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The Elric Saga #2
Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
Gollancz is very proud to present the author's definitive editions of the saga of Elric, the last emperor of Melniboné. Michael Moorcock and his long-time friend and bibliographer John Davey have collaborated to produce the most consistent and coherent narrative from the disparate novels, novellas, short stories and non-fiction about Elric. From his early life in Melniboné all the way through to his final days, these seven volumes will be the definitive telling of the albino prince's story.
Elric is one of the great creations of modern fantasy, and has inspired legions of imitators. If you know his story already, then this definitive edition will finally let you read the entire saga in the author's preferred order. If you've never experienced the chronicles of the albino with the soul-sucking sword, then this is the perfect place to start.
Containing stories, novellas, supplementary material and commentary, these editions of Elric are the finest yet.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1976
165 people are currently reading
4708 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moorcock
1,209 books3,750 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.
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May 5, 2025
Holy crap! I, Mark Lawrence, have read an entire book in 4 hours!
Admittedly I picked it up after discovering that it was only 24,000 words long, or 1/2oth of a George Martin epic.
EDIT: over the long grind of this summer holiday I've been writing a "short" story that I'm being paid to write to inspire an Xbox game. It's nearing the end and has just passed 40,000 words :o
Somebody stop me!
Still, the copy I have is a hardback, 40 years old, and at 169 pages, not an exceptionally slim novel. Admittedly the font is HUGE!
I gave this a 3* from memory and now I'm revising it down to a 2*. It's OK. There are good things in it, and bad things.
The 33 Moorcock books on my fantasy shelf speak to the love I had for his work 30-40 years ago. I've been having trouble recapturing it on recent reads though. I have been avoiding my favourites ... so that might be it.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMqSP3wcsL4...
Anyway, good and bad.
Most of the good things are an irrepressible imagination and Stormbringer.
The bad things ... are many. It's not much longer than a short story and even so is divided in to THREE books. The whole thing has a dreamy misty feel to it (and is literally described in those terms). It's full of people making vague doom-laden statements and refusing to explain anything "until the time is right". Everything is pre-ordained / fated, and it's basically three short stories with no connection, all of which are really about fights and magic rather than having anything to say.
In the first story four aspects of the eternal champion are brought together, Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon, and Erekose. This proves to be bad idea as it leads you to suspect that the eternal champion is a handy excuse for writing the same character over and over, with the suspicion being that Moorcock is just better at weird fantasy stuff than characters...
My son saw me picking the book up and said something along the lines of
"But that's old, why are you bothering?"
To which I responded with exasperation, "Fantasy doesn't have a sell by date! What ... are the swords going to be old fashioned? Will the enchantments be dated? Will the demons be wearing period dress?"
And he said, "If you pick up any old book you'll find it's rubbish. The writing style has changed. They're too slow. The characters don't feel real."
"Nonsense!" I said wittily, and walked off with my 40 year old book.
But the thing is. He was right, a bit. Every Moorcock book I've tried in the past few years has seemed terribly dated. The characters really don't feel real. The conversations are always overly pompous/grand or just turning the handle on the plot.
The only thing that struck me as quite 'modern' was the level of visceral violence on display. I don't think today's books that are accused of grimdark have any more blood or guts splattering the page than Moorcock did in the 70s.
The other two stories were ... OK but really didn't shine, and over all I was disappointed.
On the flip side, it's not a Moorcock book that I have fond memories of, so perhaps it was only ever OK and my fanboying was all from the individual Elric, Corum, and Hawkmoon tales.
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Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
Admittedly I picked it up after discovering that it was only 24,000 words long, or 1/2oth of a George Martin epic.
EDIT: over the long grind of this summer holiday I've been writing a "short" story that I'm being paid to write to inspire an Xbox game. It's nearing the end and has just passed 40,000 words :o
Somebody stop me!
Still, the copy I have is a hardback, 40 years old, and at 169 pages, not an exceptionally slim novel. Admittedly the font is HUGE!
I gave this a 3* from memory and now I'm revising it down to a 2*. It's OK. There are good things in it, and bad things.
The 33 Moorcock books on my fantasy shelf speak to the love I had for his work 30-40 years ago. I've been having trouble recapturing it on recent reads though. I have been avoiding my favourites ... so that might be it.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMqSP3wcsL4...
Anyway, good and bad.
Most of the good things are an irrepressible imagination and Stormbringer.
The bad things ... are many. It's not much longer than a short story and even so is divided in to THREE books. The whole thing has a dreamy misty feel to it (and is literally described in those terms). It's full of people making vague doom-laden statements and refusing to explain anything "until the time is right". Everything is pre-ordained / fated, and it's basically three short stories with no connection, all of which are really about fights and magic rather than having anything to say.
In the first story four aspects of the eternal champion are brought together, Elric, Corum, Hawkmoon, and Erekose. This proves to be bad idea as it leads you to suspect that the eternal champion is a handy excuse for writing the same character over and over, with the suspicion being that Moorcock is just better at weird fantasy stuff than characters...
My son saw me picking the book up and said something along the lines of
"But that's old, why are you bothering?"
To which I responded with exasperation, "Fantasy doesn't have a sell by date! What ... are the swords going to be old fashioned? Will the enchantments be dated? Will the demons be wearing period dress?"
And he said, "If you pick up any old book you'll find it's rubbish. The writing style has changed. They're too slow. The characters don't feel real."
"Nonsense!" I said wittily, and walked off with my 40 year old book.
But the thing is. He was right, a bit. Every Moorcock book I've tried in the past few years has seemed terribly dated. The characters really don't feel real. The conversations are always overly pompous/grand or just turning the handle on the plot.
The only thing that struck me as quite 'modern' was the level of visceral violence on display. I don't think today's books that are accused of grimdark have any more blood or guts splattering the page than Moorcock did in the 70s.
The other two stories were ... OK but really didn't shine, and over all I was disappointed.
On the flip side, it's not a Moorcock book that I have fond memories of, so perhaps it was only ever OK and my fanboying was all from the individual Elric, Corum, and Hawkmoon tales.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
April 18, 2021
In this second volume of the series, Emperor Elric of Melnibone takes leave of his kingdom to discover the nature of the upstart human world that lies beyond his ancient Dragon Isle. But instead the Lords of Chaos offer him a less common odyssey: a journey upon the “seas of fate” that border other planes, other times, and wash up on the shores of his own particular destiny.
Elric has three distinct adventures: 1) “Sailing to the Future,” in which—together with three other incarnations of the Eternal Champion—he battles a pair of brother-and-sister sorcerers bent on destroying the worlds, 2) “Sailing to the Present,” in which he and his companion Count Smiorgan Baldhead find themselves entangled in the obsession of Saxif D’an, a legendary Melnibonean sorcerer compelled to reenact his tale of ancient passion on a small imaginary isle, and 3) “Sailing into the Past,” in which he travels with the amiable explorer Duke Avan Astran to the ruined city of R’lin K’ren A’a—fabled origin of the Melbonean race—to retrieve the jewels known as the Jade Man’s Eyes.
This is a superb series of adventures. Sure, they are obviously three novellas—each different in tone and mood--repackaged in a new form, but the structure works for me. The magical sea upon which Elric sails offers experiences—disjointed from plane and time—arbitrarily, when it chooses. This jagged sort of journey is a fitting fate for a man who accepts the Lord of Chaos as his guides.
I also like the wide variety of moods presented here. “Future” is metaphysical, mythic and nebulous; “Present” is as fiercely romantic as a pre-Raphaelite ballad and almost (for Moorcock at least) warm-hearted; and “Past”--the best of the lot—begins on the sea like a boy’s adventure, travels up a river as grim as Heart of Darkness, and ends in bloodlust and betrayal.
In these three adventures, both Elric and the reader learn more about his fierce sword Stormbringer and begin to guess a little about his fate. As such they are not only enjoyable in themselves, but good preparation for the later adventures.
December 25, 2024
I am not a reader who actively looks for series or sequels. But there are many talented writers who extend their vision out beyond the end of one book and contribute entertaining and engrossing novels after establishing a world building or a charismatic protagonist. These later novels, while not always as strong as the original, deserve notice and frequently praise.
Some writers establish the foundation of a series and then, as is too often the case, merely dole out a carbon copy, with each succeeding sequel the copy gets weaker and less original, growing stale and unappealing, even perhaps diminishing the quality of the start by going too many times back to the well.
Others - intrepid, creative and innovative – go in a different direction and try to outdo themselves, attempt and succeed at making a greater contribution and building a stronger storyline than was achieved in the setting. These are rare gems and deserve commendation.
Such is the case with Michael Moorcock’s brilliant, dark and foreboding, second Elric novel Sailor on the Seas of Fate. Not just building on his earlier Elric of Melniboné, but also gathering up the best of his earlier works, and tying all to his mythic and thought provoking The Eternal Champion theme. Eschewing a rehashing of the Sword and Sorcery fantasy cookie cutter template, Moorcock delivered in this novel a broader vision of fantasy mythos that draws in not only his own work, but harkens back and alludes to earlier works of Burroughs, Lovecraft and Conrad.
Sailor on the Seas of Fate is a quest for an atavistic commencement, Moorcock is seeking a Fisher King connection, he is excavating deep roots. This novel, like his Eternal Champion works, is a pursuit for the archetypal hero from our shadowy past. The Melnibonean theology of Law versus Chaos only serves to heighten the author’s story.
Certainly not for everyone, but for fans of high fantasy, this should be on a shelf, either TBR or to be revisited.
*** 2024 reread -
This provided a greater exposure to, and explanation of, Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series and also explores his multiverse concepts.
I like what Valiant Comics did with this as the Eternal Warrior.
We also get to know and understand Stormbringer and Arioch in greater depth and detail.
Elric as chaotic evil is also an important theme here as his complicated relationship with his rune sword is shown to control or at least influence his actions. His acquiescence to the black blade’s need to steal souls is more a demonstration of his chaotic recklessness or fatalism than any weakness though.
Moorcock shows his ability to write action scenes and this is old school sword and sorcery fun.
