Elric: The Stealer of Souls

This fantastic book is a collection of novellas concerning Elric and his accursed blade, Stormbringer. What brilliant writing! This was a complete joy, and anyone that enjoyed Lord of the Rings will find this enthralling as well. The story is so original despite the fact that it shares the common structure of sword & sorcery which is "hero goes on a quest to fulfill said objective, encounters obstacles, and prevails." I knew right away I had to read this book when Alan Moore, one of the most gifted comic book writers of all time said the Elric stories were classics. Michael Moorcock writes in a similar way, with dense description and vocabulary, and philosophical questions in parallel with action. Elric is a fascinating, flawed "anti-hero" in the Greek tradition. The gods put him on endless quests, Sisyphus-like, and his sword Stormbringer is one of the most interesting inanimate objects as character in all of fiction. Elric, Stealer of Souls is a collection of novellas presented in serial form. If you have read trade paperback anthologies of comic book series like "Y- the Last Man" or "The Watchmen" this style will be familiar to you. Each novella is a self-encapsulated story of its own, and in totality, they all build to create a greater dramatic arc together. The introduction is by Alan Moore and it is dense and thoughtful. Remarks by the author follow. Michael Moorcock simultaneously gives the reader a primer on the sword & sorcery structure and history while laying out what he intends to accomplish with Elric. After the stories, the author shares with us some of the allegorical meanings behind the Elric saga. Rather than spoiling the story as so often occurs, it adds a dimension. He writes to entertain, but the bigger issues he attempts to discuss below the surface are profound, and do not detract from the story. Like his Multiverse concept, the story of Elric is enjoyable on many levels. When he tells the reader some of his intent, he also teases, by saying he does not intend to spur us to re-read the book, looking for these themes. I wanted to do exactly that. Elric is a must-read for any fan, casual or serious, of the "fantasy" genre. Anyone that has played Dungeons & Dragons will instantly recognize how extremely foundational Elric was to the game. More so even than Lord of the Rings, or the Arthurian legend, Elric stories were the genesis for D & D. Michael Moorcock has labored in relative obscurity, and is self-effacing in his writing, like a true artist, detesting his work for the minute flaws that only he can see. I consider him a member of the pantheon of writing greats such as Tolkien, Herbert, and Alan Moore. I pity those readers who content themselves with the lightweight work of JK Rowling and have never experienced the multiverse of Elric, Stealer of Souls.

I love the Elric trilogy's. This is a must read, I can't seem to put it down.

Elric of Melniboné* is the albino lord, final Emperor of the Bright Empire, eternal pawn in the struggles between Chaos and Law and wielder of the dread sword Stormbringer. Renown fantasist Michael Moorcock has been chronicling the adventures of this fey hero since 1961. Del Rey publishing has just released Elric: The Stealer of Souls, volume I in their Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné. This excellent edition is fully illustrated by John Picacio. Veteran readers of swords and sorcery are, of course, familiar with this tragic hero Elric and his evil sword, Stormbringer. The Bright Empire of Melniboné flourished for ten thousand years, "Ten thousand years before history was recorded--or ten thousand years after history had ceased to be chronicled." But now it has fallen and the albino warrior wanders the Earth with his sidekick, Moonglum, fighting and loving and ultimately and intimately involved in the battle for supremacy between the forces of Law and Chaos. Stormbringer does not just slay, but consumes the souls of its unlucky victims and nourishes the physically weak Elric who is dependent on Stormbringer for his mortal vitality. The tales of Elric were radical departures from traditional swords and sorcery changing the genre forever. They were also a powerful influence on roleplaying. Consider the endless struggle between Chaos and Law and what is your character's alignment? This new volume includes, chronologically, the first adventures of Elric as published in Science Fantasy magazine, and the first Elric novel, Stormbringer. Also included are essays by the author, the original editorial comments from John Carnell of Science Fantasy, magazine covers, the first book review, a new foreword from the author, and a fine introduction by Alan Moore, creator of the acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen. This edition offers a splendid entrée to the world of Elric, or, a look back for those who know this tragedy-torn swordsman too well, along with excellent support materials and fine illustrations from John Picacio. Recommended! *pronounced Melnibonay This review originally ran in Kobold Quarterly magazine www.koboldquarterly.com

