Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

July 1st.

So I'm just over 50 pages into this, finished the first short story/part/ whatever they're called and I'm still reading the second.

First impressions of Elric: (the person) he's a creepy weirdo full of self loathing and he's not particularly likeable. That being said, it does make him somewhat interesting. I like morally grey characters and it seem like Elric is definitely on the darker side of the line so it should make a fun book.

Thoughts on the first short story, The Dreaming City: (view spoiler)[I find it super creepy that Elric is in love with his cousin.

There was also no real explanation as to why his cousin hates him and why they're feuding so that part didn't really make sense.

I also don't understand why he felt the need to sneak the raiders in to attack the city when he's proven he can easily get into the castle anytime. All he needed was a solid plan rather than a snatch and grab.

The city seemed like a really cool place and it would have been great to explore it before it got destroyed.

Overall the pacing for this part felt very rushed. I didn't care when Elric killed his cousin because I didn't have any time to get to know him before it happened. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not sure if I actually like this book yet but I'm going to keep reading and see how it goes.

I kept looking for the thread for this then just thought you may have changed your mind about reading it. :D

I'll try to catch up.

I found Elric to be quite multidimensional as time progresses over the full arc of his story.

I was looking for this book in my library and (horrors) I no longer seem to have it.....

I told y'all I would help with the chronology of this series.

Yikes, I'd forgotten how much it was. Anyway,

Charlie, the book you have there is here: http://www.multiverse.org/index.php?t...

It is called Elric: Song of the Black Sword in the US.

Either way, it contains:


Elric of Melniboné
The Fortress of the Pearl
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
The Dreaming City
While the Gods Laugh
The Singing Citadel

Chris wrote: "I told y'all I would help with the chronology of this series.

Yikes, I'd forgotten how much it was. Anyway,

Charlie, the book you have there is here: http://www.multiverse.org/index.php?t......"

Thanks! It's pretty confusing, I'm just going to read them in the order they're printed in the copy I have I think.

Graeme wrote: "I found Elric to be quite multidimensional as time progresses over the full arc of his story.

I was looking for this book in my library and (horrors) I no longer seem to have it....."

I'm hoping I'll like him better as the story goes on for sure.

Laura wrote: "I kept looking for the thread for this then just thought you may have changed your mind about reading it. :D

I'll try to catch up."
I forgot to request the thread!

Charlie wrote: "Thanks! It's pretty confusing, I'm just going to read them in the order they're printed in the copy I have I think.."

That's the best way. Your edition was put together in that order for easy continuity. What makes this series difficult is every time it gets published, they flip it around some.

If you go on past this volume, you can use the wiki link there to stay straight.

I may have a little problem here Charlie. :)

The book I just got from my online library - cause I'm not at home now - has the same cover as yours and is called Elric of Melnibone but it starts with book 1 and The Melancholy King
It has 3 books in total. Is it the same as yours? Because you mentioned reading The dreaming city first and that doesn't come in the beginning in my version.
This is so confusing. Because I don't really know if it's the full volume with everything in one or just the book Elric of Melnibone.

here is what i have from my online library:

Duke Elric
Elric in the Dream Realms
Elric of Melnibone
Elric: Swords and Roses
Elric to Rescue Tanelorn
Elric the Sleeping Sorceress
Elric The Stealer of Souls
Stormbringer
The Bane of the Black Sword
The Sailor of the Seas of Fate
The Vanishing Tower
The Weird of the White Wolf
Elric at the End of Time

These titles are different than those listed here except 3 so I don't really know how I'm supposed to order them.

Oh no, we must have different versions! I'll go through my copy and check which stories are in it and in which order they appear. This BR might be a write-off!

In the lost Chris gave the 5th story is Gods Laugh but in my library it's Bane of the Black Sword. Is it the same book with different titles?

It could be. I have the UK version, I'm not sure if that makes a difference though. I'll compare the stories in my copy with the list Chris linked.

ok. I'll wait for you to let me know what your book has and I'll try to get an order in those I got. Maybe we can match them somehow.