Some writers establish the foundation of a series and then, as is too often the case, merely dole out a carbon copy, with each succeeding sequel the copy gets weaker and less original, growing stale and unappealing, even perhaps diminishing the quality of the start by going too many times back to the well.
Others - intrepid, creative and innovative – go in a different direction and try to outdo themselves, attempt and succeed at making a greater contribution and building a stronger storyline than was achieved in the setting. These are rare gems and deserve commendation.
Such is the case with Michael Moorcock’s brilliant, dark and foreboding, second Elric novel Sailor on the Seas of Fate. Not just building on his earlier Elric of Melniboné, but also gathering up the best of his earlier works, and tying all to his mythic and thought provoking The Eternal Champion theme. Eschewing a rehashing of the Sword and Sorcery fantasy cookie cutter template, Moorcock delivered in this novel a broader vision of fantasy mythos that draws in not only his own work, but harkens back and alludes to earlier works of Burroughs, Lovecraft and Conrad.
Sailor on the Seas of Fate is a quest for an atavistic commencement, Moorcock is seeking a Fisher King connection, he is excavating deep roots. This novel, like his Eternal Champion works, is a pursuit for the archetypal hero from our shadowy past. The Melnibonean theology of Law versus Chaos only serves to heighten the author’s story.
Certainly not for everyone, but for fans of high fantasy, this should be on a shelf, either TBR or to be revisited.
*** 2024 reread -
This provided a greater exposure to, and explanation of, Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series and also explores his multiverse concepts.
I like what Valiant Comics did with this as the Eternal Warrior.
We also get to know and understand Stormbringer and Arioch in greater depth and detail.
Elric as chaotic evil is also an important theme here as his complicated relationship with his rune sword is shown to control or at least influence his actions. His acquiescence to the black blade’s need to steal souls is more a demonstration of his chaotic recklessness or fatalism than any weakness though.
Moorcock shows his ability to write action scenes and this is old school sword and sorcery fun.
June 4, 2020
Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
Why the Elric Saga is one of the most underrated Classic sword and sorcery series in the history of Most Underrated Classic Sword and Sorcery Series (MUSaSS™):
① It features a complex as fish, unconventional as shrimp, trope-defying albino MC. Yum.
② Said MC wields Stormbringer, a Slightly Very Evil Sorta Sentient Kinda Cantankerous Sword with a Soul Drinking Habit (SVESSKCSwaSDH). Yay.
③ This series offers a gloriously diverse collection of assorted scums, villains, ruffians, wolfish cutthroats…And bloody shrimping pirates! Woohoo I most gleefully say.
④ Such a vast array of lovely beasts and chummy creatures seldom before has been encountered. (Quite proud of Mr Moorcock Robert E. Howard must be.) *cheerfully waves at the super welcoming hissing reptilian savages in this instalment*
⑤ Blood and violence and gore and spilled guts and severed heads, oh my! As my good friend Smiorgan Baldhead (aka the Black-Bearded Hottie) once said, “Yoi! But this is worthwhile slaughter!”
⑥ The Sardonic Fest! *chants* ♫ Sardonic giggles, sardonic smiles, sardonic smirks and sardonic sighs! ♫ Joy to the world and all that fish!
⑦ The decadent universe the series is set in super extra original, extremely very fascinating and vastly quite beautifully multi-layered.I’ve only read three books in the saga so far, but have already been on fun-filled field trips to four different planes. And have time-travelled extensively. Eat your heart out, HG Wells.
⑧ Moorcock writes action scenes as well as he does Evocative and Poetic as Fish Stuff (EaPaFS™). Because I said so and stuff.
Ah, Spockie Dear, what would I do without your unfailing support, I wonder?
Thus ends this most scientifically demonstrated scientific demonstration. You are quite welcome and stuff
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): I think the world needs an Elric Meets Conan story. The Broody as Fish Albino Emperor and my Barbarian Paramour would meet, it would be 💕 lurve 💕 at first sight, they would get married, and thenlive slaughter happily ever after and stuff. Much instant classic potential there, methinks.
👋 To be continued and stuff.
· Book 1: Elric of Melniboné ★★★★★
· Book 2: The Fortress of the Pearl ★★★★★
· Book 3: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate ★★★★★
· Book 4: The Weird of the White Wolf ★★★
· Book 5: The Vanishing Tower (aka “The Sleeping Sorceress”) - to be read.
· Book 6: The Revenge of the Black Rose - to be read.
· Book 7: The Bane of the Black Sword - to be read.
· Book 8: Stormbringer - to be read.
· Book 9: Elric at the End of Time - to be read.
· Book 10: Daughter of Dreams - to be read.
· Book 11: Destiny’s Brother - to be read.
· Book 12: Son of the Wolf - to be read.
(Following the Tor reading order)
[Pre-review nonsense]
Wondrously creative universe + atmospheric as fish stuff + evocative as shrimp stuff + delicious slaughter + sardonic everything + titillating villains galore + murderous pets aplenty = let's dance and stuff.
Review to come and stuff.
Why the Elric Saga is one of the most underrated Classic sword and sorcery series in the history of Most Underrated Classic Sword and Sorcery Series (MUSaSS™):
① It features a complex as fish, unconventional as shrimp, trope-defying albino MC. Yum.
② Said MC wields Stormbringer, a Slightly Very Evil Sorta Sentient Kinda Cantankerous Sword with a Soul Drinking Habit (SVESSKCSwaSDH). Yay.
③ This series offers a gloriously diverse collection of assorted scums, villains, ruffians, wolfish cutthroats…And bloody shrimping pirates! Woohoo I most gleefully say.
④ Such a vast array of lovely beasts and chummy creatures seldom before has been encountered. (Quite proud of Mr Moorcock Robert E. Howard must be.) *cheerfully waves at the super welcoming hissing reptilian savages in this instalment*
⑤ Blood and violence and gore and spilled guts and severed heads, oh my! As my good friend Smiorgan Baldhead (aka the Black-Bearded Hottie) once said, “Yoi! But this is worthwhile slaughter!”
⑥ The Sardonic Fest! *chants* ♫ Sardonic giggles, sardonic smiles, sardonic smirks and sardonic sighs! ♫ Joy to the world and all that fish!
⑦ The decadent universe the series is set in super extra original, extremely very fascinating and vastly quite beautifully multi-layered.I’ve only read three books in the saga so far, but have already been on fun-filled field trips to four different planes. And have time-travelled extensively. Eat your heart out, HG Wells.
⑧ Moorcock writes action scenes as well as he does Evocative and Poetic as Fish Stuff (EaPaFS™). Because I said so and stuff.
Ah, Spockie Dear, what would I do without your unfailing support, I wonder?
Thus ends this most scientifically demonstrated scientific demonstration. You are quite welcome and stuff
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): I think the world needs an Elric Meets Conan story. The Broody as Fish Albino Emperor and my Barbarian Paramour would meet, it would be 💕 lurve 💕 at first sight, they would get married, and then
👋 To be continued and stuff.
· Book 1: Elric of Melniboné ★★★★★
· Book 2: The Fortress of the Pearl ★★★★★
· Book 3: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate ★★★★★
· Book 4: The Weird of the White Wolf ★★★
· Book 5: The Vanishing Tower (aka “The Sleeping Sorceress”) - to be read.
· Book 6: The Revenge of the Black Rose - to be read.
· Book 7: The Bane of the Black Sword - to be read.
· Book 8: Stormbringer - to be read.
· Book 9: Elric at the End of Time - to be read.
· Book 10: Daughter of Dreams - to be read.
· Book 11: Destiny’s Brother - to be read.
· Book 12: Son of the Wolf - to be read.
(Following the Tor reading order)
[Pre-review nonsense]
Wondrously creative universe + atmospheric as fish stuff + evocative as shrimp stuff + delicious slaughter + sardonic everything + titillating villains galore + murderous pets aplenty = let's dance and stuff.
Review to come and stuff.
December 18, 2011
Too few fantasy authors ask what 'magic' means, which is a problem, since, with a few notable exceptions, magic is what makes fantasy fantastical. When reading Moorcock, it becomes clear you have found an author who is very interested in exploring what 'magic' is, and who has made very deliberate decisions about what his magic means.
Magic is a conceptual space. It was created, inadvertently, as a representation of the inner reality of human thought, as opposed to the external reality of the physical world. Human beings saw the physical world around them and, in attempting to understand it, created a matching symbolic world in their heads.
They looked at a river, which moves and changes, floods, and pulls people under, and they imagined a River Spirit for it. They would have a string of bad luck, remember a person who had spoken ill of them, and imagined they were cursed. Magic mostly exists as a way for people to take inexplicable things and imagine how they might be controlled or personified, hence making them more 'human'. So magic is largely symbolic, because it is made up of ideas, of the meanings that we create to make sense of the world around us.
Thus, anyone who has studied the history of magic, from epic poems, myths, theology, and early sciences--like astrology and alchemy--can see that magic shifts and changes with time to match the changes in how people think. As a conceptual, metaphysical space, magic is made to fit our changing ideas and philosophies.
Because of this, magic is fundamentally different in different cultures and at different time periods, because of what the people in those places and times are capable of imagining. If you go back to the myths of the Ancient Greeks, you will not find teleportation, alternate realities, or time-travel, because these ideas are based on modern knowledge and theories.
When the gods move swiftly from one place to another, they must still pass the intervening space--however quickly--because dematerialization does not have a place in the ancient Greek worldview. We may get visions of the afterlife and spirits who take the form of men, but they not the concept of an alternate world which is like ours, and which contains an alternate 'you'.
In plotting my own fantastical stories, I have often struggled in deciding whether or not to include such modern concepts in my magic, fearing that my story would end up like so many others: with characters, politics, and magic feeling so thoroughly contemporary that barely anything fantastical remains. When an author makes magic a simple replacement for technology, a tool for resolving plot conflicts so the characters don't have to, structuring it with points and levels and 'schools' like a videogame, it ceases to feel magical.
