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A review by blueoccult
Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock
3.0
3 out of 5
Story – 5
Style – 2
Moorcock’s Elric is one of the original flawed heroes. In a time when the likes of Conan the Barbarian and Tolkien’s Middle-Earth were the typical, Elric strides through wearing his flaws on his sleeve. Addicted to the life-giving potions due to his birth defects, the albino hero spends most of his time brooding and getting screwed over by his cousin, Yyrkoon. Elric is also known to make a pact or two with Arioch, the Lord of Chaos.
The focal point of the book is the rivalry between Elric and Yyrkoon. Yyrkoon thinks Elric is too weak and un-melnibonéan to sit on the Ruby Throne and rule Melniboné. He feels that he would make a far superior ruler than Elric, so he plots to usurp the throne and rule Melniboné instead. He also wants to rape his own sister. Needless to say, Yyrkoon has some issues.
During Elric’s journeys, he befriends the king of the water Elementals, King Straasha, and borrows his magic boat, the Ship which Sails on Land and Sea, sells his soul to Arioch, fights King Grome of the Earth Elementals, claims a soul-stealing sword, and somehow manages to fuck up Yyrkoon’s plans every step of the way. The story is very metal, and I loved every bit of it. If I had read this fifteen years ago, I do not doubt I would have been as obsessed with Elric as I was with Roland and his Ka-Tet from Stephen King’s Dark Tower novels.
It is unfortunate that I did not discover Moorcock until I had already grown up. The kind of book a fifteen-year-old would fall in love with is not the same kind of book a thirty-year-old would find as compelling. And do not be fooled, Elric is best enjoyed by young adults. Not to say an adult cannot enjoy the books, they just will not be as amazing as they are to someone younger.
Moorcock’s prose is, for lack of a better word, flawed. It’s not bad, once you get used to it, it’s just very “telly.” It’s like he heard the phrase “show, don’t tell” and decided to flip it on its head as he did with the hero archetype and Elric. Here is an example: Valharik shrugged. His expression showed that he had never really believed Yyrkoon’s assurances. But what else had he to do but follow Yyrkoon, when fearful torture awaited him at Elric’s hands? With shoulders bowed, the captain slunk away to do his prince’s work.
Moorcock gets his point across, Valharik is trapped and knows it, but does so by beating you over the head with it. Subtlety is not one of Mr. Moorcock’s fortes, at least when it comes to his prose. Again, this is not particularly a bad thing, it just keeps a really great story from being amazing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I adore this story. Elric is now one of my favorite fantasy characters purely from just how metal his story is.
I wish I could give this book a five out of five, but it is far from perfect. For what it is, it is an amazing, fun read that inspired many a flawed hero and anti-hero after it. If you are a fan of the Fantasy, particularly Dark Fantasy, genre, then I definitely recommend this book to you. Just try and look past the prose.
Story – 5
Style – 2
Moorcock’s Elric is one of the original flawed heroes. In a time when the likes of Conan the Barbarian and Tolkien’s Middle-Earth were the typical, Elric strides through wearing his flaws on his sleeve. Addicted to the life-giving potions due to his birth defects, the albino hero spends most of his time brooding and getting screwed over by his cousin, Yyrkoon. Elric is also known to make a pact or two with Arioch, the Lord of Chaos.
The focal point of the book is the rivalry between Elric and Yyrkoon. Yyrkoon thinks Elric is too weak and un-melnibonéan to sit on the Ruby Throne and rule Melniboné. He feels that he would make a far superior ruler than Elric, so he plots to usurp the throne and rule Melniboné instead. He also wants to rape his own sister. Needless to say, Yyrkoon has some issues.
During Elric’s journeys, he befriends the king of the water Elementals, King Straasha, and borrows his magic boat, the Ship which Sails on Land and Sea, sells his soul to Arioch, fights King Grome of the Earth Elementals, claims a soul-stealing sword, and somehow manages to fuck up Yyrkoon’s plans every step of the way. The story is very metal, and I loved every bit of it. If I had read this fifteen years ago, I do not doubt I would have been as obsessed with Elric as I was with Roland and his Ka-Tet from Stephen King’s Dark Tower novels.
It is unfortunate that I did not discover Moorcock until I had already grown up. The kind of book a fifteen-year-old would fall in love with is not the same kind of book a thirty-year-old would find as compelling. And do not be fooled, Elric is best enjoyed by young adults. Not to say an adult cannot enjoy the books, they just will not be as amazing as they are to someone younger.
Moorcock’s prose is, for lack of a better word, flawed. It’s not bad, once you get used to it, it’s just very “telly.” It’s like he heard the phrase “show, don’t tell” and decided to flip it on its head as he did with the hero archetype and Elric. Here is an example: Valharik shrugged. His expression showed that he had never really believed Yyrkoon’s assurances. But what else had he to do but follow Yyrkoon, when fearful torture awaited him at Elric’s hands? With shoulders bowed, the captain slunk away to do his prince’s work.
Moorcock gets his point across, Valharik is trapped and knows it, but does so by beating you over the head with it. Subtlety is not one of Mr. Moorcock’s fortes, at least when it comes to his prose. Again, this is not particularly a bad thing, it just keeps a really great story from being amazing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I adore this story. Elric is now one of my favorite fantasy characters purely from just how metal his story is.
I wish I could give this book a five out of five, but it is far from perfect. For what it is, it is an amazing, fun read that inspired many a flawed hero and anti-hero after it. If you are a fan of the Fantasy, particularly Dark Fantasy, genre, then I definitely recommend this book to you. Just try and look past the prose.