What do you think?
Rate this book
Elric: The Revenge of the Rose
The Michael Moorcock Collection presents for the first time, definitive editions of Moorcock's most influential work, fully revised and updated by the author.
Feared by enemies and friends alike, Elric of Melniboné walks a lonely path among the worlds of the multiverse. The destroyer of his own cruel and ancient race, as well as its final ruler, Elric is the bearer of a destiny as dark and cursed as the vampiric sword he carries - the sentient black blade known as Stormbringer.
The soul of Elric's father is tortured and suffering. To free it, Elric must face the princes of hell, and put all of his trust in one woman - the Rose.
With an introduction by Holly Black, and containing THE REVENGE OF THE ROSE as well as associated short stories, this collection presents Moorcock's greatest creation in a revised and approved order.
Feared by enemies and friends alike, Elric of Melniboné walks a lonely path among the worlds of the multiverse. The destroyer of his own cruel and ancient race, as well as its final ruler, Elric is the bearer of a destiny as dark and cursed as the vampiric sword he carries - the sentient black blade known as Stormbringer.
The soul of Elric's father is tortured and suffering. To free it, Elric must face the princes of hell, and put all of his trust in one woman - the Rose.
With an introduction by Holly Black, and containing THE REVENGE OF THE ROSE as well as associated short stories, this collection presents Moorcock's greatest creation in a revised and approved order.
464 pages, Paperback
Published January 9, 2014
7 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,209 books3,764 followersMichael John Moorcock is an English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels.
Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.
During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.
Moorcock has mentioned The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Apple Cart by George Bernard Shaw and The Constable of St. Nicholas by Edward Lester Arnold as the first three books which captured his imagination. He became editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1956, at the age of sixteen, and later moved on to edit Sexton Blake Library. As editor of the controversial British science fiction magazine New Worlds, from May 1964 until March 1971 and then again from 1976 to 1996, Moorcock fostered the development of the science fiction "New Wave" in the UK and indirectly in the United States. His serialization of Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron was notorious for causing British MPs to condemn in Parliament the Arts Council's funding of the magazine.
During this time, he occasionally wrote under the pseudonym of "James Colvin," a "house pseudonym" used by other critics on New Worlds. A spoof obituary of Colvin appeared in New Worlds #197 (January 1970), written by "William Barclay" (another Moorcock pseudonym). Moorcock, indeed, makes much use of the initials "JC", and not entirely coincidentally these are also the initials of Jesus Christ, the subject of his 1967 Nebula award-winning novella Behold the Man, which tells the story of Karl Glogauer, a time-traveller who takes on the role of Christ. They are also the initials of various "Eternal Champion" Moorcock characters such as Jerry Cornelius, Jerry Cornell and Jherek Carnelian. In more recent years, Moorcock has taken to using "Warwick Colvin, Jr." as yet another pseudonym, particularly in his Second Ether fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 6, 2021
Reading a "chronological" collection of the Elric stories can cause some wild whiplash: short stories by Moorcock as an angry young punk alternate with novels written by him as a comfortable middle aged guy. I suppose it's kind of in keeping with the chaotic nature of the series' relationship with time? The collection "Elric: The Revenge of the Rose" certainly makes a good case for this reading of Elric, as the titular novel -- an early 90s yarn -- forms a really interesting contrast with the back half of the book, a series of early-to-mid 60s novella.
Rose, the novel, is a wonderfully weird journey through different dimensions in search of a rosewood box carrying Elric's dad's soul, but also three mysterious sisters, but ALSO a cursed prince. It also has no less than five extremely cool female characters. The 60s stories, uh, do not fare well in this regard.
They are fun tho! Kings in Darkness is kinda a perfect little mini D&D adventure, The Last Enchantment is a delightfully wacky tangle with the Chaos Lords, and To Rescue Tanelorn is an exciting prelude for the drama no doubt about to unfold in the final volume Stormbringer.
"Perfect little D&D adventure" for Kings of Darkness vs. "wonderfully weird journey" for Revenge of the Rose should just about cue you in on how Moorcock evolved from his own take on sword & sorcery characters to one of the founding voices of New Weird. Lotta Perdido Street Station in Rose!
Rose, the novel, is a wonderfully weird journey through different dimensions in search of a rosewood box carrying Elric's dad's soul, but also three mysterious sisters, but ALSO a cursed prince. It also has no less than five extremely cool female characters. The 60s stories, uh, do not fare well in this regard.
They are fun tho! Kings in Darkness is kinda a perfect little mini D&D adventure, The Last Enchantment is a delightfully wacky tangle with the Chaos Lords, and To Rescue Tanelorn is an exciting prelude for the drama no doubt about to unfold in the final volume Stormbringer.