What makes it magical is when it is unpredictable, unusual, and when, instead of solving all the characters' problems, it makes new problems. But until reading Moorcock, I had not considered that since magic is built from the geography of the human mind, it could be used to look forward as well as back through time.
A fantasy author who seeks to capture the feel of the past must research, and must make sure the psychology of his characters and his magic give the reader insight into a different place and time. Likewise, a fantasy author can take a cue from authors of Science Fiction (and Speculative Fiction) and show us a vision of the future of human thought, even if it is dressed in the trappings of an ancient myth. Apparently, the problem with dull genre fantasy authors is not that they are too modern in their thinking, but that they are not modern enough.
As I mentioned in my review of the first volume in the Elric series, Moorcock draws on many unusual concepts in crafting his world, so that his magic is equal parts quantum mechanics and myth. The result is something wholly unique: a mythology of modern scientific concepts which are just as strange, unpredictable, and awe-inspiring as any ancient god.
In the second volume of the series, he allows his imagination to fly away with the concept, abandoning for the moment the introspective political intrigue that marked the first plot arc, and diving headfirst into something much more unusual. Instead of slowly building to a climax, we are immediately thrust through time, across dimensions, into dream and myth and symbol, where ships of fate ferry a handful of different faces of the same man to a rendezvous with the end of the world, where selves must be combined, Shiva-like, to save a universe already lost from what may be a robot and his sister.
It is jarring to say the least for Moorcock to leave us with a certain expectation after the previous book and then to abscond on this daring vision of half-dreams. Though the structure is sometimes less than flowing, and the prose rises to moments of greater beauty than the first volume, what carries it all over is the pure, unbridled imagination.
It is a vision that has proven very influential over the past half-century of fantasy--though it is an influence which often goes unrecognized. From the man-doomed-to-live to the soul-stealing sword to the battle between the forces of law and chaos over an entire 'multiverse' of realities, one is bound to find echoes of him in most modern fantasy, though sadly, very few of authors have done as much with the concepts and Moorcock did, and most have just reused them thoughtlessly, failing to recognize what made them interesting in the first place.
Eventually, Moorcock gets us back on track toward the central plot, but each smaller story is its own unique arc, reminiscent of the technique used by Howard and Leiber of creating many brief stories which suggest a larger, more complex world in the gaps between them, though since Moorcock's stories have fewer gaps, there is not quite the same sense of scale.
I would have appreciated more story and less explanation, and more character and psychology, allowing the vastness of the many worlds to loom mysteriously. Moorcock is not foolish enough to make his world truly small by over-explanation, but I enjoy a story more when the setting serves the characters and the plot, and not vice versa, and Moorcock sometimes crosses that line.
But throughout he is surprising, as the ideas drive the story along at a clip. It sometimes feels as if Moorcock is worried that his story might not be different enough, that he needs to establish the incomprehensibly vast strangeness of his world quickly and fully, but that's the thing about the incomprehensibly vast: it can't really afford to be rushed.
There is little risk of Moorcock being like other writers because he has a thoughtful, well-considered direction for his world. He has asked himself what magic means, what purpose it serves, and what sort of tool it is for him, as an author, and he has a good answer. If magic represents the inner-workings of human thought, then why should it have any limits other than what we are capable of thinking?
My List of Suggested Fantasy Books
Magic is a conceptual space. It was created, inadvertently, as a representation of the inner reality of human thought, as opposed to the external reality of the physical world. Human beings saw the physical world around them and, in attempting to understand it, created a matching symbolic world in their heads.
They looked at a river, which moves and changes, floods, and pulls people under, and they imagined a River Spirit for it. They would have a string of bad luck, remember a person who had spoken ill of them, and imagined they were cursed. Magic mostly exists as a way for people to take inexplicable things and imagine how they might be controlled or personified, hence making them more 'human'. So magic is largely symbolic, because it is made up of ideas, of the meanings that we create to make sense of the world around us.
Thus, anyone who has studied the history of magic, from epic poems, myths, theology, and early sciences--like astrology and alchemy--can see that magic shifts and changes with time to match the changes in how people think. As a conceptual, metaphysical space, magic is made to fit our changing ideas and philosophies.
Because of this, magic is fundamentally different in different cultures and at different time periods, because of what the people in those places and times are capable of imagining. If you go back to the myths of the Ancient Greeks, you will not find teleportation, alternate realities, or time-travel, because these ideas are based on modern knowledge and theories.
When the gods move swiftly from one place to another, they must still pass the intervening space--however quickly--because dematerialization does not have a place in the ancient Greek worldview. We may get visions of the afterlife and spirits who take the form of men, but they not the concept of an alternate world which is like ours, and which contains an alternate 'you'.
In plotting my own fantastical stories, I have often struggled in deciding whether or not to include such modern concepts in my magic, fearing that my story would end up like so many others: with characters, politics, and magic feeling so thoroughly contemporary that barely anything fantastical remains. When an author makes magic a simple replacement for technology, a tool for resolving plot conflicts so the characters don't have to, structuring it with points and levels and 'schools' like a videogame, it ceases to feel magical.
What makes it magical is when it is unpredictable, unusual, and when, instead of solving all the characters' problems, it makes new problems. But until reading Moorcock, I had not considered that since magic is built from the geography of the human mind, it could be used to look forward as well as back through time.
A fantasy author who seeks to capture the feel of the past must research, and must make sure the psychology of his characters and his magic give the reader insight into a different place and time. Likewise, a fantasy author can take a cue from authors of Science Fiction (and Speculative Fiction) and show us a vision of the future of human thought, even if it is dressed in the trappings of an ancient myth. Apparently, the problem with dull genre fantasy authors is not that they are too modern in their thinking, but that they are not modern enough.
As I mentioned in my review of the first volume in the Elric series, Moorcock draws on many unusual concepts in crafting his world, so that his magic is equal parts quantum mechanics and myth. The result is something wholly unique: a mythology of modern scientific concepts which are just as strange, unpredictable, and awe-inspiring as any ancient god.
In the second volume of the series, he allows his imagination to fly away with the concept, abandoning for the moment the introspective political intrigue that marked the first plot arc, and diving headfirst into something much more unusual. Instead of slowly building to a climax, we are immediately thrust through time, across dimensions, into dream and myth and symbol, where ships of fate ferry a handful of different faces of the same man to a rendezvous with the end of the world, where selves must be combined, Shiva-like, to save a universe already lost from what may be a robot and his sister.
It is jarring to say the least for Moorcock to leave us with a certain expectation after the previous book and then to abscond on this daring vision of half-dreams. Though the structure is sometimes less than flowing, and the prose rises to moments of greater beauty than the first volume, what carries it all over is the pure, unbridled imagination.
It is a vision that has proven very influential over the past half-century of fantasy--though it is an influence which often goes unrecognized. From the man-doomed-to-live to the soul-stealing sword to the battle between the forces of law and chaos over an entire 'multiverse' of realities, one is bound to find echoes of him in most modern fantasy, though sadly, very few of authors have done as much with the concepts and Moorcock did, and most have just reused them thoughtlessly, failing to recognize what made them interesting in the first place.
Eventually, Moorcock gets us back on track toward the central plot, but each smaller story is its own unique arc, reminiscent of the technique used by Howard and Leiber of creating many brief stories which suggest a larger, more complex world in the gaps between them, though since Moorcock's stories have fewer gaps, there is not quite the same sense of scale.
I would have appreciated more story and less explanation, and more character and psychology, allowing the vastness of the many worlds to loom mysteriously. Moorcock is not foolish enough to make his world truly small by over-explanation, but I enjoy a story more when the setting serves the characters and the plot, and not vice versa, and Moorcock sometimes crosses that line.
But throughout he is surprising, as the ideas drive the story along at a clip. It sometimes feels as if Moorcock is worried that his story might not be different enough, that he needs to establish the incomprehensibly vast strangeness of his world quickly and fully, but that's the thing about the incomprehensibly vast: it can't really afford to be rushed.
There is little risk of Moorcock being like other writers because he has a thoughtful, well-considered direction for his world. He has asked himself what magic means, what purpose it serves, and what sort of tool it is for him, as an author, and he has a good answer. If magic represents the inner-workings of human thought, then why should it have any limits other than what we are capable of thinking?
My List of Suggested Fantasy Books
April 5, 2022
“I know not which I prefer the look of—those who attack us or that which defends us!”
In Michael Moorcock's The Sailor on the Seas of Fate Elric embarks on a strange ship that joins him with other heroes/versions or incarnations of himself (the Eternal Champion) from different times and different planes of reality. For such a small volume, it truly is a wild ride and grand adventure rolled up into a mixed up metaverse where the forces of Order and Chaos continually collide. I read lots of the Elric stories when I was first getting into Dungeons & Dragons, and this, along with Fritz Leiber's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, will always be associated in my mind with the adventures I created for my party. Lots of fun and lots of great world-building! 4.5 stars
In Michael Moorcock's The Sailor on the Seas of Fate Elric embarks on a strange ship that joins him with other heroes/versions or incarnations of himself (the Eternal Champion) from different times and different planes of reality. For such a small volume, it truly is a wild ride and grand adventure rolled up into a mixed up metaverse where the forces of Order and Chaos continually collide. I read lots of the Elric stories when I was first getting into Dungeons & Dragons, and this, along with Fritz Leiber's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, will always be associated in my mind with the adventures I created for my party. Lots of fun and lots of great world-building! 4.5 stars
May 16, 2011
4.0 stars. Aaaaaaaaahhhh!!!.....A wonderful and deeply satisfying dose of that lush, rich Moorcockian prose is delivered directly into the fanboy-center of the brain in this second injection of the Elric of Melnibone series. In this treatment we are introduced to the mythos of the “Eternal Champion” as Elric hooks up with 3 of the EC’s other primary avatars: Corum Jhaelen Irsei, Dorian Hawkmoon and Erekose. The four component badasses agree to undertake a mission to unleash a torrent of Grade A beat down on a pair of god-like siblings bent on unlife-ing the universe. As good as the prelims are, the warm, juicy highlight of the story is when the four avatars physically unite to become The Champion (aka “He with Whom Fucking is strongly Discouraged”). It is a truly memorable moment in the Eternal Champion mythos and is sure to cure any sword and sorcery jones.