A new omnibus edition of some excellent Elric stories, with a great cover by Picacio. The foreword is by Alan Moore, which was certainly a surprise, and he entitles it 'The Return of the Thin White Duke', which is rather clever. Moorcock's introduction talks about the reception from some people of the stories, given their ironic tone, and similar brickbats thrown apparently at Stephen Donaldson, Steven Erikson and Scott Bakker (whom I have never read), briefly, as well as his influences in fantasy, from Poul Anderson onwards. This omnibus includes the two earlier collections Stealer of Souls, and Stormbringer. Moorcock has separated them with one his early Sojan stories, another sword wielding hero, more in the sword and planet vein though. You really don't need to seek all of these out unless you are particularly keen on that sort of thing, as they in no way compare to the excellent Elric work. The pause between collections also includes artwork from early magazines with his work, James Cawthorn's map of the Young Kingdoms, and a snippet from John Carnell as prologue to the next part. There are illustrations scattered throughout, which are quite nice. Elric may perhaps come across as too 'soft and elfy' for some people, perhaps. To close there are a couple of sixties essays by the author on the subject of Elric, and the odd letter, as well as a Law/Chaos cosmology tree. If Elric is new to you, and you haven't read the stories before, you are in for a very pleasant surprise, particularly given this handsome edition and its bonus features. Stealer of Souls : The Dreaming City - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : While the Gods Laugh - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : The Stealer of Souls - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : Kings in Darkness - Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn Stealer of Souls : The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams [The Flame Bringers] - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : Mission To Asno! - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : Dead God's Homecoming - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : Black Sword's Brothers - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : Sad Giant's Shield - Michael Moorcock Stealer of Souls : Doomed Lord's Passing - Michael Moorcock Elric comes to Imrryr, engages in a black sword duel with his cousin Yrkoon, and gains his Weird. 5 out of 5 Elric meets Moonglum. 4 out of 5 Rematch with Theleb K'aarna. 4.5 out of 5 Too much royalty and dead things, but some reward. 3.5 out of 5 Elric has conflict with another sorcerer and horde, and throw in a big cat and some dragons. 3.5 out of 5 ---- Sojan leads an airwar fleet. 2.5 out of 5 ---- Elric's wife is abducted, and he knows now a serious conflict is coming. 4 out of 5 With his wife returned and cousin Dyvin Slorm wielding twin black blade Mournblade at his side, even Elric is a little perturbed about the thought of taking on the Dukes of Hell. 4.5 out of 5 Elric is the only possible rallying point for those that oppose Chaos, but as

CORRECTION: MY comments below were misattributed to Tevis regarding the 40th anniversary edition of Stealer of Souls. HIS review is for an earlier edition from 2000, as are most of the reviews. The edition you are considering for purchase was just published in Feb. 2008, and is fully Illustrated by John Picacio. Tevis' review DOES NOT refer to this artist's work. I retract my criticism regarding his opinions about the art. some with a jealous heart seek to distinguish themselves by disparaging others, as is the case with Tevis Fen-Kortiay's review. That, or they are visually impaired. But then, that is the reviewers pattern, if not their raison d'être. Having seen, in person the original art, this is the best rendition of Elric, competing only with Moorcock's loyalty to the first rendition by Cawthorn. That' not just my opinion, that's Moorcock's opinion. I dare say HIS opinion carries a bit more weight.Picacio's art so impressed the publisher, that he will be doing the 6th book as well. Picacio set the benchmark for this anniversary series. yesterday I attended a signing for this book, and Moorcock gave a reading of the first 2 chapters, and Picacio's interior illustrations were spot on in tone and texture with the story. The interior art is lavish by most interior illustration standards. As for the criticism of the novel itself, consider it was a fix-up novel at the get go, cobbled together from pulps. The author makes no effort to hide these facts and imperfections. Comparing this to Greedo shoots first is a patently juvenile analogy.