One of the classic fantasy stories.
It is also very short. At least by today’s standards. Clocking in at 181 pages in paperback, it was a quick read. I had borrowed this from my friend David who is a Moorcock fan, especially the Eternal Champion Series, and Elric in particular. I wanted to get a taste of MM’s writing style and an idea of what the Elric series was about.
After reading PSS by Miéville, the first Elric book was a fast, enjoyable and seemingly easy read. And maybe because I read PSS before it, it came across with a bit of innocence. Of course that is very contradictory to a point, because the plot isn’t the happiest.
MM’s writing style though was really enjoyable. It was metaphoric and poetic, but it didn’t get lost in it. It was still to the point. That though could be because of the time it was written. Now these days that story could have been a 800 page hardback easy. But all in all, no matter the plot, writing style, or characters, this was a great read. Will be reading more of this series in the coming future.
July 20th, 2005 at 9:49 am
[…] It can just blow your mind thinking about everything one can do with this, and how good your editing would have to be. ; ) I have already read one of the books out of order. It was titled “Elric of Melniboné”, and is the first book of many centering around the most famous of the Eternal Champion heroes. […]
September 19th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
[…] Now I have already READ AND REVIEWED the first book, but had a hankerin’ to read more. I decided that going back and rereading the first book wouldn’t be a waste. And as I mentioned above, the short story “The Dreaming City” turned out to be the best. It really highlights what Elric goes through on an emotional level and his anti-heroism. […]