In addition to the above, this installment also provides some fascinating details on the early history of Elric’s people, the Melniboneans, and provides insight into the complex and evolving relationship/dependence/animosity (i.e...uh...reladependosity?...) between Elric and his semi-sentient sword “Stormbringer.” Finally, we are also introduced to Smiorgan Baldhead, a great supporting character with a truly, TRULY unfortunate name.
The real joyness in this story is the mythos of the Eternal Champion and the descriptive, evocative writing of Moorcock. He imbues his central character with a perfect melancholy that borders on, but never quite becomes, morose. I really like the internal conflict that Moorcock introduces between Elric and Stormbringer, as Elric finds himself in need of the strength and power the sword provides but is exceedingly uncomfortable with both the method by which it provides such power as well as the sword’s tendency to act of its own volition.
Add to that exotic locals, some truly exceptional battle scenes and a fast-paced interesting plot and you have classic, pulpy excellence from one of the masters. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
P.S. For those who are fans of audiobooks, I listened to an amazing version that has a great introduction by the author and was read by Jeff West and had a very high production value.
May 14, 2015
... and leaving his cousin Yirkoon sitting as Regent upon the Ruby Throne of Melnibone, leaving his cousing Cymoril weeping for him and despairing of his ever returning, Elric sailed from Imrryr, the Dreaming city, and went to seek an unknown goal in the worlds of the Young Kingdoms where Melniboneans were, at best, disliked.
Elric has it all: a rich island kingdom to rule, a beautiful woman's love, friends and enemies to make life interesting, plus a huge library to peruse. Yet he is unsettled, restless, tormented by questions he cannot answer. So he leaves it all behind and goes out in the world alone, unlike any other fantasy hero I know, not in search of fame or adventure, but for esoteric, metaphysical reasons that pit Order against Chaos in a conflict as old as the universe. In this universe imagined by Moorcock, an infinity of parallel worlds exist and the journeyman can cross from one to the other, can go back and forth in time, can be reincarnated in a different body. The only thing that he takes along is the magic sword he gained in the first book, a weapom with a mind of its own that cuts through the outside layers of reality to get a a deeper, secret meaning. A meaning that will probably be revealed in the end to have been resting inside Elric's soul from the very beginning.
Moorcock calls his shape-shifting, time and space travelling swordsman The Eternal Champion. In the opening novel of the series there were just some subtle hints and intimations of the bigger picture, but with the opening salvo (novella) of the second one, we are plunged right in the middle of this dialectic multiverse:
Sailing into the Future has Elric on the run from his first attempt at being a simple sellsword, chased by his would-be employers to a desolate shore, with only his soul-stealing broadsword and his gigantic melancholy for companionship:
And now, as he stood beside a bleak sea feeling trapped and already defeated, he knew himself to be alone in a malevolent universe, bereft of friends and purpose, a useless, sickly anachronism, a fool brought low by his own insufficiencies of character, by his profound inability to believe wholly in the rightness or wrongness of anything at all. He lacked faith in his race, in his birthright, in gods or men; and above all he lacked faith in himself.
A bundle of joy, our albino friend! (not) . Fate intervenes, literally, by picking Elric up in a ghost ship led by a blind Captain, sailing to an unknown shore. Elric finds on board a group of fellow mercenaries, each with a different background and coming from a different reality. He begins to realize that his island kingdom of Melnibone is just a tiny grain of sand on the big ocean he is forced to sail upon ( ... then the world is considerably larger than I imagined.) Three of the mercenaries in particular appear to carry as heavy a baggage of memories and yearnings as our protagonist:
... four tall, doom-haunted swordsmen, each of a strikingly different cast of features, yet all bearing a certain stamp which marked them as being of a like kind. [...] The Champion Eternal in four of his incarnations - Erekos, Elric, Corum and Hawkmoon.
I am as yet unfamiliar with the greater reach and inter-connectivity of Michael Moorcock's several fantasy epics, but I know each of these names has his own spin-off adventure. The current quest though has no need for detailed background information on the four. Their simple presence is enough, and the mission they are required to undertake is at the same time a typical sword & sorcery attack on a wizard's lair (a pair of evil creatures planning to annihilate the whole universe), and a meditation on good and evil, action-inaction, chaos-order, destiny and free-will:
All this is doubtless pre-ordained. Our destinies have been linked from the first.
- Such philosophy can lead to unhealthy fatalism.
Elric accepts the challenge, and sets up to besiege yet another of those contorted, multicolored, psychedelic constructions that are organic (Freudian?) in inspiration. An often repeated observation by Elric about the dreamlike nature of his experiences, here and in the subsequent two novellas, reinforces the psychoanalysis approach taken by the author, where Elric is actually doing batle with himself, with his own anxieties and repressed memories. Luckily for the reader expecting some actual battle scenes and not only instrospection, The Eteranl Champion delivers the goods in a spectacular fashion, battling lizardmen and giant snakes and bubbling pools of foul smelling liquids.
In later years he would recall most of these experiences as dreams and, indeed, they seemed dreamlike even as they occurred.
The Eternal Champion is just one of the basic concepts in the Moorcock's multiverse. Another recurring symbol, mentioned briefly in the opening novel and in more details now, is the magical city of Tanelorn. Each of the four Champions mentions a quest to find this secret city, this incarnation of the Holy Grail and Shangri-La, this place that promises answers to the fundamental questions and rest at the end of a weary journey.
For Tanelorn exists in many forms, each depending upon the wishes of those who most desire to find her.
A peek at the titles of the later novels in the series promises greater development of the Tanelorn myth. For now, it remains an ambigious and unreachable destination, something to strive for, a promise of a higher purpose in life than simple survival in an eternal war.
Sailing to the Present continues with the nautical theme of the novel, dropping Elric off at an uncharted island, still inside a parallel universe, with the promise of a potential portal back to his own reality - a Red Gate somewhere in the middle of the sea. Being still faithfull to the sword & sorcery conventions, even as he strives by all means available to subvert them, Moorcock pits Elric against a bunch of bloody pirates. With his Stormbringer singing weirdly as it drinks in the souls of its victims, Elric prevails and even gains a companion. Lord Smiorgan is another exile from Elric's own universe, a human merchant whose ship was attacked and sunk by the now deceased pirates. Further developments in the novella bring in a powerful undead Melnibonean wizards who chases a damzell in distress, seeing in her the re-incarnation of a love from his youth. This second novella lacks the higher implications and the universal appeal of the earlier tale, being mostly a regular adventure romp (made me think of one of the scripts by Roy Thomas for "The Savage Sword of Conan"), with occassional remarks by Elric about his bad moods and unanswerable questions.
I fight, I think, because I relish the comradeship of battle. That, in itself, is a melancholy condition in which to find oneself, is it not?
In conversations with his new friend Smiorgan, Elric often touches on his favorite theme, free-will and predestination:
- I fled the duties of an Empire because I sought freedom. And freedom I must have.
- There is no such thing. Not yet. Not for us. We must go through much more before we can even begin to guess what freedom is. The price for knowledge alone is probably higher than you would care to pay at this stage of your life. Indeed, life itself id often the price.
In the third novella Sailing to the Past , Elric finally finds the portal back to his own universe and timeline, but his wandering days are far from over. Beautiful Cymoril will have to sigh some more and hope for better luck in one of the next installments. Elric is engaged in yet another quest, looking for ruins more than ten thousands years old on a distant continent. The place he seeks may be both the original home of the Melnibonean nation, and a magical node where a pact between the forces of Chaos and Order temporary settled their dispute for control of the multiverse. Still assisted by the merchant lord Smiorgan, Elric has once more to battle savage lizardmen, giant snakes and undead ancestors, with one more acid trip through a polichrome portal. In the greater scheme of things, I believe this last novella sets up a precedent for the troubled symbiosis between Elric and his cursed broadsword Stormbringer, who may have a different agenda than her nominal master.
In conclusion, a decent addition to the epic quest of the Eternal Champion, but not quite as original and effective as the debut. The balance between metaphysics and adventure favours the sword & sorcery side of the tale, a bonus for many young readers and for long-term fans of the genre like me, but maybe not for a general audience. I will continue with the rest of the books in the Elric saga while the details are still fresh in my memory, hoping for better stuff in the third book. The ingredients for a memorable trip are here:
Elric kew that everything that existed had its opposite. In danger he might find peace. And yet, of course, in peace there was danger. Being an imperfect creature in an imperfect world he would always know paradox. And that was why in paradox there was always a kind of truth. That was why philosophers and soothsayers flourished. In a perfect world there would be no place for them. In an imperfect world the mysteries were always without solution and that was why there was always a great choice of solutions.
February 8, 2017
Absolutely amazing.
No amount of words can explain just how great these two books are for either the world of Fantasy or of even regular Literature. This is the template of which all other fantasies are but mere illusions or drawn-out caricatures.
Heavy words, no? Seriously. Let me explain.
This is drawn in the traditional sword and sorcery style, yes, but that is just a platform on which to leap out and explore wild imaginings and deep world-building, all of which is done so smoothly that it puts most SF/F to shame.
How else can such a tiny tome as either of these books convey a vast multiverse, planes-walking as we D&D lovers like to call it, full of destiny, time travel, reincarnation, grand multiverse'scapes of conflict between Order and Chaos, cities with jewels, or boats with blind captains filled with alternate-reality versions of your own badass self?
And it's not only effortlessly pulled off, it's a grand adventure that actually places me fully in the mindset of AWE. I am in AWE. No one should ever sail by these without tasting of its waters. Your life will be enriched and you will have a true yardstick by which to judge everything else you might read, because you will have tasted brilliance. It doesn't even matter if you're reading it for the sake of metaphor or psychology or grand adventure or soul-drinking chaotic-evil swords or the grand Demon of Chaos himself.