"Perfect little D&D adventure" for Kings of Darkness vs. "wonderfully weird journey" for Revenge of the Rose should just about cue you in on how Moorcock evolved from his own take on sword & sorcery characters to one of the founding voices of New Weird. Lotta Perdido Street Station in Rose!
January 13, 2025
Così come il terzo tomo della serie, Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, anche questo quinto libro,
Elric: The Revenge of the Rose
, è un volume antologico diviso in due parti: il romanzo The Revenge of the Rose è un midquel aggiunto alla serie nel 1991, i racconti "The Stealer of Souls", "Kings in Darkness", "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams", "The Last Enchantment" e "To Rescue Tanelorn" risalgono al primo nucleo degli anni Sessanta ed erano pubblicati in passato entro l'antologia autonoma The Bane of the Black Sword – e anche in questo caso non c'è un apparato critico che spieghi la cronologia di composizione...
The Revenge of the Rose mi è parso francamente mediocre, una combinazione degli elementi più deboli sia di The Sailor of the Seas of Fate sia di Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl (l'altro midquel, composto nel 1989): la trama consiste di una classica (anche troppo) cerca simil-tolkienesca scandita in tre macro-sezioni semiautonome per ambientazione e per eventi, per i miei gusti c'è un certo eccesso di descrizioni barocche e di monologhi interiori (devo però prendere atto che a Moorcock piacciono), i comprimari di Elric ricevono un sacco di spazio e danno all'opera un'atmosfera a tratti comica, a tratti aulica, in generale completamente fuori fase rispetto a come si era concluso il precedente Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress; sicuramente c'è chi apprezza questo stacco netto, a me ha fatto un po' storcere il naso perché enfatizza ancora di più che il romanzo è un interludio abbastanza avulso dalla trama principale.
Passando ai racconti, la qualità è dignitosa e in linea con l'altro blocco di novelle "classiche" pubblicato in Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate:
- "The Stealer of Souls" include delle gradevoli scene di duello magico a base di demoni e spiriti elementali, però le svolte tragico-truculente iniziano un attimo a essere telefonate (ennesimo elmento che George Martin ha copiato da Moorcock...)
- "Kings in Darkness" è il racconto più debole del nucleo originale: a fronte di scene macabre abbastanza carine introduce un nuovo, svenevole, interesse amoroso di Elric, roba che neanche i peggiori fumetti shojo. Buona l'idea di dama Zarozina, ma pessima l'esecuzione.
- "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" presenta degli eventi chiaramente troppo vasti di magnitudine per essere coerenti con il woldbuilding visto sinora, ma noi ce ne infischiamo perché abbiamo belle coreografie di battaglia e un po' di scavo psicologico su Elric.
- "The Last Enchantment" è una breve scenetta tragicomica non particolarmente brillante per i miei gusti, ma funziona bene da "quiete prima della tempesta".
- "To Rescue Tanelorn" è un interludio con protagonista un comprimario di Elric (in qualche modo speculare al racconto Master of Chaos di Elric of Melniboné and Other Stories) e il suo tono complessivo è stato rieseguito meglio nel romanzo The Sleeping Sorceress, ma è un ottimo preludio al gran finale della saga.
Nel complesso, dunque, questi cinque testi sono ancora abbastanza avvincenti e immaginifichi come racconti di sword & sorcery tradizionale, risultano sicuramente datati se si cerca raffinatezza di woldbuilding e introspezione dei personaggi, e sono inferiori alla freschezza sempreverde che ho trovato nei romanzi Elric of Melniboné e The Sleeping Sorceress.
The Revenge of the Rose mi è parso francamente mediocre, una combinazione degli elementi più deboli sia di The Sailor of the Seas of Fate sia di Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl (l'altro midquel, composto nel 1989): la trama consiste di una classica (anche troppo) cerca simil-tolkienesca scandita in tre macro-sezioni semiautonome per ambientazione e per eventi, per i miei gusti c'è un certo eccesso di descrizioni barocche e di monologhi interiori (devo però prendere atto che a Moorcock piacciono), i comprimari di Elric ricevono un sacco di spazio e danno all'opera un'atmosfera a tratti comica, a tratti aulica, in generale completamente fuori fase rispetto a come si era concluso il precedente Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress; sicuramente c'è chi apprezza questo stacco netto, a me ha fatto un po' storcere il naso perché enfatizza ancora di più che il romanzo è un interludio abbastanza avulso dalla trama principale.
