World Famous Comics: Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, Vol. 1)
Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, Vol. 1)
By: Michael Moorcock Publisher: Del Rey Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Del Rey Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 496 Publication Date: February 19, 2008 Release Date: February 19, 2008
Product Description: “The stories here are the raw heart of Michael Moorcock. They are the spells that first drew me and all the numerous admirers of his work with whom I am acquainted into Moorcock’s luminous and captivating web.” –from the Foreword by Alan Moore, creator of V for Vendetta
When Michael Moorcock began chronicling the adventures of the albino sorcerer Elric, last king of decadent Melniboné, and his sentient vampiric sword, Stormbringer, he set out to create a new kind of fantasy adventure, one that broke with tradition and reflected a more up-to-date sophistication of theme and style. The result was a bold and unique hero–weak in body, subtle in mind, dependent on drugs for the vitality to sustain himself–with great crimes behind him and a greater destiny ahead: a rock-and-roll antihero who would channel all the violent excesses of the sixties into one enduring archetype.
Now, with a major film in development, here is the first volume of a dazzling collection of stories containing the seminal appearances of Elric and lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist John Picacio–plus essays, letters, maps, and other material. Adventures include “The Dreaming City,” “While the Gods Laugh,” “Kings in Darkness,” “Dead God’s Homecoming,” “Black Sword’s Brothers,” and “Sad Giant’s Shield.”
An indispensable addition to any fantasy collection, Elric: The Stealer of Souls is an unmatched introduction to a brilliant writer and his most famous–or infamous–creation.
“The most significant UK author of sword and sorcery, a form he has both borrowed from and transformed.” –The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
Getting to Know Elric 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
Inspiring God I love Michael Moorcock. I was a little suspicious at first because of a negative review here, but thankfully I kept an open mind and I have reaped the reward now. Please try it out!
Godawful It's like Moorcock wrote fan fiction based on a work that doesn't exist. The writing is dreadful, the stories make little sense, there's not a lick of suspense or excitement or urgency anywhere, the only memorable character is a sword, and it's all so boring.
Elric review Anything done by Michael Moorcock is good but Elric is by far my favorites and he never disappoints me
Great literary value to the genre Michael Moorcock's Elric is one of those fantasy cult-classics that's hovered in my peripherals for several years. And after being greatly pleased with Del Rey's recent trade-paper back editions of the The Fully Illustrated Robert E. Howard Library, their new publications of the Moorcock' s Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melnibone seemed the perfect opportunity for a Sword & Sorcery fan, like myself, to finally read them, (especially since I'm a sucker for illustrated books too). So I started this book with very high expectations. But maybe, just a little too high.
Elric is the last prince of a dying race and his royal blood carries a genetic defect that makes him a pure albino and physically frail. He possesses, or more accurately, is possessed by, the evil soul-stealing-sword; Stormbringer, which grants him power but also, makes Elric physically dependent. As the last prince of a fallen and advanced civilization, Elric has the knowledge of generations studied in dark sorceries at his disposal. He's a brooding and vengeful character who is haunted by past, unforgivable deeds. But he is also the dark savior whose destiny is to stop total domination by the forces of chaos and maintain the universal balance. This also means the complete destruction of himself and his world.
I especially enjoy the connection between Elric's fantasy world and our real one. I also found myself intrigued almost as much by Elric's side-kick, Moonglum, as I do by Elric himself. Throughout the stories, I delightfully wonder just what makes a free-booting, adventurer like Moonglum, so faithful to a self-destructive soul like Elric. Granted, there is sometimes profit to be gained, but Elric isn't really a likeable guy and Stormbringer can be just as likely to kill friends as it does enemies.
As literary value to the genre, I personally feel that these stories are well worthy of more then five stars. With Elric, Mr. Moorcock was one of the pioneers in modern fantasy fiction in the early 60's. It's easy to see his influence in fantasy today (not too mention that a few early 70's hard-rock bands reference Elric in their music). From what I understand, when Moorcock first wrote the Elric stories, he set out to create something totally different from the standard Sword & Sorcery heroes that came before. Elric is most defiantly that. In Fact, he's one of the most unique fantasy characters, I've ever read. However, I try to reserve that fifth star for the books that just "blow-me-away" and despite Stealer of Souls having all the ingredients I like in a fantasy story, it just didn't do that for me. Maybe it's simply just dated, or maybe it was the magazine format these stories were originally written for, but, overall, Stealer.. was missing that "grab-me-by-the-guts" "keep-me-up-past bedtime" reading. In some parts, the indented mind-blowing incomprehensibility, just ended-up being too over-the-top and forgettable, if not boring, to me. It's still an enjoyable read and there's definite potential for the following books to be even better.
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