The Weird of the White Wolf (Elric Saga)

The Weird of the White Wolf also is a book that contains several smaller pieces of work, namely : The Dream of Earl Aubec The Dreaming City While the Gods Laugh The Singing Citadel The first is a quick Eternal Champion interlude. In the Dreaming City Elric returns to the Dragon Isle to attack his cousin, who is holding his lover captive. While the Gods Laugh show Elric journeying with Moonglum, his version of the Companion to Champions, to find the Dead Gods Book. The Singing Citadel is a building with the properties of a siren, basically. Elric and Moonglum investigate.

In defense of one of the greatest and most original sagas in the annals of heroic fantasy, I would like to address some of the negative comments (and misconceptions) of the Spotlight Reviews. First and foremost, the Elric Saga is a tragedy. None of the stories have a particularly happy ending, and the final book, "Stormbringer", ends along the same lines; sad, but dramatically fulfilling. One should consider that when Moorcock first started writing these, tragedy was virtually unheard of in Sword and Sorcery Fiction. This is not Tolkien. The hero does not get the girl and ride off into the sunset. If that's what you're looking for, you should avoid Moorcock and seek satisfaction elsewhere. Secondly, the story that everyone has the most problem with, "The Dreaming City", is actually the FIRST Elric story that Moorcock ever wrote. He did not write these chronologically. As it stands, "The Dreaming City" is the most pivotal, and arguably, the most important story in the entire Elric Saga. It's the story that defines the character and his subsequent actions throughout the rest of the series. One person noted that Elric's actions (in leaving S. Baldhead to die in order to save himself) was uncharacteristic. Well, its supposed to be uncharacteristic, BECAUSE THE CHARACTER UNDERGOES A PROFOUND CHANGE IN THIS STORY. The character of Elric at the end of "The Dreaming City" is not the same character at the beginning of the saga. In the first two novels, he is idealistic as well as naive (especially in trusting Yrkoon a second time). But after his actions bring ruin to everyone he cares about, he becomes embittered and vengeful, all the way up until midway through "The Bane of the Black Sword", where the character changes once again. As for the complaints that some of his actions are inexplicable and inconsistent, I must remind the readers that Elric is a drug addict. His sword, Stormbringer, is his addiction. Anyone who has ever dealt with addiction in the real world, either directly or as an observer, can tell you that an addict's actions are often illogical and inconsistent. The idea that Elric never really cared about Cymoril is ludacrous. Anyone who gained that from reading the stories must not have been paying very close attention. While I don't like to give away spoilers (unlike some people, who are content to ruin it for everyone just because they personally didn't like it), I will say that the tragic events of "The Dreaming City" haunt Elric throughout the rest of the saga. In closing, I would suggest not to prejudge the series based on this one book. Reserve your judgement until you've completed the entire saga. Five stars. Highly recommended.

MAGIC MONSTERSRUNE SWORDSWIZARDSDIMENTIONAL TRAVELUNDEADSUMMONIGSI MEAN WHAT MORE CAN U ASK FOR?THE MAIN CHARACTER ELRIC IS ONE OF BEST IN HEROIC MYTHTHIS SERIES SHOULD BE MADE INTO FILM IT WOULD GIVE LORD OF RINGS A RUN FOR ITS MONEY!AWESOME SWORD/SORCERY FICTION FAR SUPERIOR TO SHANNARA OR ROBERT JORDANS CRUD

I guess Elric has stolen my soul, but then I guess I had a soul to steal. That's what these books have. Like good rock and roll, they have SOUL! And nothing can give you that, if you can't get it. Moorcock has never dealt in junk. He keeps his readers by constantly surprising them. These stories, written forty years ago, inspired a genre as much as LOTR and you can see echoes of them in almost every fantasy book written from McAffery to Pullman. Many of those authors acknowledge their debt and Moorcock is one of the most respected writer's writers around (I know, I'm a writer). These are early stories, written when he was scarcely out of his teens, and they still have more vitality than the majority of thin-blooded imitators who followed him.

I raised a wolf, they like cooked spicy food and beer. Iwould say they were civilized. A symbiotic relationshipwith Cor-Magnon, or something I would suppose.