If you read this, you read it bringing whatever you have inside to the table... and you will always come away enriched.
I'm certain I'll be revisiting these books many times over the years, and I'm certain that I'll always be pleased to do so. :)
Simply Awe-some. :)
No amount of words can explain just how great these two books are for either the world of Fantasy or of even regular Literature. This is the template of which all other fantasies are but mere illusions or drawn-out caricatures.
Heavy words, no? Seriously. Let me explain.
This is drawn in the traditional sword and sorcery style, yes, but that is just a platform on which to leap out and explore wild imaginings and deep world-building, all of which is done so smoothly that it puts most SF/F to shame.
How else can such a tiny tome as either of these books convey a vast multiverse, planes-walking as we D&D lovers like to call it, full of destiny, time travel, reincarnation, grand multiverse'scapes of conflict between Order and Chaos, cities with jewels, or boats with blind captains filled with alternate-reality versions of your own badass self?
And it's not only effortlessly pulled off, it's a grand adventure that actually places me fully in the mindset of AWE. I am in AWE. No one should ever sail by these without tasting of its waters. Your life will be enriched and you will have a true yardstick by which to judge everything else you might read, because you will have tasted brilliance. It doesn't even matter if you're reading it for the sake of metaphor or psychology or grand adventure or soul-drinking chaotic-evil swords or the grand Demon of Chaos himself.
If you read this, you read it bringing whatever you have inside to the table... and you will always come away enriched.
I'm certain I'll be revisiting these books many times over the years, and I'm certain that I'll always be pleased to do so. :)
Simply Awe-some. :)
January 25, 2023
Elric is a bit more mature and worldly in book 2 as he sails around getting into various scraps with sorcerers and gods. Some people might find Elric stories a bit slow, but I like how it stops to ponder things such as morality, law, and chaos from time to time.
October 9, 2024
Basically 3 novellas tied together by a mystical sea voyage. I didn't love the first one, but the second two are quite good.
I have an edition that is supposed to be internal chronology... but I'd much rather have one that is in publishing order. I want to read a few of the sorter stories that came early for Moorcock.
"Sailing to the Future"
Introduces other Moorcock characters who are apparently reincarnations of Elric from different universes? Hmm, it's odd but a fun adventure nonetheless.
"Sailing to the Present"
I really liked this one, I've read it in a comic before too. He meets a pirate called Smiorgan. They fight an ancient Melnibonean wizard and we get more details on what its like to be melnibonean like Elric.
"Sailing to the Past"
Elric and co travel to an ancient city unmarked on most maps where the Melniboneans are said to originate.
Comics:
Roy Thomas with FirstComics adapted the novel. Really good artwork, although at times it feels a bit rushed and unfinished, the layouts are still quite unique and inspired. A clear step down from the first volume but still a faithful adapation.
I have an edition that is supposed to be internal chronology... but I'd much rather have one that is in publishing order. I want to read a few of the sorter stories that came early for Moorcock.
"Sailing to the Future"
Introduces other Moorcock characters who are apparently reincarnations of Elric from different universes? Hmm, it's odd but a fun adventure nonetheless.
"Sailing to the Present"
I really liked this one, I've read it in a comic before too. He meets a pirate called Smiorgan. They fight an ancient Melnibonean wizard and we get more details on what its like to be melnibonean like Elric.
"Sailing to the Past"
Elric and co travel to an ancient city unmarked on most maps where the Melniboneans are said to originate.
Comics:
Roy Thomas with FirstComics adapted the novel. Really good artwork, although at times it feels a bit rushed and unfinished, the layouts are still quite unique and inspired. A clear step down from the first volume but still a faithful adapation.
July 22, 2019
Another excellent book in the Elric series though ( if I’m being completely honest) I felt the first section dragged a bit and was rather meh pulp action. The tale really got going in section two when Elric is lost in another dimension, is confronted by an unexpected person who forces him to consider his people’s brutal nature and causes Elric to set out in section three to discover his people’s ancient origins. Especially enlightening here are the moments when Elric’s more brutal side clashes with his unusually sensitive feelings of remorse.
August 12, 2020
Once again I got Elricized and I honestly didn't expect to have so much fun with this old fashioned - in a good way - epic fantasy novel. Three very fast paced adventures of the emperor Elric, with so much richness of worlds and magic were that much fun that I almost forgot how totally he f***d up in the first novel... :P
Looking forward impatiently to listen to the next one in series.
Looking forward impatiently to listen to the next one in series.
September 19, 2024
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character are Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later stories by Moorcock marked Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion.
Why am I reading it? Because it's like seeing the primal ooze that evolved into a lot of the fantasy stories I see today, especially Warhammer fantasy, and anyone not directly trying to mimic Tolkein usually comes back to this writer and character in some form or the other.
Elric is the last emperor of the stagnating island civilization of Melniboné. Physically weak, the anemic Elric must use drugs just to walk around. From childhood, read the entire royal library and learned of the world outside his decadent civilization. Perhaps due to this, Elric has a conscience.
All the tropes are here, this is the same character Conan the Barbarian would kill in the first chapter of one of his stories.
3/5 Fascinating art-style. protagonist has been reviewed as "far and away the coolest, grimmest, moodiest, most elegant, degenerate, drug-addicted, cursed, twisted and emotionally weird mass murderer of them all". IE laying on the EDGE a bit thick, though I appreciate the sword-and sorcery of the matter.
Why am I reading it? Because it's like seeing the primal ooze that evolved into a lot of the fantasy stories I see today, especially Warhammer fantasy, and anyone not directly trying to mimic Tolkein usually comes back to this writer and character in some form or the other.
Elric is the last emperor of the stagnating island civilization of Melniboné. Physically weak, the anemic Elric must use drugs just to walk around. From childhood, read the entire royal library and learned of the world outside his decadent civilization. Perhaps due to this, Elric has a conscience.
All the tropes are here, this is the same character Conan the Barbarian would kill in the first chapter of one of his stories.
3/5 Fascinating art-style. protagonist has been reviewed as "far and away the coolest, grimmest, moodiest, most elegant, degenerate, drug-addicted, cursed, twisted and emotionally weird mass murderer of them all". IE laying on the EDGE a bit thick, though I appreciate the sword-and sorcery of the matter.
March 12, 2022
Elric's all too often stereotypized as this angsty brooding emo guy, but to be fair, in this series of stories, he has a great deal to brood about. He has a terrible time at the Young Kingdoms, he gets hated by everyone, most folks try to kill him, and everything he does ends up backfiring and getting even more people killed. He gets involved with the greater powers, and learns more about the past of his people - yet never enough, and it all goes worse for him. The doomsday clock for his world begins to tick.
I liked the last story the best of the lot. They all felt a little ephemeral, partly to a design. Very quick.
I liked the last story the best of the lot. They all felt a little ephemeral, partly to a design. Very quick.
Want to read
December 26, 2018Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Richard Hescox, and Michael Chabon.
This hard cover is numbered 40 of 300.
Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book with translucent overlays.
Introduction by Michael Chabon.
Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches.
Contents:
007 - Introduction by Michael Chabon
011 - Introduction to the Audio version
017 - "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate"
207 - "The Dreaming City"
249 - "A Portrait In Ivory"
This hard cover is numbered 40 of 300.
Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book with translucent overlays.
Introduction by Michael Chabon.
Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches.
Contents:
007 - Introduction by Michael Chabon
011 - Introduction to the Audio version
017 - "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate"
207 - "The Dreaming City"
249 - "A Portrait In Ivory"
June 11, 2017
This series was recommended to me by a friend. After this second book I can honestly say I'm not becoming a diehard fan of Moorcock. He jumps around too much for my tastes. I'd rather he stick to one of his subplots, which have great potential, and really develop that instead of constantly offshoot. I'll read book three because I feel like I'm vested now.
Summer Fantasy Fest read #13
Summer Fantasy Fest read #13
May 10, 2023
Date: May 9, 2023
This time, acquiring this special edition of The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock wasn't easy. I bought this slim paperback edition last January and prayed to Arioch that it would arrive intact, not wet, and on time. Thankfully, the book arrived in perfect reading condition. I contemplated reading the first book: Elric of Melnibone (again), before undertaking this sequel, or is it the third book? It's so confusing... Anyways, I decided against it. I have a massive pile of books waiting to be read. Books like Schindler's Ark, Fatherland, Mystic River, Caging Skies, and Cryptonomicon. So, I'd like to invest some time in new authors and be more adventurous with my reading.
Why not purchase the Omnibus version?
I don't want my hands tied if I'm not too fond of the series, and I think I am taking my time to read these. I have other complete series I will never read at home because I've lost interest. So, when it was decided for Elric of Melnibone, I told myself that I needed to preserve space; and so I decided to buy these slim dusty old paperbacks. Sidenote, these dust jackets are beautiful artworks and (I argue) a virtue of owning.
Review
Following my reading progress, you'll notice I was close to quitting this novella. Partially, I am hesitant to continue it. But if I stop reading this series, I feel I'm letting down one of Fantasy's most remarkable creations. Besides, the self-exiled sorcerer emperor is bloody cunning! And Moorcock has the skills to show us how remarkable his creation is.
Coincidentally, Elric #2 is my first Fantasy read for 2023. I read Elric of Melnibone back in 2021. Why did it take me so long to read the second book? Good question. I've expanded my reading habits to include other genres and am no longer limited to reading Fantasy. I think that is personal character growth, and it matters to me that I did it. But Elric was always in my thoughts, so it would have been a matter of time until we crossed paths again. 'It's been a while, Elric, months for you, years for me.'
What didn't I like?
The Multiverse
When I hear about the Multiverse, the first item I think about is Marvel. Also, if you'll forgive me, I've been feeling hero fatigue lately. Some might consider blaming Marvel's interpretation of the Multiverse, but it is not so. I've always hated the term. Infinite realities with different possibilities, where I am blonde instead of dark-haired, a Doctor of Medicine instead of a Software Developer. The 'What if?' is rather pointless. I am living now as I am, which also reflects in my reading.
