Elric: Stealer of Souls (1963) by Michael Moorcock

-


If an author were to set out with the intention of creating the anti-Conan, one couldn’t do a much better job of it than Michael Moorcock did in penning these first tales of Elric, albino ruler of the ancient island empire of Melniboné in the distant past of an alternate Earth.

Physically weak and requiring the use of drugs, herbs, and sorcery to maintain his strength, Elric is a tragic figure made even more so by his symbiotic relationship to the sword, Stormbringer, a supernatural living weapon that feeds on the souls of those whom it kills. The sword is hated by Elric as it can cause him do things against his will, such as killing his beloved cousin out of drunken bloodlust in the early pages of the first of five stories contained in this volume.

Melnibonéans are elf-like beings that are not fully human and have a long history rich in sorcery and divination with allegiances and pacts with many dark beings on multiple planes of reality. These tales all contain a non-stop forward momentum as Elric is in near constant action, facing individuals and armies, human and otherwise, in battles that often require the summoning of demons to accomplish the desired task. He is aided throughout the stories by Moonglum, a skilled human warrior who provides a bit of welcome comic relief for the tales which are all quite serious and dark.

Moorcock’s greatest skill may be in the world-building that he accomplishes here; the places, cultures, and sorcerous entities described are truly alien and fantastic, reminding me often of Leigh Brackett’s sword and planet stories in how effectively these otherworldly elements are established and expounded upon.

I reviewed the 2008 Del Ray edition which pulls together the seminal appearances of Elric (going back to 1968) and is skillfully illustrated by award-winning artist John Picacio. It also includes essays, letters, maps, and additional Elric-related material.

Recommended—this is essential sword and sorcery!

The stories featured include: 

The Dreaming City
While the Gods Laugh
Kings in Darkness
Dead God's Homecoming
Black Sword's Brothers
Sad Giant's Shield

Review by Steve Carroll

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Atomic Werewolves and Man-Eating Plants (2023) Edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle

-
Image
Through the tireless efforts of pulp-renaissance men Robert Deis   and Wyatt Doyle, the world is once again a brighter place for those with a predilection   toward the Men’s Adventure Magazines   (MAMs) of a bygone era. The duo’s ability   to mine the depths of the MAM archives to pull together these themed editions   is unparalleled and the riches of their efforts is a gift to those like myself,   who generally missed out on these magazines in their original incarnation. The hook this time around is an entire edition built around   stories that are much more clearly fictional with supernatural overtones. This   makes it similar in some respects to the authors’ earlier   Cryptozoology Anthology . Whereas much of the popular MAM stories at   least dipped a toe into the real world, albeit it in greatly exaggerated tales   of manly men and their adventures, often while at   war, this collection revels   in tales of sci-fi and...
Read more

The Horror! The Horror! Diving into the Folk Horror Sub-Genre

-
Image
The following column was originally printed in Justin Marriott's Paperback Fanatic 47, which was published in July of 2023. You can buy a copy of it  here. There is something inherently unsettling about being in deeply rural locations where we, considering ourselves as enlightened and educated intellectuals, find ourselves confronted with beliefs and superstitions that seem backward and downright uninformed to our modern sensibilities. It can sometimes be as simple as walking into a gas station in the middle of nowhere and suddenly feeling like we’ve stepped into another era of history and speaking to a representative of the local citizenry feels like navigating a wide gulf of both colloquial language and seemingly alien culture. It leaves us feeling decidedly ‘off’ and somehow inadequate. This discomfort lies at the heart of folk horror. Though the term ‘folk horror’ didn’t enter into the modern vernacular until...
Read more

The Paperback Kung Fu Phenomenon Part 1 – The 1970s!

-
Image
The following column was originally printed in Justin Marriott's  Paperback Fanatic 46 , which was published in January of 2023. You can buy a copy of it  here . While   the martial arts have been a deeply ingrained part of various Asian cultures   and their literature for centuries, their influence in western culture was   a   direct result of military exposure to Eastern fighting forms during World War   II in both China and Japan and later during the Korean War. Servicemen   brought   an interest in these esoteric fighting styles back home with them and soon   their influence found its way into the collective psyche. Shortly   thereafter,   the Hong Kong movie scene exploded in the late 60s and spilled over into the   rest of the world in the early 70s. Suddenly Kung Fu was   everywhere from the suburban   neighborhood cinema to TV screens, comic books, and even Top 40 commercial pop   radio ( Everybody w...
Read more