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Michael Moorcock
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Elric of Melnibone Mass Market Paperback – October 19, 1976

by Michael Moorcock (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 168 ratings
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For ten thousand years Melniboné ruled the world. Elric, the 428th Emperor, seemed destined to see that era come to an end. An albino, sustained by rare drugs, it fell to him to confront the rise of the Young Kingdoms, of the monsters and sorceries which were threatening to overwhelm him and his ancient crown.

The Elric novels have already become classics of heroic fantasy and future projection. DAW is proud to present them to an eager public in new editions, corrected and revised by michael Moorcock.

Elric Of Melniboné is the first.

(The description above is quoted from the book's back cover.)
Previous page
  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    DAW
  4. Publication date
    October 19, 1976
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 1 x 5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0879973560
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0879973568
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ DAW (October 19, 1976)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0879973560
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0879973568
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1 x 5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 168 ratings

About the author

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Michael Moorcock

Michael Moorcock

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Born in London in 1939, Michael Moorcock now lives in Texas. A prolific and award-winning writer with more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction to his name, he is the creator of Elric, Jerry Cornelius and Colonel Pyat, amongst many other memorable characters.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
168 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sertorius
5.0 out of 5 stars Best place to start with Elric!
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2012
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The Fantasy Masterworks series has made a fine editorial decision in its presentation of the Elric saga of Michael Moorcock. Elric and the mythos of Melnibone have permeated the fantasy genre, and most fans know Elric through secondary sources such as the various comics, RPGs, etc. I fell into this category for a long time, and similar to the Fafhrd/Gray Mouser stories of Fritz Leiber, I had initially been put off by my readings of the actual Elric books. The problem was that I didn't know where to start. The "Elric opus" has much good, but much potboiler filler as well. And the titles offer little guidance, produced and organized by multiple publishers and editors, they are a labyrinth of redundancy with many stories, books, and compilations all bearing the titles Stormbringer, Stealer of Souls, and Elric. This review will be a guide through the title jungle.

The earliest Elric material were short stories serialized in the pulps during the 60s. These stories, beginning with "The Dreaming City", were published in mass market paperback form in the US under the title "Stealer of Souls". "The Dreaming City" itself, still one of the greatest Elric stories, has been published under the title "Stormbringer" and "Stealer of Souls", as a stand alone story! Later, in response to the Elric mania which ensued, Moorcock wrote a "conclusion" of the Elric Saga in the form of four short novellas, which were later published in book form under the title "Stormbringer" in the US. These two compilations, "Stealer of Souls" and "Stormbringer" are the earliest and best of the Elric series. These compilations are what are referred to in the Appendix N list of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide and what Fantasy Masterworks has published in this volume under the title "Elric". So, you see, this is the best place to begin.

Subsequently, Moorcock published a further series of Elric books which are set in the time periods prior to and between the first two volumes. These include "The Singing Citadel"(1970), "The Sleeping Sorceress"(1971), "Elric of Melnibone"(1972), and "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate"(1976). From what I've experienced--and I haven't read much--these are inferior to the first two books and only for Elric addicts. A good source has told me that Sailor on the Seas of Fate is unreadably boring.

Reading the Elric saga as it should be read leaves little doubt that Michael Moorcock is in the top tier of fantasy authors. It's hard to convey how truly original and innovative the stories are. The first sequence of short stories in "Stealer of Souls" is probably the best of Elric. Tolkien seems to have been influenced by this sequence in the published version of the Silmarillion. The kin slaying by the Noldor must owe something to Elric's kin-slaying in the "Dreaming City". Elric is even once called "kin slayer" in a subsequent story. The story of Turin Turambar is a forceful homage to Elric, which also points out that Elric is a retelling of the story of Kullervo from the Finnish Kalevala. What other living writer can say "I influenced the Master"?!
22 people found this helpful
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L. Honeycutt
5.0 out of 5 stars Negative reviews are lacking substance in honest opinions.
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2016
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I would like to review this book where I review the negative reviews instead of the book. I am a long time fan, been reading these since the seventies.

Now, looking at these negative reviews. I read these and what I hear by their reviews is basically that most of these people didn't grow up when these were written, they use current writing as a basis to not see these books for what they are, or, they've read one or part of the first book and make an opinion.

