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A review by trevert
Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock
5.0
I first read the Elric series in high school, which was about the optimal time for reading a story top-loaded with howling angst, and I have been wondering just what they would read like now, forty years removed. Especially this first book, because I remember that my high school self was so-so about this one, and much preferred the short story formats of the following books, with all their Stormbringer action.
Now, though, oh my... This is pretty much the definition of classic fantasy, and I can't think of much to top this outside of Tolkien. A lot of what high-school-me found boring is really some excellent character exploration of just how Elric begins to encounter "morality" and how he's totally Jack Skellington about it, in finding it fascinating but incomprehensible, and his attempts to practice morality and mercy tend to be mostly awkward and REALLY ill-advised in everything that regards Yyrkoon. His progress from "trying to understand what a nice guy is and to become one" to "howling madman in possession of the most powerful evil sword in the world" makes the novel fascinating and also fairly sad, beneath its overcurrent of carnage, golden battle barges, pirates, torture, insurrection, and demon lords around every corner.
It's not a modern fantasy novel, which means it's fairly spikey and tightly written and doesn't have at least 8-12 extra pointless hours of padding crammed into it. The whole thing is a 5+ hour audiobook and it covers an amazing amount of ground in that time, and never bogs down once. While Elric in this is not the Elric that we eventually know, it makes for excellent reading to see the foundation of one of the greatest characters in fantasy fiction, and watch his inevitable progress towards his destiny.
Many thumbs up, highly recommended.
Now, though, oh my... This is pretty much the definition of classic fantasy, and I can't think of much to top this outside of Tolkien. A lot of what high-school-me found boring is really some excellent character exploration of just how Elric begins to encounter "morality" and how he's totally Jack Skellington about it, in finding it fascinating but incomprehensible, and his attempts to practice morality and mercy tend to be mostly awkward and REALLY ill-advised in everything that regards Yyrkoon. His progress from "trying to understand what a nice guy is and to become one" to "howling madman in possession of the most powerful evil sword in the world" makes the novel fascinating and also fairly sad, beneath its overcurrent of carnage, golden battle barges, pirates, torture, insurrection, and demon lords around every corner.
It's not a modern fantasy novel, which means it's fairly spikey and tightly written and doesn't have at least 8-12 extra pointless hours of padding crammed into it. The whole thing is a 5+ hour audiobook and it covers an amazing amount of ground in that time, and never bogs down once. While Elric in this is not the Elric that we eventually know, it makes for excellent reading to see the foundation of one of the greatest characters in fantasy fiction, and watch his inevitable progress towards his destiny.
Many thumbs up, highly recommended.