Passando ai racconti, la qualità è dignitosa e in linea con l'altro blocco di novelle "classiche" pubblicato in Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate:
- "The Stealer of Souls" include delle gradevoli scene di duello magico a base di demoni e spiriti elementali, però le svolte tragico-truculente iniziano un attimo a essere telefonate (ennesimo elmento che George Martin ha copiato da Moorcock...)
- "Kings in Darkness" è il racconto più debole del nucleo originale: a fronte di scene macabre abbastanza carine introduce un nuovo, svenevole, interesse amoroso di Elric, roba che neanche i peggiori fumetti shojo. Buona l'idea di dama Zarozina, ma pessima l'esecuzione.
- "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" presenta degli eventi chiaramente troppo vasti di magnitudine per essere coerenti con il woldbuilding visto sinora, ma noi ce ne infischiamo perché abbiamo belle coreografie di battaglia e un po' di scavo psicologico su Elric.
- "The Last Enchantment" è una breve scenetta tragicomica non particolarmente brillante per i miei gusti, ma funziona bene da "quiete prima della tempesta".
- "To Rescue Tanelorn" è un interludio con protagonista un comprimario di Elric (in qualche modo speculare al racconto Master of Chaos di Elric of Melniboné and Other Stories) e il suo tono complessivo è stato rieseguito meglio nel romanzo The Sleeping Sorceress, ma è un ottimo preludio al gran finale della saga.
Nel complesso, dunque, questi cinque testi sono ancora abbastanza avvincenti e immaginifichi come racconti di sword & sorcery tradizionale, risultano sicuramente datati se si cerca raffinatezza di woldbuilding e introspezione dei personaggi, e sono inferiori alla freschezza sempreverde che ho trovato nei romanzi Elric of Melniboné e The Sleeping Sorceress.
December 1, 2016
From The Revenge of the Rose to To Rescue Tanelorn, this is one of Moorcock's most philosophical volumes of Elric and also one of his weakest. There are some shorts in here which are strong, but as a whole, this volume is hard going.
The Revenge of the Rose. The final book in Moorcock's original Elric sequence. Like The Fortress of the Pearl before it, it doesn't have the same feel of the earlier swords & sorcery books. This is instead a more philosophical and thoughtful Elric. Unfortunately, that also means that it's slower and more abstract. The places that Elric visits here are very thinly sketched out, not approaching the vividness of past locales like Ameroon and the quests seem simplistic.
The joy of this volume is the eponymous Rose and her war with Gaynor. She's somewhat poorly sketched out here too, but this was the start of a story that would criss-cross a variety of books in a variety of settings in the '90s. [5/10]
"The Stealer of Souls". A nice S&S story in the original style of the Elric tales and a nice callback to Melniboné. It's also a cool climactic confrontation with a long-running foe ... though this was ironically his first written appearance [7/10].
"Kings in Darkness". A strong story mainly for its dark atmosphere — even for the Elric series. The bits with Zarozinia are a little too happy to be believable, but other than that it's a good story [7/10].
"The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams". The much more human monster in this story doesn't live up to some of the monstrosities that Elric fights, mainly because he's a shallow character. Still, this is a fair story: exciting and quick-moving and featuring an ever-evolving Elric [6/10].
"The Last Enchantment". An interesting Elric artifact, since it was lost for so long. The core of the story is a little overly philosophical and new-wavey, but it's good to have it available again [5+/10].
"To Rescue Tanelorn". An OK story about Tanelorn and Rackhir the Red Archer. It's mostly a simple macguffin quest without a lot of depth (except for some philosophy) [5/10].
The Revenge of the Rose. The final book in Moorcock's original Elric sequence. Like The Fortress of the Pearl before it, it doesn't have the same feel of the earlier swords & sorcery books. This is instead a more philosophical and thoughtful Elric. Unfortunately, that also means that it's slower and more abstract. The places that Elric visits here are very thinly sketched out, not approaching the vividness of past locales like Ameroon and the quests seem simplistic.
The joy of this volume is the eponymous Rose and her war with Gaynor. She's somewhat poorly sketched out here too, but this was the start of a story that would criss-cross a variety of books in a variety of settings in the '90s. [5/10]
"The Stealer of Souls". A nice S&S story in the original style of the Elric tales and a nice callback to Melniboné. It's also a cool climactic confrontation with a long-running foe ... though this was ironically his first written appearance [7/10].
"Kings in Darkness". A strong story mainly for its dark atmosphere — even for the Elric series. The bits with Zarozinia are a little too happy to be believable, but other than that it's a good story [7/10].