So, I despise the Multiverse in entertainment... I consider it a cheat, or better yet, a reverse uno card on results made about bad decisions. It puts me off also when the same character is in a different universe and then meets the nature of the universe I am watching/or reading—especially when they group and merge into an omnipotent being.
And books suffer because of my disdain towards the Multiverse.
What I liked?
That said, however, Elric does not remember the ordeal, thankfully. And that is where the fun begins. And where this book shines best. Elric is trapped in a different reality and must find his way home. I enjoyed reading this part, especially Elric's relationship with his sword: Stormbringer and Count Smiorgan Baldhead, who accompanies Elric. There's more action, and I found Elric's bloodthirsty appetite incredible.
Humanity was a persistent topic. It is thought that Melnibonéans are rather cold, but (from what I gathered) Elric exhibits a different personality. Although a cynic, he can be, at times, honourable—a cold-hearted b*stard but also sweet. I might have heard people describe Elric as an anti-hero, which fits his character.
The third part reminded me of a Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. Elric, Count Smiorgan Baldhead, and another adventurer travel to land searching for a city I do not know how to pronounce. **Spoiler** It turns into a bloodbath.
I think I'm losing some edge when reading this genre. I keep coming back to it, but I get quickly bored nowadays. The book shouldn't suffer because of my attitude. The writing is flawless, and it is sharp and short but descriptive. There were times were I was like... Okay, that's it? What? And then there were times when I just sat down and was awed because of the action, and Elric is still a force to be reckoned with.
This time, acquiring this special edition of The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock wasn't easy. I bought this slim paperback edition last January and prayed to Arioch that it would arrive intact, not wet, and on time. Thankfully, the book arrived in perfect reading condition. I contemplated reading the first book: Elric of Melnibone (again), before undertaking this sequel, or is it the third book? It's so confusing... Anyways, I decided against it. I have a massive pile of books waiting to be read. Books like Schindler's Ark, Fatherland, Mystic River, Caging Skies, and Cryptonomicon. So, I'd like to invest some time in new authors and be more adventurous with my reading.
Why not purchase the Omnibus version?
I don't want my hands tied if I'm not too fond of the series, and I think I am taking my time to read these. I have other complete series I will never read at home because I've lost interest. So, when it was decided for Elric of Melnibone, I told myself that I needed to preserve space; and so I decided to buy these slim dusty old paperbacks. Sidenote, these dust jackets are beautiful artworks and (I argue) a virtue of owning.
Review
Following my reading progress, you'll notice I was close to quitting this novella. Partially, I am hesitant to continue it. But if I stop reading this series, I feel I'm letting down one of Fantasy's most remarkable creations. Besides, the self-exiled sorcerer emperor is bloody cunning! And Moorcock has the skills to show us how remarkable his creation is.
Coincidentally, Elric #2 is my first Fantasy read for 2023. I read Elric of Melnibone back in 2021. Why did it take me so long to read the second book? Good question. I've expanded my reading habits to include other genres and am no longer limited to reading Fantasy. I think that is personal character growth, and it matters to me that I did it. But Elric was always in my thoughts, so it would have been a matter of time until we crossed paths again. 'It's been a while, Elric, months for you, years for me.'
What didn't I like?
The Multiverse
When I hear about the Multiverse, the first item I think about is Marvel. Also, if you'll forgive me, I've been feeling hero fatigue lately. Some might consider blaming Marvel's interpretation of the Multiverse, but it is not so. I've always hated the term. Infinite realities with different possibilities, where I am blonde instead of dark-haired, a Doctor of Medicine instead of a Software Developer. The 'What if?' is rather pointless. I am living now as I am, which also reflects in my reading.
So, I despise the Multiverse in entertainment... I consider it a cheat, or better yet, a reverse uno card on results made about bad decisions. It puts me off also when the same character is in a different universe and then meets the nature of the universe I am watching/or reading—especially when they group and merge into an omnipotent being.
And books suffer because of my disdain towards the Multiverse.
What I liked?
That said, however, Elric does not remember the ordeal, thankfully. And that is where the fun begins. And where this book shines best. Elric is trapped in a different reality and must find his way home. I enjoyed reading this part, especially Elric's relationship with his sword: Stormbringer and Count Smiorgan Baldhead, who accompanies Elric. There's more action, and I found Elric's bloodthirsty appetite incredible.
Humanity was a persistent topic. It is thought that Melnibonéans are rather cold, but (from what I gathered) Elric exhibits a different personality. Although a cynic, he can be, at times, honourable—a cold-hearted b*stard but also sweet. I might have heard people describe Elric as an anti-hero, which fits his character.
The third part reminded me of a Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. Elric, Count Smiorgan Baldhead, and another adventurer travel to land searching for a city I do not know how to pronounce. **Spoiler** It turns into a bloodbath.
I think I'm losing some edge when reading this genre. I keep coming back to it, but I get quickly bored nowadays. The book shouldn't suffer because of my attitude. The writing is flawless, and it is sharp and short but descriptive. There were times were I was like... Okay, that's it? What? And then there were times when I just sat down and was awed because of the action, and Elric is still a force to be reckoned with.
October 6, 2014
I looked over some of the reviews and was surprised at the number of negative attitudes toward the Eleric books. To me these (and most of the other Eternal Champion series) hold a special place in the "annals" of Epic fantasy. I reviewed the Omnibus edition of these books but my first experince was with the paperback single editions.
In this volume several "incarnations" of the Champion meet and the book can actually be seen to have several places in the Eternal Champion Multiverse as the histories of each hero brings them to this point in their respective histories.
In this volume several "incarnations" of the Champion meet and the book can actually be seen to have several places in the Eternal Champion Multiverse as the histories of each hero brings them to this point in their respective histories.
April 10, 2023
Looks like the first book was the odd one out. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is as good as The Fortress of the Pearl although it's three short stories tied together by sea faring theme and immediately following each other, rather than one longer story.
I really wish I got into this series as teenager because I would've loved it as much as any passionate Elric fan. Almost in my 30's, it's still a solid read that aged quite well thanks to it's high fantasy theme. If it wasn't for the accusation that Sapkowski plagiarized Moorcock in The Witcher saga I wouldn't even have touched this series.
I really wish I got into this series as teenager because I would've loved it as much as any passionate Elric fan. Almost in my 30's, it's still a solid read that aged quite well thanks to it's high fantasy theme. If it wasn't for the accusation that Sapkowski plagiarized Moorcock in The Witcher saga I wouldn't even have touched this series.
June 13, 2011
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
Michael Moorcock’s Sailor on the Seas of Fate continues the adventures of Elric the albino emperor of Melniboné. While his ambitious cousin Yyrkoon sits as regent, and his consort Cymoril doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive, Elric is in self-exile, exploring other lands so that he can better understand his subjects. He hopes to become a more worthy emperor and, perhaps, to discover why his own race has lost what he calls its “humanity.” For his ancestors are said to have been noble people, but that nobility has been lost and modern Melnibonéans are greedy, selfish, and decadent, lording it over the humans they rule.
At the beginning of Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Elric has just escaped prison and is being pursued by his captors. Just as all looks lost, a strange ship appears and rescues him. This is a spooky ship — shrouded in mist and mystery — and aboard its ancient timbers are three of the Eternal Champions who travel between the universes and appear at different times and places to fight the forces of Chaos: Hawkmoon, Corum, and Erekosë. They have fought side-by-side many times before, but since time flows differently in the different worlds, their memories are not all the same. Elric doesn’t even realize he’s one of them, but the captain of the ship has brought them together and leads them into battle against an enemy that threatens to take over the Multiverse.
After that episode, Elric meets an adventurer and treasure-hunter who wants to sail to the fabled island of R'lin K'ren A'a, the original homeland of the Melnibonéans. Elric accompanies him, hoping to discover more about his race and the events that occurred to change his peoples’ proclivities and drive them a bit mad.
The Elric stories are fun for readers looking for short, fast-paced, episodic sword & sorcery adventures with fantastic scenery, but they go deeper than that. Elric is not only brave, he’s complex and introspective. He likes to think of himself as a humanist, yet he also has the cold and selfish tendencies evident in other Melnibonéans. For example, he carries a sentient sword named Stormbringer who gives him the strength to overcome his frailties, but demands souls in return. Elric’s remorse about this is not quite convincing. Does he truly care about people? Or is he more concerned with feeling good about himself by satisfying his own self-concept of nobility?
I listened to Audio Realms’ production of Sailor on the Seas of Fate which is beautifully narrated by Jeff West and introduced by Michael Moorcock’s dreamy and languorous voice. The music and sound effects in this Audio Realms production were less bothersome to me this time. I’m not sure if they were toned down, or if I was just prepared to accept them.
Michael Moorcock’s Sailor on the Seas of Fate continues the adventures of Elric the albino emperor of Melniboné. While his ambitious cousin Yyrkoon sits as regent, and his consort Cymoril doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive, Elric is in self-exile, exploring other lands so that he can better understand his subjects. He hopes to become a more worthy emperor and, perhaps, to discover why his own race has lost what he calls its “humanity.” For his ancestors are said to have been noble people, but that nobility has been lost and modern Melnibonéans are greedy, selfish, and decadent, lording it over the humans they rule.
At the beginning of Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Elric has just escaped prison and is being pursued by his captors. Just as all looks lost, a strange ship appears and rescues him. This is a spooky ship — shrouded in mist and mystery — and aboard its ancient timbers are three of the Eternal Champions who travel between the universes and appear at different times and places to fight the forces of Chaos: Hawkmoon, Corum, and Erekosë. They have fought side-by-side many times before, but since time flows differently in the different worlds, their memories are not all the same. Elric doesn’t even realize he’s one of them, but the captain of the ship has brought them together and leads them into battle against an enemy that threatens to take over the Multiverse.
After that episode, Elric meets an adventurer and treasure-hunter who wants to sail to the fabled island of R'lin K'ren A'a, the original homeland of the Melnibonéans. Elric accompanies him, hoping to discover more about his race and the events that occurred to change his peoples’ proclivities and drive them a bit mad.
