World Famous Comics: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate 2 (Elric Saga)
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate 2 (Elric Saga)
By: Michael Moorcock Publisher: Ace Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Ace Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 160 Publication Date: September 15, 1987
Product Description: Forced to flee his city of Melnibone, Elric and his sorcerous blade Stormbringer journey through barren hills to the edge of a black sea. Elric finds a dark ship and begins a voyage that will bring him face-to-face with all the champions Time can summon--and more. Reissue.
Super Reader There are three parts to this book. Sailing to the Future includes the crossover where Elric meets, Erekose, Hawkmoon and Corum aboard the Dark Ship of the Captain.
Then there is Sailing to the Present, and Sailing to the Past. The latter is a reworked version of the Jade God's Eyes.
A great follow-up to the first book ! Let me start by saying that I read the 1976 DAW version of this novel. The Sailor on The Seas of Fate begins with our hero Elric escaping from one of the nations of the Young Kingdoms which took him captive between books 1 and 2. He finally loses his pursuers on a lonely unknown beach. Hungry and cold Elric encounters a strange ship with a blind captain and a crew made up of several of the Eternal Champions. Once aboard, Elric begins a long journey through an alternate world where the boarder between dream and reality becomes blurred. The book is really one story told through 3 separate adventures.
During these adventures, Elric makes new friends, fights powerful supernatural creatures and does his usual summoning of demons and elementals. As usual in the Elric novels the line between good and evil is not clear, nor should it be since Elric's world is based around the conflict between Chaos and Order. Because of this good and evil somtimes share the same host. Elric learns more about the strange black sword Stormbringer and how it's lust for blood has the power to influence his relationships.
This book has the same crisp clean writing style of other Moorcock books. Moorcock's writing style is straight forward and to the point. No wasted dialogue or breathy descriptions. Some people don't like Moorcock because or his tendency to be brief and to the point. I however love this style of writing. Moorcock is a master of the english language and as a result his text and dialogue have a medieval flavor while at the same time being very easy for the reader to understand. Of course at the center of any Moorcock novel is his incredible imagination and his ability to keep you turning the page.
I must confess that I am a major Elric and Moorcock fan. His work moves me in a way Tolkien never has. I recommend this book to all fans of good literature and Fantasy. Now i'm off to read Wierd of the White Wolf !
2 of 6: Now a word from our sponsor, the Eternal Champion. Michael Moorcock, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (DAW, 1974)
The second novel of the Elric series picks up where the first left off. (There is one major detail regarding Elric's betrothed, Cymoril, that seems to have shifted back in time, but Moorcock resolves it later; still, it seems to have been something of a gaffe.) Here we are introduced, for those who have never read any of Moorcock's other fantasy series, to the idea of the Eternal Champion, and that many of Moorcock's heroes and antiheroes are facets of the same personality throughout time and space. Moorcock meets up with three other incarnations of the Eternal Champion-Corum, Hawkmoon, and Erekose. (Excellent advertising for the other series, whether intended that way or not.) Things get confusing here, as some of the others mention events that haven't happened yet in the Elric series, but just ride with it. It'll all come clear eventually. Needless to say, having read (or reading just after the Elric books) the Hawkoon, Corum, and Erekose series will deepen one's appreciation for this part of the Elric series.
The main complaint I have about Moorcock's writing, while not to be found solely in this novel, is most notable here. Moorcock's action scenes, for all that they are some of the book's turning points, are often described minimally, even sparely. The climax of a battle is often given one sentence, as is the death of a companion, no matter how long that companion has known the characters in the story. (I have made mention many times of what I call characters who enter stories with "kill me now" tattooed on their foreheads. This is the opposite extreme-Moorcock will sometimes spend chapters building up a character, only to treat him as if he did have "kill me now" tattooed on his forehead. It can be disconcerting, to say the least.)
Still, the originalities in the premise, the unique take on the antihero along with the whole concept of the Eternal Champion, coupled with the simple readability of the series, make them all worth picking up. Each can be gotten through in a single afternoon, for most people. ****
A poor sequel for a great character As much as I love Elric and the Melnibonean mythology, SAILER ON THE SEAS OF FATE is a disappointing follow up to ELRIC OF MELNIBONE.
The book starts with Elric finding himself in a strange land. He boards a mysterious ship and sails off to the first of three unrelated, convenient adventures which do little to progress the overall saga. The stories serve more to explain the whole ETERNAL CHAMPION concept, along with giving details of MELNIBONE'S history and the interaction of all the planes of existence. And ultimately, after 160 pages, nothing really happens.
Though the book is about Elric and his adventures, I found myself really wishing to hear news of Melnibone and the characters who Elric left behind. They are all as much a part of the fun and adventure in the first volume as is Elric. They should have been given some attention.
Three stories in one. This book is devided into three sections with three different plots. While they are loosely related to each other they could stand alone (I have a feeling Moorcock published them seperately). This is an observation not a criticism. The first and last are excelent. The middle one drags a bit. The first is interesting since Elric teams with three other incarnations of the Eternal Champion (Erekose, Corum, and Hawkmoon). The last fleshes out the multiverse more.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