"The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams". The much more human monster in this story doesn't live up to some of the monstrosities that Elric fights, mainly because he's a shallow character. Still, this is a fair story: exciting and quick-moving and featuring an ever-evolving Elric [6/10].
"The Last Enchantment". An interesting Elric artifact, since it was lost for so long. The core of the story is a little overly philosophical and new-wavey, but it's good to have it available again [5+/10].
"To Rescue Tanelorn". An OK story about Tanelorn and Rackhir the Red Archer. It's mostly a simple macguffin quest without a lot of depth (except for some philosophy) [5/10].
February 29, 2024
Always wanted to read all the Eric stories and had explored most but these editions with the tales in narrative order are finally going to get me there. Main story in this one is nuts but brilliant. The moving villages are particularly awesome
November 1, 2025
One of my favorite Elric books so far. This book has some of Moorcock’s best fantasy set pieces and great side characters, especially Wheldrake the interdimensional poet and the Rose. It hasn’t aged super well but the constantly moving city on planks pushed by the lower classes through a sea of the trash it leaves behind was a highlight, as was Elric’s dragon sorcery. I also liked the stuff about Law Chaos and Balance more than usual, and Gaymor was a good villain. The Heavy Sea, navigated by a giant toad, was also cool. Some of the werewolf stuff kind of lost me
October 9, 2021
This book contains several stories, short and long, but the first one, and the bulk, is the namesake story. And, to be honest, I started really appreciating it, and getting a very good first impression of the book. Book One of the story, with its description of the Gypsy Nation, was nothing short of brilliant: It reminded me of an allegory of capitalism back in a time when these allegories were unusual, at least in fantasy literature.
Unfortunately, that's where the good part ended. The rest of the first story - and of most of the book - is so packed with fantasy metaphysics and surrealism that it is practically unbearable. As for "The Revenge of the Rose" Books Two and Three, the story in itself would be fine, but unfortunately most of the Chaos scenarios and Elric's philosophical pondering that cram it cannot be appreciated unless you rely on heavy drugs (which I don't).
The rest of the stories are just between barely good and downright bad, and in the final one (To Rescue Tanelorn…), the worlds cut out from a pack of LSD return, making it all quite senseless. The story somewhat holds a bit of coherency, but there is so much surrealism that many things must simply be accepted as they are, as totally meaningless.
The problem is that by this time Moorcock's cosmology, and the workings of Chaos, is so entrenched in his mind that he depicts everything as perfectly understandable - which is not at all.
I advise to stay clear of this book, it's a huge slog across folly, and doesn't really add much to Elric's saga.
Unfortunately, that's where the good part ended. The rest of the first story - and of most of the book - is so packed with fantasy metaphysics and surrealism that it is practically unbearable. As for "The Revenge of the Rose" Books Two and Three, the story in itself would be fine, but unfortunately most of the Chaos scenarios and Elric's philosophical pondering that cram it cannot be appreciated unless you rely on heavy drugs (which I don't).
The rest of the stories are just between barely good and downright bad, and in the final one (To Rescue Tanelorn…), the worlds cut out from a pack of LSD return, making it all quite senseless. The story somewhat holds a bit of coherency, but there is so much surrealism that many things must simply be accepted as they are, as totally meaningless.
The problem is that by this time Moorcock's cosmology, and the workings of Chaos, is so entrenched in his mind that he depicts everything as perfectly understandable - which is not at all.
I advise to stay clear of this book, it's a huge slog across folly, and doesn't really add much to Elric's saga.
July 8, 2016
Revenge of the Rose is another volume of a large novel and assorted Elric stories. Unlike the previous volume, "The Sleeping Sorceress", this one is set in entirely chronological order. The last story gives yet more background about one of Elric's occasional companions, who also got a short story in the previous volume.
The title novel does a bunch of heavy foreshadowing of the big upcoming Law v Chaos shakedown. And it provides ton more background on one of the nemeses of the multiple Eternal Champion incarnations. There's a bunch of world-hopping, and cross-referencing with the Eldren as well as Corum's backstory. And Elric gets a brand new companion who helps to link "Gloriana" into the Eternal champion saga.
The rest of the stories follow Elric and Moonglum as they venture the Eastern continent of the Young Kingdoms, and sets up the ultimate confrontation that is to come in "Stormbringer".