To each there own, you don't like it? fine, that's cool, but to come up with serious personal issues of why it wasn't liked because it comes off as this or that, well, these were written BEFORE most of the books that can compare to it. Sure, if I am 15 and my first book is a dragonlance in 1994 or if I was 16 in 2010 when Hunger Games was written and released and found out about Elric now, sure, I would probably have a different opinion. However, it doesn't excuse someone from downing it because they don't understand the timeframe it was written in.

With all that said, please take into account that you may or may not like this series, however, please don't compare these books to modern day fiction. Also, if you ARE going to read these, at least read all six books of the original series and remember that they were written long ago. If you do that, your possibly dislike of these books may be tempered to just what they are, good stories.

Sorry if this sounds almost like a rant, but I believe that a negative review from limited insight is a bad thing and not doing anyone any justice. Although, some will love these books and others will not.
22 people found this helpful
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James
5.0 out of 5 stars Different Style, Just as Good
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2001
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Mr. Moorcock's delfinately has a different style of writing than most other authors and if you're only familiar with the traditional approach to fantasy then you're going to have to make some adjustments in your thinking, I know I did. All in all I really enjoyed this story. Our hero is a dark and sad character who is in a really bad situation that just gets worse. The story has a quality to it I am finding hard to articulate. Once you read one book you have to read them all. It's not quite a complusion, not quite and addiction. All in all I don't think Mr. Moorcock will win many awards for literary merit but he gets his five stars on story alone. Check him out, the cover art is almost worth the price alone.
9 people found this helpful
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E. Lazellari
4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2017
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A classic
One person found this helpful
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Alex Wayne
5.0 out of 5 stars It's legit
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021
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This is the fixit version that is no longer in print. Hard to find, but totally worth it.
2 people found this helpful
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B. Swearingen
5.0 out of 5 stars Short
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2014
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This book is somewhat hard to fine. The nice thing about this book is that it is short even though it is part of a series. If you like Fantasy fiction and are looking for something shorter just for a break this would be a good book to choose.
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Ronald Newcomb
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy Fans
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2013
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I meant to get around to this book for years - and so glad I did. It was awesome. And this version is a great one - this audio book is produced very nicely.
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Norm Sheppard
5.0 out of 5 stars Every thing was professional.
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2014
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Very good time and quality.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Perceptive Reader
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in India on June 3, 2022
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This apparently classic fantsasy collection, that had taken sword & sorcery into a completely different direction and had been the precursor of subsequent grimdark tales, turned out to be a really bad choice, as far as my tastes are concerned. The stories could have been solid tales of heroic quest and adventures. Unfortunately, the protagonist (or antagonist?) turned out to be a major let-down.
Nah! Not my cup of tea.
Give me Anthony Ryan's 'Pilgrimage of Swords' any day, any time, over this.
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aethyr
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent starting point for the uninitiated
Reviewed in Canada on January 10, 2014
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I wont comment on the Moorcock's writing or the stories themselves except to say that it's all fantastic stuff of course.

Now, if you're new to the Elric saga like I was, this is probably the book you want to start with. I'm not sure that this is still in print, however. So if you can find a copy cheaply, snag it. This edition is really just a basic mass market paperback, although it's quite chunky in size and includes a nice, basic map of the kingdoms and some nice image detailing in the chapter headers.

This an omnibus volume that collects the following Elric tales (in what is generally considered to be a valid reading order):

- Elric of Melnibone (1972)
- The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
- The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
- The Dreaming City (1961)
- While the Gods Laugh (1961)
- The Singing Citadel (1967)

The Elric volumes currently in print (by 'Del Ray') collect the stories in order of publication rather than chronological sequence. You can find the complete publishing history and chronology on Moorcock's website. Anyhow, this is probably a better place to start for those who are curious about Elric and looking to get into the saga. Of course, this edition probably wont satisfy all the purposes of die-hard Moorcock fans and collectors, but is just perfect for the uninitiated.
4 people found this helpful
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Mark Poles
5.0 out of 5 stars Important fantasy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2010
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A long time ago, someone put me off reading Michael Moorcock - someone who had a pretty negative view of him as a writer. Bizarrely, I have absolutely no recollection who this was. Because of this person, I spent the first 37 years of my life not having read any Michael Moorcock. And I'm now thinking that was a mistake.