I have different stories to those in the original list.

9 stories total in the following order:

The dreaming city
While the gods laugh
The stealer of souls
Kings in darkness
The caravan of forgotten dreams
Stormbringer
Black swords brothers
Sad giant's shield
Doomed lord’s passing

Do you want to try and read just the stories we both have or maybe each read the book was have and see how they compare Laura?

I finished the second story, While the Gods Laugh, I wasn't impressed with it. The female character was a complete non character, the monsters weren't very well thought out and the pacing was super weird.

It's probably because these are short stories rather than an actual novel but the pacing is off and I don't feel like I'm getting to know any of the characters. The events just seem rushed and anticlimactic.

I'm going to continue on with it since Elric is weird enough to keep me interested but I hope I start to like it more.

The Weird of the White Wolf =
The Dreaming City + While the Gods Laugh + The Singing Citadel

The Weird of the White Wolf

The Bane of the Black Sword = The Stealer of Souls + Kings in Darkness + The Flame Bringers + To Rescue Tanelorn...

The Bane of the Black Sword

Note: "The Flame Bringers" was later renamed "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams"

This book should have the same stories as Charlie's edition;

Elric: The Stealer of Souls

Thank you so much Chris. :)

@Charlie - I'll read the first 2 stories today and try to find the 3rd one in the volume Chris recommended. I'm making right now a list of what all stories are in each of those books the library has and then read them in the order you've posted there.

That's great Laura! Wow, what a lot of work, thanks for all the help Chris!

I read a few pages of story three this morning, still no idea why any of the characters like Elric.

Thoughts on the Dreaming City

I agree with you on the pacing. It does feel rushed. Also on the beauty of the city and love for the cousin.

From what I understood (view spoiler)[Elroc left his cousin as a regent and the cousin crowned himself king in his absence. At the same time, he put a spell on his own sister who was in love with Elric (perhaps so she doesn't warn him). That's why the feud and hatred. Elric himself was not able to break the spell and perhaps he needes his cousin to die for it to be lifted. At least that's how I can make sense of it.

Why he wanted to conquer the city - perhaps he wanted revenge because he had been declared an outcast?

Elric himself - I don't know what to think of him still. He is arrogant and so full of himself at times that you wonder what his problem is but then at others he is sensitive (when he saw the girl or knew he had to leave the other ships behind).
He could have stopped fighting his cousin but he didn't because he was full of hatred and fury. Was that Elric or the sword?

He calls that demon lord for help to suck the souls of those he's fighting but he himself is horrified by it. So I find him pretty conflicting.

Is he a good man forced into a partnership with that demon sword and that sword is taking over at times making him loose reason? Or is Elric himself with a not so great attitude? I can't decide for now so I'll wait him out a bit.

That time when he saw Rattlebones dying he just told him he should be sorry indeed for getting caught and then that he will avenge him. And he went off. Like come on! That old man thaught him how to use a sword and was close to him - and this is the only thing Elric has to say? (hide spoiler)]

Laura wrote: "..."

Elric is arrogant early, and is tempered by events.

Laura wrote: "Thoughts on the Dreaming City

I agree with you on the pacing. It does feel rushed. Also on the beauty of the city and love for the cousin.

From what I understood Elroc left his cousin as a regent..."

That definitely makes sense about his cousin. I guess he thought that (view spoiler)[ killing him would end the sleep spell on his other cousin. It doesn't explain why the male cousin hated him or why he stole the throne though. Surely Elric loving the guys sister shouldn't have done that. (hide spoiler)]

I think the sword definitely has some sort of influence over Elric. it seems to give him physical strength which could definitely become addictive if he's weak and sickly without it. I thought (view spoiler)[ the sword may have killed the cousin rather than Elric himself and that's why he tossed it into the sea. (hide spoiler)]

I found (view spoiler)[Rattlebones death (hide spoiler)] very unsatisfying. I think Elric definitely should have had a greater reaction. It's another example of the author not letting us really get to know the characters and a rushed plot.