The Novel is 4/5. Some of the stories are kinda weak, too much sword & sorcery cliche. One of them Moorcock admits was written purely as a cash grab, and he himself didn't like it. But i'd recommend it, because it helps to understand just what will be happening in "Stormbringer"
The title novel does a bunch of heavy foreshadowing of the big upcoming Law v Chaos shakedown. And it provides ton more background on one of the nemeses of the multiple Eternal Champion incarnations. There's a bunch of world-hopping, and cross-referencing with the Eldren as well as Corum's backstory. And Elric gets a brand new companion who helps to link "Gloriana" into the Eternal champion saga.
The rest of the stories follow Elric and Moonglum as they venture the Eastern continent of the Young Kingdoms, and sets up the ultimate confrontation that is to come in "Stormbringer".
The Novel is 4/5. Some of the stories are kinda weak, too much sword & sorcery cliche. One of them Moorcock admits was written purely as a cash grab, and he himself didn't like it. But i'd recommend it, because it helps to understand just what will be happening in "Stormbringer"
April 3, 2020
Maybe it was too soon after reading an Elric collection this week, but this one nearly bored me to tears.
I hate giving books bad reviews, I want to love each book I read and have something nice to say about it. We'll start by saying that Holly Black's introduction was beautifully poignant.
Coming from 1991, Revenge of the Rose sees a fairly stark contrast to the earlier Elric stories. Elric, ever melancholy, is more more a philosopher in his current journey. That being said, we meet an annoying poet, they seem to plague the genre. It starts strongly enough, Elric is longing for a place like home and ends up getting a fetch-quest from the ghost of his father. It kind of goes downhill from there.
The titular Rose was interesting, but not nearly present enough for the amount of the story I read. And the endless debates of senseless philosophy and the nature of things just got under my skin. I may attempt this one another time, I may not.
I hate giving books bad reviews, I want to love each book I read and have something nice to say about it. We'll start by saying that Holly Black's introduction was beautifully poignant.
Coming from 1991, Revenge of the Rose sees a fairly stark contrast to the earlier Elric stories. Elric, ever melancholy, is more more a philosopher in his current journey. That being said, we meet an annoying poet, they seem to plague the genre. It starts strongly enough, Elric is longing for a place like home and ends up getting a fetch-quest from the ghost of his father. It kind of goes downhill from there.
The titular Rose was interesting, but not nearly present enough for the amount of the story I read. And the endless debates of senseless philosophy and the nature of things just got under my skin. I may attempt this one another time, I may not.
May 31, 2019
Unlike the previous book this one does not disappoint Elric fans. For those who read the DAW books, this contains The Bane of the Black Sword, book 5 of that series. In addition is the 1991 novella The Revenge of the Rose.
For those troubled by the role of women in the stories written during the 1960s, they may like The Revenge of the Rose (1991), which has no less than five strong female characters. This is chronologically followed by stories written in the 1960s and depict women as mere plot devices motivating men in one way or another.
The final story To Rescue Tanelorn, is in fact about Rackhir, the Red Archer, who was with Elric when he obtained Stormbringer and brought Elric to Tanelorn for a time. The story fits the timeline in that it follows Elric’s marriage to Zarozinia and this is mentioned in the story.
Enjoy.
For those troubled by the role of women in the stories written during the 1960s, they may like The Revenge of the Rose (1991), which has no less than five strong female characters. This is chronologically followed by stories written in the 1960s and depict women as mere plot devices motivating men in one way or another.
The final story To Rescue Tanelorn, is in fact about Rackhir, the Red Archer, who was with Elric when he obtained Stormbringer and brought Elric to Tanelorn for a time. The story fits the timeline in that it follows Elric’s marriage to Zarozinia and this is mentioned in the story.
Enjoy.
March 31, 2017
A tale of two Elrics - one absurdist and very multiversal, referencing itself and Moorcock's other dimensions in the telling (including the poet M.C O'Crook, hem hem...), yet heavily weighed down by more words than you can shake a stick at. The other Elric is the original from the early 1960s, still ploughing through the Young Kingdoms in search of a home and a meaning. A bit of a lumpy volume, with Revenge of the Rose too much to bite off in one go, and the other stories too slight to be very much more than appetizers for the main event - which is Stormbringer, of course...
September 17, 2016
Hugely eventful high adventure, but my enjoyment was spoiled (and probably has been for the rest of the series) because I believed Moorcock's statement that it doesn't really matter in which order you read the Elric books between Melnibone and Stormbringer. It does matter.
July 2, 2018
An absolutely fabulous set of Elric tales concluding with Rakhire's defence of Tanelorn. An exciting, thrilling yet thought provoking set of tales from the master of fantasy.
June 11, 2019
Imho the worst of the entire saga, not an Elric book, totally skippable. Took me forever to finish because boredom would constantly overwhelm me.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews