or otherwise grows weak at strategically-chosen moments.
The story itself feels anything but natural; it feels like a checklist, and many of the plot points are far too artificial. Examples:
Dragons:
Spoiler
Melnibone has powerful dragons, who need prolonged rest after being called upon. At the beginning of the book, they had just returned and cannon be called upon when needed. later, after Cymoril's abduction, they are used off-screen. Then, when they are needed again, they are too tired once again. The dragons play no part in the story, and yet they are still in the background - either because it's a fantasy trope, or as a setup for future books. Probably both.The mirror:
Spoiler
Elric's forces face a giant mirror which steals memories. How will they fight it? well, we learn then and there that Elric has blind soldiers in his army, so they become the first line of the assault (the rest use their helmets to restrict their view); Solving a conflict by retroactively adding the solution with no foreshadowing.Underworld: Elric goes to the "underworld", but spends five minutes there without any thematically-interesting events occurring - the concept of underworld is very symbolic and thematically-rich, but here it is thrown in simply because it's a trope.
Cursed swords, the final battle, and the ending:
Spoiler
The sword wants Elric to kill Yyrkoon, so he makes it a point to spare his life, in one of the most artificial and cliche solution to the "how to make the hero spare the villain" question. Elric wants to make his own decisions, which is great on its own, but his choice not to kill Yyrkoon is not proactive - he is doing the opposite of what he's told, just to make a point. Like a teenager who chooses the one profession his parents hate, and thinks this is what it meant to make his own choices. Doing what you're told and doing the opposite of what you're told are both reactive, and neither are a real choice.Then Elric realizes both he and Yyrkoon were manipulated throughout the story, undoing every decision ever made by any of them and allowing him to forgive everything Yyrkoon did - all he did to Cymoril, his attempt on Elric's life, and all the lives lost along the way.
Then we get the ending: first, Elric insists Cymoril becomes empress. The same Cymoril who spent every waking moment praying to be saved by her lover, and who gave no indication of being even remotely qualified for the job. She refuses, and Elric has no other candidate - he goes over the handful of named characters and no one fits, as if there are no people in the entire kingdom other than the very few we met so far. So he chooses Yyrkoon, rendering the entire story meaningless.
To be clear: the idea itself is fine (most ideas in this book are pretty good). if we were shown how Yyrkoon changed, if Elric had an arc of realizing he is not meant to rule and that Yyrkoon is more fit for it, that could have been really interesting. But the only arc here is that Elric declares Yyrkoon to be a changed man (because that's what the plot needs, not because that's where the story led us), and decides he needs to go on another adventure before he can be emperor. Good ideas - bad storytelling.