Now that I've started The Stealer of Souls it feels like I'm missing something. There's two characters that talk a lot about their past with Elric so I think they must feature in stories that aren't in the book I have.

Graeme wrote: "Laura wrote: "..."

Elric is arrogant early, and is tempered by events."

I'm looking forward to getting to know him better then. :)

Charlie wrote: "Laura wrote: "Thoughts on the Dreaming City

.."

It is true, the stories being very short some details will be missing.
I'll be reading the next 2 stories tonight and post my thoughts on them in the morning.
I got to find the book Chris mentioned as including all the stories in yours and I checked them today. They are in exactly the same order. Thanks again Chris. :)

The novel, Elric of Melniboné was written several years after the original sequence of stories, and does go back to the beginning and introduce us to the main characters.



It is a standalone novel, but also included in the following collections:

Elric: Song of the Black Sword
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné and Other Stories
Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress




Also, you're both welcome. I know it's confusing. A huge part of the problem isn't so much the reissues, but the fact that they keep using the same titles for different content.

Laura, I need to check my hardcover at home of Elric: Song of the Black Sword to see if "The Melancholy King" is the first section of the Elric of Melnibone novel. I'm also thinking it might be an essay/introduction.

ETA: yes, it is the first chapter of the standalone novel.

@Chris This is exactly the kind of thing that puts me off reading older titles honestly, I'm too lazy to work out the reading order. My dad recommended Elric to me ages ago but he said he had a few different versions that all had slightly different content so that put me off reading it for ages.

I also want to read more Robin Hobb since I've only read 2 books (and loved them) but I've been told the series are all interlinked so you have to read them in a certain order for it to all make sense.

@Laura I'll likely finish story 3 tonight too. I'm hoping for some sort of big magical battle personally. We've heard about Elric's epic dark powers, now I want to see them first hand.

I would recommend the following sequence

Elric of Melnibone,
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate,
The Weird of the White Wolf,
The Vanishing Tower,
The Bane of the Black Sword,
Stormbringer.

Which, I think, is the original set.

While the Gods Laugh

Elric behaves like an SOB at times because he absolutely hates and loathes himself. And when a man does that, he invariably hates and loathes the whole world in the bargain.

I resented the way he (view spoiler)[instantly felt attracted to that woman and jumped between her sheets, when he supposedly loved Cymoril so much. And the way he cursed her when she said the line made out of her clothes was to short to pull him out of the marsh. Get a grip man! She's only trying to help and is a bit overwhelmed! Curse the Gods, fate or shitty luck instead.

And I first thought he would want the book to be able to bring his love back. But he is looking for the one God reigning above others? That was interesting. And I didn't quite get why he wants to find that God. To get rid of the sword? To find out of he is just a tool on a preordained path or if his choices were his own? (hide spoiler)]

The female character was very weak. And dumped just like that in the end, made it sure to point it out.

The style is abrupt and things are missing inevitably in between but I think it may end up being right for this particular character. I'm already starting to get used to it.

The Stealer of Souls

Elric is growing as a character. I liked the way the dilemma of the sword is approached. It becomes so apparent that (view spoiler)[ Elric resents it but cannot live without it and is desperately looking for a way to be free of the pact.

Some of the stuff doesn't make sense. For instance, Elric has the sword taken out of his hand and he instantly becomes so weak that he must be dragged. How will he be able to function on a daily basis then? Does he have to maintain a connection to that sword even while he is in between the sheets with a lady friend? That could have been a bit better written.

I liked it that Elric started to show emotion. When his friend was killed he was worried and clearly hoping he would still survive. Compared to Rattlebones death, this one really moved him.

And I liked it that it was clearly shown the sword takes over for killing when Elric doesn't want to. He is fighting the sword but to no avail and he hates himself for it. It is a lot easier to keep the world at bay by being an SOB - because the world would get hurt if it came close to you. So I'm starting to feel a little bit of compassion for Elric.

Is Elric's power actually that of manipulating the elements? He summoned the God of Air and had him fight the sorcerer who in his turn summoned minions of Fire? Did I get that right? (hide spoiler)]

Laura wrote: "While the Gods Laugh

Elric behaves like an SOB at times because he absolutely hates and loathes himself. And when a man does that, he invariably hates and loathes the whole world in the bargain.