The Elric stories are fun for readers looking for short, fast-paced, episodic sword & sorcery adventures with fantastic scenery, but they go deeper than that. Elric is not only brave, he’s complex and introspective. He likes to think of himself as a humanist, yet he also has the cold and selfish tendencies evident in other Melnibonéans. For example, he carries a sentient sword named Stormbringer who gives him the strength to overcome his frailties, but demands souls in return. Elric’s remorse about this is not quite convincing. Does he truly care about people? Or is he more concerned with feeling good about himself by satisfying his own self-concept of nobility?
I listened to Audio Realms’ production of Sailor on the Seas of Fate which is beautifully narrated by Jeff West and introduced by Michael Moorcock’s dreamy and languorous voice. The music and sound effects in this Audio Realms production were less bothersome to me this time. I’m not sure if they were toned down, or if I was just prepared to accept them.
September 13, 2022
Forced to flee his city of Melnibone, Elric and his wicked blade Stormbringer journey through barren hills to the edge of a black sea. Elric finds a dark ship and begins a voyage that will bring him face-to-face with several incarnations of the eternal champion; mirror versions of himself from alternate timelines and dimensions. Leaving his cousin Yrkoon sitting as regent upon the Ruby Throne of Melnibone and leaving his lover Cymoril weeping for him and despairing over him possibly never returning, Elric sailed from Imrryr, the Dreaming City, and went to seek an unknown goal in the world of the Young Kingdoms where Melniboneans were at best, disliked.
Elric goes on an acid trip adventure into the past, the future and different versions of the present on the back of an ancient, magical ship. With his evil sword Stormbringer guiding the way, Elric explores the young kingdoms and past kingdoms in hopes of finding what the old kingdoms lack, specifically the fallen kingdom of Melnibone. The answer is humanity, something that could both restore the old kingdoms to their former glory or even destroy them entirely if handled unwisely. After all, what's more dangerous than magic, monsters and evil swords than humanity itself?
Accompanying Elric on his journey throughout time are Erekose, Dorian Hawkmoon, and Corum Jhaelen Irsei. All four of them are different iterations of the same person, (almost like if Link from the Legend of Zelda were to go on a journey with every version of himself that's ever existed in the chronology of the series) and you can bet that this makes for an insanely trippy adventure with lots of monster slaying badassery. It's like one of Lovecraft's dream quest tales written in the style of Conan.
It was challenging to follow at first, but once the ball got rolling and it was made clear what was going on it became smooth sailing to the finish line. Elric finally experiences some much-needed character growth after a certain terrifying act involving his evil sword forces him to reflect on who he is and what he wants.
Elric goes on an acid trip adventure into the past, the future and different versions of the present on the back of an ancient, magical ship. With his evil sword Stormbringer guiding the way, Elric explores the young kingdoms and past kingdoms in hopes of finding what the old kingdoms lack, specifically the fallen kingdom of Melnibone. The answer is humanity, something that could both restore the old kingdoms to their former glory or even destroy them entirely if handled unwisely. After all, what's more dangerous than magic, monsters and evil swords than humanity itself?
Accompanying Elric on his journey throughout time are Erekose, Dorian Hawkmoon, and Corum Jhaelen Irsei. All four of them are different iterations of the same person, (almost like if Link from the Legend of Zelda were to go on a journey with every version of himself that's ever existed in the chronology of the series) and you can bet that this makes for an insanely trippy adventure with lots of monster slaying badassery. It's like one of Lovecraft's dream quest tales written in the style of Conan.
It was challenging to follow at first, but once the ball got rolling and it was made clear what was going on it became smooth sailing to the finish line. Elric finally experiences some much-needed character growth after a certain terrifying act involving his evil sword forces him to reflect on who he is and what he wants.
February 14, 2025
Three separate Elric novellas under one cover. Together, they tell of Elric's battle with a pair of extra dimensional sorcerors, and of his return to his own dimension. And he doesn't battle alone. Moorcock develops his concept of the Eternal Champion, and brings in some familiar faces from his other series: Prince Corum (who remembers Elric as a brother-in-arms from a battle that Elric hasn't fought yet), Hawkmoon, and Erekosë. Followers of the author's work should expect to see (or have already seen) the battle against Agak and Gagak from multiple points of view over the course of their reading.
As always with Elric, the sense of impending doom is never far. His soul-drinking sword, Stormbringer, has a nasty habit of dispatching folks that Elric would rather see survive.
One recurring theme is a scenario in which Elric is facing certain death–sometimes with companions, sometimes alone–and gets out of trouble by happening to remember a spell from a dusty old tome read in his youth that summons some deity or demon or creature to aid him. It's not a deal-breaker for me, but it does cause me to roll my eyes at times.
Elric is one of the great tragic heroes, and Michael Moorcock has a fine imagination when it comes to Swords and Sorcery fare. The Elric books may not be for everyone, but they're great fun as far as I'm concerned. Recommended!
As always with Elric, the sense of impending doom is never far. His soul-drinking sword, Stormbringer, has a nasty habit of dispatching folks that Elric would rather see survive.
One recurring theme is a scenario in which Elric is facing certain death–sometimes with companions, sometimes alone–and gets out of trouble by happening to remember a spell from a dusty old tome read in his youth that summons some deity or demon or creature to aid him. It's not a deal-breaker for me, but it does cause me to roll my eyes at times.
Elric is one of the great tragic heroes, and Michael Moorcock has a fine imagination when it comes to Swords and Sorcery fare. The Elric books may not be for everyone, but they're great fun as far as I'm concerned. Recommended!
March 2, 2025
اممم.. مغامرة أخرى لإلريك، فاتمة نعم، لكن ليست مثيرة للإهتمام على الإطلاق.
May 14, 2023
It had been months since Elric left his homeland Melniboné to mix with the people of the Young Kingdoms to learn about less cruel ways of life. Ironically, he is greeted by the human inhabitants with suspicion and hostility as a member of the race that until recently despotically dominated its dominion. Elric had tried to work as a mercenary in Ryfel, but its ruler understandably thought he must be a Melnibonéan spy. He's able to escape but after an exhausting march through the Dead Hills he arrives at a big sea completely exhausted and unable to go on. Just as he contemplates suicide, a mysterious ship arrives at the misty shores.
Thus begins another journey on which he'll yet again have to face supernatural opponents that will make him question the nature of his reality. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is made up of three books in which Elric boards three different ships and (in some sense) sails to the Future, the Present, and the Past. The parts are mostly self-contained stories that are just like dreams in that they quickly take us to the most outlandish of places.
All three trips are an absolute thrill to read. In "Sailing to the Future" the albino becomes a member of The Four (Who are One), apparently the Champion Eternal in four of his incarnations. Not that I know what this means exactly, but that's what we are told. Together with Erekosë, Dorian Hawkmoon, and Corum Jhaelen Irsei Elric travels to an island to face two powerful sorcerers, Agak and his sister Gagak, who threaten to destroy their universe by feeding on its cosmic energy.
It's said that the two dwell on an island, more specifically in an edifice at the center of a city in ruin. In fact, the city had once been the legendary Tanelorn, the place that all of Elric's companions had been seeking. The turn-out will truly blow your mind. To defeat them, the Eternal Champions not only unite with each other – they inadvertently become one with Gagak right at the moment when the warriors realize the true nature of the danger they walked into.
Although Elric is able to return to the Dark Ship victoriously, the blind Captain already set sail for different shores to deliver important cargo. I don't know whether we'll ever learn what exactly he had on board, but I think his destination is Tanelorn of the present. In any way, to ever return to his own plane Elric has to pass through the Crimson Gate located on some limbo world. And off he goes into the water.
He wakes up at the shores where he first boarded the Dark Ship, but quickly realizes that the sun burns in blackish purple. He finds warriors from various periods of the Young Kingdoms. Clearly he's in a land outside of time (did I mention that Corum claimed that they once, maybe in some future, fought together before?), but soon has to slay them. The only survivor is Count Smiorgan Baldhead, another traveler in search of his home plane and future friend of the albino. Unlike the first story where they arrived at their destination (the Future) early on, in "Sailing to the Present" they will only able to arrive at the Present after they overcome the challenges of this timeless world of dream.
In fact, in some sense the story is set in the past. Or at least Elric becomes a protagonist in a legend about an ancestor and unfulfilled love that is mysteriously continued on this plane. In the tale, Earl Saxif D’an is in love with a woman that is half Human, half Melnibonéan, but she loves someone else, Prince Carolak. The jealous lover kills her, only to learn of her love for him as her last words (they seems to have loved the both of them). Saxif is now obsessed with a woman he thinks of as an incarnation of the woman he had killed. Or if she isn't then at least she's the perfect vessel for her soul.
There is an interesting twist to the story. Saxif is the ruler of the plane and only he is capable to open the Crimson Gate and the passage to Elric's Present. But Elric acts as the protector of the girl and Saxif can only animate her with the soul of the girl from his time if she was given "freely" to him (evidently we are not fighting the patriarchy). It's not the most elegant of narrative frames, but I liked the stalemate situation that ensues.
In the final story, Elric travels to the Past to learn about the history of his people. Legend has it that the Melnibonéans came from the unexplored Western Continent beyond the Boiling Sea. It's said that there once was a glorious city, R'lin K'ren A'a, which translates to Where The High Ones Meet. This is what happened, the Lords of the Higher Worlds came to meet there and to decide the rules of the Cosmic Struggle. It's all very unclear what this means exactly – there is talk of the coming Struggle at the end of the story – but what is evident is that the inhabitants had to leave. They came to the Dragon Isle and founded Melniboné.
Elric and Smiorgan board the ship of a Duke Avan (remember the name, he'll be important in the next novel) who expects to find the precious and magical eyes of a jade statue that represents Arioch. The story itself is a fun adventure set in a jungle world. At the beginning their ship travels over some river when they are attacked by strange reptile creatures from the undergrowth. Eventually, they arrive at the city (again in ruins) where Elric once again has to bargain with the Duke of Hell, before he becomes the doom of his crew.
