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earlc 's review for:
Elric of Melniboné
by Michael Moorcock
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I bet the magic potions Elric takes to function are just a cup of coffee, a tylenol, and an anti-depressant.
I read this because of its influence on A Song of Ice and Fire, and the inspiration is obvious. Martin's Valyria cribs pretty strongly from Melniboné , an island empire ruled by incestuous, decadent dragon-taming sorcerers (Elric himself seems to be the inspiration for the historical figure Bloodraven in ASoIaF). It was definitely fun to see the foundations of modern sword-and-sorcery fantasy being laid, and the concept is cool. Even the premise of the story is intriguing; Elric, Melniboné's emperor, feels alienated from his subjects because of his albinism, disabilities, and education, and feels torn between duty to his empire and his own curiosity about more just ways of living and ruling. Inventiveness alone saves this book from a worse rating.
The execution, unfortunately, completely falls short of ASoIaF, lacking the nuanced, interesting characters and complicated relationships between people and history that really grounds the successor series. It was hammy, the prose was overwrought, and I was often bored. Also, spoiler alert, it has the dumbest ending to a book I've ever read. Elric's liberal arts education may make him feel superior to his subjects, but it doesn't compel him to think through the ethics of torture or to consider how stupid it would be to hand over his throne to his cousin, who has done nothing but try to usurp Elric and marry his fiance, who is also Yrkoon's sister and Elric's cousin.
I read this because of its influence on A Song of Ice and Fire, and the inspiration is obvious. Martin's Valyria cribs pretty strongly from Melniboné , an island empire ruled by incestuous, decadent dragon-taming sorcerers (Elric himself seems to be the inspiration for the historical figure Bloodraven in ASoIaF). It was definitely fun to see the foundations of modern sword-and-sorcery fantasy being laid, and the concept is cool. Even the premise of the story is intriguing; Elric, Melniboné's emperor, feels alienated from his subjects because of his albinism, disabilities, and education, and feels torn between duty to his empire and his own curiosity about more just ways of living and ruling. Inventiveness alone saves this book from a worse rating.
The execution, unfortunately, completely falls short of ASoIaF, lacking the nuanced, interesting characters and complicated relationships between people and history that really grounds the successor series. It was hammy, the prose was overwrought, and I was often bored. Also, spoiler alert, it has the dumbest ending to a book I've ever read. Elric's liberal arts education may make him feel superior to his subjects, but it doesn't compel him to think through the ethics of torture