..."

I wasn't happy with (view spoiler)[ the way he treated that woman. She was very disposable and it frustrated me that she was such a non person. And if he really loved Cymoril he shouldn't have been jumping into bed with another woman.

I didn't understand why he wanted to find out about the God either. Maybe to see if there's a point to everything that's happened to him? (hide spoiler)]

Still reading Stealer of Souls at the moment so I won't click on your spoiler yet!

Right at the beginning of the 4th story
I'm rolling my eyes right now and come on! Let's get real!!
(view spoiler)[The guy just meets the girl and after a few hours they fall into each other's arms and spend the night together in front of the jealous Moonglum. And after a few hours when they manage to fend off the attack, Zarozinia cooly declares she is meant to be his wife and Elric confirms it! Duh! Talk about insta love after all that torment with the beloved dead cousin!
This authour really doesn't write good love. (hide spoiler)]

I think the sword thing was definitely poorly written. In the first story (view spoiler)[he throws the sword away and doesn't instantly collapse and become blind so theres no consistency there and it's a bit ridiculous. The sword is more sentient that I first thought and I think the symbiotic relationship it has with Elric is really quite creepy. It uses Elric to steal the souls of others and in turn and gives Elric some of that strength and vitality. However it came to be, it's a pretty screwed up thing to exist. (hide spoiler)]

I think the elementals (view spoiler)[made some sort of pact with Elric's ancestors or owe them some kind of debt and that's why they allow him to give them orders. I don't think Elric's magic is so powerful that he can literally force the elementals to do his bidding. (hide spoiler)]

Charlie wrote: "I think the sword thing was definitely poorly written. In the first story [spoilers removed]

I think the elementals [spoilers removed]"

I agree on both counts, including the "it could have been better written part".

With the elementals, (view spoiler)[Elric is more like asking them to help then ordering them around. Right? (hide spoiler)]

Still, I enjoy this book much more than The Witcher, which I have just finished yesterday. To me, this writing feels much better and the stories and dialogues make much more sense than in the other. Perhaps the translation Polish to English was very bad in that case.

Yes with the elementals I think he's definitely (view spoiler)[requesting their help. It would have been cool if he did have the power to completely command them though, he'd be crazy powerful. (hide spoiler)]

I've been meaning to read The Witcher series for years actually. I've got the first few on my shelves and I know a lot of people rave about them. It's a shame you didn't love it, I had really high expectations for it.

I just finished The Last Wish also, and kept being reminded of this series.

Funny how y'all have the complaint of the poor writing. Moorcock actually did get a lot better with his prose over time. The unfortunate part is that it seems as he got better, he also liked showing off just how good he is. Now he seems more interested in impressing with prose than with any kind of story content.

I actually miss the old Moorcock where you could just read and enjoy the story without having to earn a degree in English Literature.

I honestly like Elric a lot more than I did The Witcher. I love Supernatural and yes, Witcher seemed on the same line but I really didn't like the writing. So many things there didn't sound real. A king with straw on the floor of his throne room who speaks like a soldier in a tavern, characters telling the whole family history to someone they barely met or fearing someone then not fearing them the next instant and that is just from the first story.

The Witcher fell short for me because I'm a stickler for details. And they weren't matching that much there. I've heard it mentioned though that the translation is faulty. If that is the case, a lot of things I didn't like could be attributed to that.

Laura wrote: "Right at the beginning of the 4th story
I'm rolling my eyes ."

Finished Kings in darkness (view spoiler)[ Apparently he loves her. Even though they just met and in the last story he promised to be with the woman who got his sword back. It's ridiculous. I don't understand why the all the women seem to go nut for Elric. He's described as looking like a freaking demon for gods sake with his white skin and creepy red eyes. What about that makes everyone want to instantly want to jump into bed with him?! (hide spoiler)]

Charlie wrote: "Laura wrote: "Right at the beginning of the 4th story
I'm rolling my eyes ."