Especially the third narrative hints at many important events in Past and Future. The guilt-ridden Eric will join his friend Smiorgan to the Purple Towns and I expect the next novel, The Weird of the White Wolf, will be a direct continuation of the plot thread and the coming challenge that Arioch foreshadowed. I'm excited to see where this is going!
Rating: 4/5
Thus begins another journey on which he'll yet again have to face supernatural opponents that will make him question the nature of his reality. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is made up of three books in which Elric boards three different ships and (in some sense) sails to the Future, the Present, and the Past. The parts are mostly self-contained stories that are just like dreams in that they quickly take us to the most outlandish of places.
All three trips are an absolute thrill to read. In "Sailing to the Future" the albino becomes a member of The Four (Who are One), apparently the Champion Eternal in four of his incarnations. Not that I know what this means exactly, but that's what we are told. Together with Erekosë, Dorian Hawkmoon, and Corum Jhaelen Irsei Elric travels to an island to face two powerful sorcerers, Agak and his sister Gagak, who threaten to destroy their universe by feeding on its cosmic energy.
It's said that the two dwell on an island, more specifically in an edifice at the center of a city in ruin. In fact, the city had once been the legendary Tanelorn, the place that all of Elric's companions had been seeking. The turn-out will truly blow your mind. To defeat them, the Eternal Champions not only unite with each other – they inadvertently become one with Gagak right at the moment when the warriors realize the true nature of the danger they walked into.
Although Elric is able to return to the Dark Ship victoriously, the blind Captain already set sail for different shores to deliver important cargo. I don't know whether we'll ever learn what exactly he had on board, but I think his destination is Tanelorn of the present. In any way, to ever return to his own plane Elric has to pass through the Crimson Gate located on some limbo world. And off he goes into the water.
He wakes up at the shores where he first boarded the Dark Ship, but quickly realizes that the sun burns in blackish purple. He finds warriors from various periods of the Young Kingdoms. Clearly he's in a land outside of time (did I mention that Corum claimed that they once, maybe in some future, fought together before?), but soon has to slay them. The only survivor is Count Smiorgan Baldhead, another traveler in search of his home plane and future friend of the albino. Unlike the first story where they arrived at their destination (the Future) early on, in "Sailing to the Present" they will only able to arrive at the Present after they overcome the challenges of this timeless world of dream.
In fact, in some sense the story is set in the past. Or at least Elric becomes a protagonist in a legend about an ancestor and unfulfilled love that is mysteriously continued on this plane. In the tale, Earl Saxif D’an is in love with a woman that is half Human, half Melnibonéan, but she loves someone else, Prince Carolak. The jealous lover kills her, only to learn of her love for him as her last words (they seems to have loved the both of them). Saxif is now obsessed with a woman he thinks of as an incarnation of the woman he had killed. Or if she isn't then at least she's the perfect vessel for her soul.
There is an interesting twist to the story. Saxif is the ruler of the plane and only he is capable to open the Crimson Gate and the passage to Elric's Present. But Elric acts as the protector of the girl and Saxif can only animate her with the soul of the girl from his time if she was given "freely" to him (evidently we are not fighting the patriarchy). It's not the most elegant of narrative frames, but I liked the stalemate situation that ensues.
In the final story, Elric travels to the Past to learn about the history of his people. Legend has it that the Melnibonéans came from the unexplored Western Continent beyond the Boiling Sea. It's said that there once was a glorious city, R'lin K'ren A'a, which translates to Where The High Ones Meet. This is what happened, the Lords of the Higher Worlds came to meet there and to decide the rules of the Cosmic Struggle. It's all very unclear what this means exactly – there is talk of the coming Struggle at the end of the story – but what is evident is that the inhabitants had to leave. They came to the Dragon Isle and founded Melniboné.
Elric and Smiorgan board the ship of a Duke Avan (remember the name, he'll be important in the next novel) who expects to find the precious and magical eyes of a jade statue that represents Arioch. The story itself is a fun adventure set in a jungle world. At the beginning their ship travels over some river when they are attacked by strange reptile creatures from the undergrowth. Eventually, they arrive at the city (again in ruins) where Elric once again has to bargain with the Duke of Hell, before he becomes the doom of his crew.
Especially the third narrative hints at many important events in Past and Future. The guilt-ridden Eric will join his friend Smiorgan to the Purple Towns and I expect the next novel, The Weird of the White Wolf, will be a direct continuation of the plot thread and the coming challenge that Arioch foreshadowed. I'm excited to see where this is going!
Rating: 4/5
January 30, 2023
3 adventures in 1, it’s a quick and easy read. “Sailing to the future” was my favourite of the 3. ⚔️
May 10, 2021
4/5
Tal frase, extraída del libro, representa la sevicia y tristeza reinante en las tres historias que componen la que es la tercera entrega si se sigue el orden cronológico de la historia recomendado por el autor. Son tres relatos que se suceden, pero casi con total independencia unos de otros. En el primero aparecen el resto de encarnaciones del Campeón Eterno, a las que Moorcock dedicó sus correspondientes sagas. Su presencia en este volumen tendrá un papel relevante en el combate de un horrible ser, encomio directo del valor de la unión frente a los males que acechan.
La segunda historia sigue a Elric y a un nuevo acompañante, surgido tras una pequeña refriega. Bueno, más o menos banal. Los portales, que permiten un intercambio de planos, llevan a unos hechos divertidos, cuando menos, con una damisela en apuros por culpa de un conde que le acosa.
Y, finalmente, está el tercero de los relatos, lleno de aventura y desdicha en busca de un tesoro en una misteriosa e incierta tierra. Un escenario de junglas, reptiles y otros elementos reminiscentes de la literatura pulp definen esta última parte, que es quizá la más satisfactoria de las tres.
Está siendo muy agradable volver a acompañar a Elric en su alocado periplo...
A mediodía, el cuerpo solitario del último marinero vilmiriense seguía todavía en mitad de la plaza, donde había caído. Nadie conocía su nombre. Nadie sentiría lástima por él ni pronunciaría un epitafio por su muerte. El vilmiriense no había perdido la vida en algún alto empeño, ni había seguido ningún sueño fabuloso. Incluso muerto su cuerpo no tenía ninguna utilidad pues en la isla no había animales carroñeros que pudieran aprovecharlo, y en el polvo de la ciudad tampoco había tierra que fertilizar.
Tal frase, extraída del libro, representa la sevicia y tristeza reinante en las tres historias que componen la que es la tercera entrega si se sigue el orden cronológico de la historia recomendado por el autor. Son tres relatos que se suceden, pero casi con total independencia unos de otros. En el primero aparecen el resto de encarnaciones del Campeón Eterno, a las que Moorcock dedicó sus correspondientes sagas. Su presencia en este volumen tendrá un papel relevante en el combate de un horrible ser, encomio directo del valor de la unión frente a los males que acechan.
La segunda historia sigue a Elric y a un nuevo acompañante, surgido tras una pequeña refriega. Bueno, más o menos banal. Los portales, que permiten un intercambio de planos, llevan a unos hechos divertidos, cuando menos, con una damisela en apuros por culpa de un conde que le acosa.
Y, finalmente, está el tercero de los relatos, lleno de aventura y desdicha en busca de un tesoro en una misteriosa e incierta tierra. Un escenario de junglas, reptiles y otros elementos reminiscentes de la literatura pulp definen esta última parte, que es quizá la más satisfactoria de las tres.
Está siendo muy agradable volver a acompañar a Elric en su alocado periplo...
January 12, 2015
I finished reading Sailor on the Seas of Fate last night. Book two of Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné series. It’s very atmospheric and, in many ways, romantic. As I lay in bed this morning, resisting the necessity of getting ready for work, it suddenly struck me: Sword and Sorcery fantasy is to men what romance-novel fantasies are to women. They are a way of escaping from the real world, where jobs are boring, relationships require effort and we have to eat our vegetables.
These books are the antimatter to women’s romance novels [of which I'm not a fan]. But at least I now realize why my response to them is tepid, compared to the enthusiasm of male readers. They're really not written for me, they are written for men who are nostalgic for the "good old days" when work was acknowledged to be heroic, emotions were simple, and women were subservient.
That said, Moorcock's writing is very evocative--he manages to paint a very vivid picture with very few words. There is a dream-like quality to these tales that I enjoy.
These books are the antimatter to women’s romance novels [of which I'm not a fan]. But at least I now realize why my response to them is tepid, compared to the enthusiasm of male readers. They're really not written for me, they are written for men who are nostalgic for the "good old days" when work was acknowledged to be heroic, emotions were simple, and women were subservient.
That said, Moorcock's writing is very evocative--he manages to paint a very vivid picture with very few words. There is a dream-like quality to these tales that I enjoy.
April 25, 2018
I'm now a little clearer why I class Moorcock as a guilty pleasure... On several occasions I've ranted about ridiculously elongated and unpronounceable N'ames (yes and with apostrophes) in SF books (planets, people, procedure... paah!), and in this tale, it is particularly bad. It irritates the crap out of me to be honest, but for some reason I am able to forgive Moorcock of this.
Having said that, this is the third Elric book in a row and which was preceded by four Corums. I have another two Elrics to go and that will be enough for the time being.
It's Moorcock FFS, if you like him, read it.
Having said that, this is the third Elric book in a row and which was preceded by four Corums. I have another two Elrics to go and that will be enough for the time being.
It's Moorcock FFS, if you like him, read it.
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November 22, 2018Nezgodno je po prvi put čitati Murkoka u ovim godinama i ove godine, jer sve je već toliko puta preuzeto pa izmenjeno manje ili više, popravljeno ili pokvareno, da imam osećaj da čitam nešto jako derivativno. A u stvari je samo mnogo uticajno, a pri tome ne baš remek-delo. Tako da ću sada verovatno prestati sa Sagom o Elriku, nekako osećam da mu činim nepravdu.
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