STEVE CARROLL WRITES

Michael Moorcock’s doomed anti-hero,   Elric, the albino sorcerer warrior, returns in this collection of four stories.   Even this is a slight description of our   protagonist, who is also known as  the last   emperor of Melniboné, ruler of the dreaming city, and keeper of the ruby throne—Moorcock   likes his varied   titles.  These interrelated tales kick off with the kidnapping   of Elric’s wife, Zarozinia, by inhuman servants to a dead god. This event forces   Elric to once   again take up his hated sentient sword, the vampiric   soul-stealing runeblade, Stormbringer, in pursuit of his wife. His quest takes   him into near-constant   conflict with dark powers and their agents on land, sea,   and across other dimensions. He is usually accompanied by his loyal human   companion,   Moonglum, who serves as a relatable touchpoint for readers since   Elric himself remains somewhat distant and cold....

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 b...