Finished Kings in darkness [spoilers removed]"

First of all: Damn! I didn't get any notification for this. The GR has been making so many updates recently that everything seems upside down. And I'm not really sure I like the new app. I can see spoilers but can't reply directly to a comment. Or I can but didn't find out how to by now.

My reaction to your comment: 😂🤣😂
More than the women falling for the guy, which sort of makes sense to me because young ladies are generally impressed by different looking tough guys (and Elric sort of reminds me of Drizzt + he does look kind of cool on my cover)
I'm bothered about the guy being so fickle! If the writer would have used only the word passion or considered the previous relationships strong attractions that would have been perfectly fine with me. But love so inconstant and for so many different ladies at such a short interval between the romps in the sheets doesn't feel right.
Or perhaps Elric is too young and views every passion arousing relationship as a love one. When kids like each other they do tend to feel more or confuse passion with real love. That would make sense.

The changes to Goodreads are awful. I stopped using the app, switched to the website but it forces me to use the mobile view when I'm on my phone, it's maddening.

Yeah he's definitely quite juvenile in his feelings. I just want him to keep it in his pants and get back to the magic!!

I was reading a lot of Renegades yesterday so I didn't read any Elric, I'll probably read another story tonight. Bite sized pieces of him is all I can handle at the moment, he's so frustrating to read!

I'll read the next story today also then. :)

I'm determined to get through this book, if only because my dad raves about it. Then again, I think he read these stories before I was born and I'm nearly 30 so his opinion may definitely be clouded with time!

Or perhaps it's just a book meant for guys. :))

Laura wrote: "Or perhaps it's just a book meant for guys. :))"

Very possibly! But he usually has great taste in books and I love a lot of his recommendations so I'm just a bit frustrated with this one. Don't get me wrong, the stories are fun and they're not the worst things I've read by any stretch, it's just that I'm reading two other books that I'm enjoying so much more at the moment. That's the problem with reading more than 1 book at a time I guess, I end up comparing them.

I'm part way through The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams. (41% into the book) (view spoiler)[ After all the heartache and misery that bloody sword has caused, Elric is now magically free of it and he's found a remedy to cure all his ills. Lazy writing. I hate it when authors do this. (hide spoiler)]

I'll read that one tonight and post in the morning. :)

I've finished The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams. Again, just lazy writing! (view spoiler)[ Elric's surrounded by an angry horde and desperately needs to find a cat, oh look, convenient cat god! (hide spoiler)]

This book is seriously killing me, I can't stop rolling my eyes! It's so terrible. After I'm done with it I think I'm donating it to my local used book shop or charity shop. I need it out of my life! It's very lucky I made a vow not to abandon anymore books (there's a ridiculous amount on my on-hold shelf) or I would have gotten rid at the weekend.

Yeah! That part with the cat god was like a kids' tale. Very convenient.

It was kind of cool how the sword came to him when he called it in that wagon and I'm not even gonna ask why (view spoiler)[it didn't come to him before when that other sorcerer took it away (maybe because it was in a cupboard that time - though that doesn't make sense either cause it got back into the armoury when Elric threw it away.) (hide spoiler)]
Sorry - I'm a little stickler for details.

This is a good book for young men or boys who love a cool hero and aren't bothered about little details. I for one find it just ok. Not bad but not great either. And I will deffinitely not continue with the series.

On to Stormbringer now cause I wanna close this up.
Just a small question of comparison cause we have to different editions of the same book: does your Stormbringer story also have 2 books? Mine starts with Book 1 Dead God's Homecoming. Is it the same in yours?

Laura wrote: "This is a good book for young men or boys who love a cool hero and aren't bothered about little details. I for one find it just ok. Not bad but not great either. And I will deffinitely not continue with the series."


I completely agree, I'm not continuing. I'm only sticking with it since I vowed not to DNF any more books this year.


In my edition Stormbringer is split into 4 books:

Dead God's Homecoming
Black swords brothers
Sad giant's shield
Doomed lord’s passing