The four short stories that form the first half of this volume are the first Elric stories, dating back to 1961 and 1962, which puts them pretty early in terms of modern fantasy - six or seven years after Lord of the Rings. They are very different to LotR, but curiously quite similar to other parts of Tolkien's work that at that time were unpublished - notably the stories of Turin. Apparently both Moorcock and Tolkien's stories were influenced by the same tale from Finnish mythology, as indeed was Poul Anderson, but more on him in another review. A genuine coincidence it would seem.

Of course I knew about Elric before reading the books - If you've been exposed to as much fantasy role-playing as I have, he's hard to avoid. In a Games Workshop Q&A session at an RPG convention in the 80s, I once asked why GW seemed to be so obsessed with the concept of 'chaos' and the panel replied simply because they were all Michael Moorcock fans. Anyway, Elric - angst-ridden albino anti-hero with demonic super-sword. But for some reason I had it in my head that Moorcock wrote pulpy rubbish.

I was completely wrong. Even in these early books, I would say he stands above most fantasy authors in terms of his writing style. These stories are thrilling and exciting. I can see why they made a stir and why fantasy readers who gave up on LotR after Tom Bombadil would have got on rather better with Elric, exiled last Emperor of Melnibone and his evil soul-eating sword Stormbringer. Of course, it is possible to like both. It's probably true that angst-ridden anti-heroes have become more common in fantasy literature since the early 60s, but few can have been done as well as Elric.

The Elric stories also form part of Moorcock's 'Eternal Champion' cycle which features characters in different settings who are more-or-less incarnations of a central 'Eternal Champion'. I love this idea. After reading these first four Elric short stories, I went out and bought a lot of Moorcock works (mostly second-hand - some of them are difficult to get hold of new). Many of these books were Eternal Champion books. More reviews to follow!
8 people found this helpful
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さんぺい
4.0 out of 5 stars 子ども向けの冒険ファンタジー
Reviewed in Japan on December 31, 2004
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　古代から続く種族の大国で、父の死により若くして皇位を継いだアルビノ(白子)の皇帝の冒険物語です。RPGゲームの主人公として有名なようで、ストーリーもそれらしい展開をします。
　子ども向けの小説ですが、ハッピーエンドではなく、暗いサガを背負って生きるという内容で、殺戮場面も多数出てきます。
　私はファンタジー、冒険小説、探偵小説、アクション小説と、いろいろ読みますが、あまり楽しんでは読めませんでした。英語も初心者向けというわけではないように思います。
　私のようにElricのことなど全く知らない人のために、最近調べたことを交えて少し説明します。
　一連の小説はElrictのいとこの反逆からElric自身の死に至るまでの6巻からなっており、それ以外に番外編ともいうべき小説があるようです。それぞれの小説は、続けて読めばストーリーがつながっているように思えますが、内容自体は一つごとに完結しています。
　この本に含まれているのは、1巻、番外編、2巻、3巻(一部省略)です。内容は次の通り、
Elric of Melnibone 160p
The Fortress of Pearl 230p
The Sailer on the Sea of Fate 170p
第3巻の中の
The Dreaming City 35p
While the Gods Laugh 40p
The Singing Citadel 40p
3 people found this helpful
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Babs
5.0 out of 5 stars Even now such a great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2021
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I have not red the Elric books since I was in my teens. I was pleased to get hold of the first one in the series. At first I thought, now I am an adult I might not enjoy it the same way I did back then. Oh how wrong was I, I still enjoy it and could not put it down. Michael Moorcock is an awesome writer, you really can picture yourself in Elric's world, you gat a real sense of the place and characters. Above all you get an overwhelming love for Elric, you want to fight with him every step of the way and get worried every time he resorts to asking for help from the gods or demons. You find yourself going, no don't do it Elric, this is not going to end well.
It has been a real pleasure revisiting them again and I highly recommend the Elric novels if you are familiar with classic fantasy and want something that is gripping, dark and sometimes gory, then this is a story for you.
This not a story for modon audiences, unless you are a fan of Forgotten Realms, or D&D, then you might be all right with it.
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