I found Elric of Melniboné through a metal band called Cirith Ungol and I'm just now diving into their source material. Its super interesting and I can't wait to read through these volumes!
I found these books when I was a kid. My dad had a set of them and I was hooked fast. And that was over twenty years ago now. I am so glad to see others love them as much as I do. 💕
Thank you for actually showing the inside of books. So many review but never show the books. Worthless for us who must know font size. You just saved me money as the font is to small for my old eyes. Have to go Kindle on these.
The marketing department botched the ads for The Citadel of Forgotten Myths. It's mostly new, but not completely. It's also not set early in his story, but very near the end. First off, the video goes into how Moorcock had fix-up novels that reworked some of his short stories and such to fit into a more consistent and coherent narrative. That's basically what happened with The Citadel of Forgotten Myths. The stories he fixed-up were Black Petals (2008, short story), Red Pearls (2010, short story), and White Steel (an unreleased novella that he'd been working on since 2013). These three stories were reworked and updated to make The Citadel of Forgotten Myths. Originally, Black Petals and Red Pearls took place between the Saga Press Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. So it WOULD have been correct. But in the reworking, the timeline of these stories shifted. Now it begins with Red Pearls, leads into Black Petals, and the majority of the novel is White Steel and they are all linked. This adventure NOW takes place AFTER Kings in Darkness and BEFORE The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams (aka The Flame Bringers). This story slots right between these two tales, which are located in the Saga Press Vol. 2. Hopefully people see this. Moorcock himself has been in numerous interviews and tried clearing up the timeline location and doesn't know how or why it was advertised as being an early adventure when really it's almost his penultimate adventure. As for this being reworked stories, I haven't seen that advertised at all, so it was sort of a surprise.
Thanks for the overview of the books. I have the first volume but i was waiting to learn a little more about the second. It's good, at least, to have the series in hardcover and in collected editions.
Really want to get these books to read more about Elric. I was first introduced to him with the Dragonbane cover art, and in earlier editions of Drakar Och Demoner.
Ah so thats what saga volume three is, I wasn't sure how was going to fit in continuity. Look forward getting my copy saga three and Citadel of Forgotten Myths in December. If you like graphic novels, there is also an Elric hardcover boxset out in September.
I read all the Elric books published by DAW which had the best covers by Michael Whelan! I used to own the hardcover slipcased volume of The Vanishing Tower (I forget which small press published it; with a terrific Whelan color plate as well!) but in a fit of a spiritual crisis in the mid '80's destroyed it ( and a lot if other fantasy book collectibles) 🤯 Which is a cautionary tale, the moral being " Entrust your collection to a friend for a time lest you destroy it all and when later you return to your senses don't kick yourself for decades ever after!" 😆
@@midnightgreen8319 I highly recommend them, I am very satisfied with my purchase; and remember that around December, the third volume with a new story is going to come out.
I always thought that Elric's sword Stormbringer is the most powerful magical weapon held by a mortal, that a mortal can hold. And it is also an evil god in the form of a sword.
@swirlcrop It could have been an evolved concept of contributing author, not Moorcock's; but I definitely remember reading that in an Elric/Stormbringer tale.
Wait up... If I just read these two books, do I get a full fantasy story? Or does he come to earth in these too? I just ordered the first book to see if I like it...
It's not really a big epic fantasy story like the Lord of the Rings for example. It is a collection of short stories, novellas and some a couple of novels all featuring the adventures of Elric. Think the Conan stories by Robert E Howard. They are in chronological order of when they are set, not the original publication order. The first story is the beginning of his story and the final novela is most definitely the end. So in that sense you are getting a full story. He doesn't come to "our" earth in these two books, but they are releasing another collection later this year featuring the three novels where he comes to "our" earth or one similar in the 1930s.
Hi! Great video! Just one question: is the entire saga put in these two volumes? Sorry, English is not my mother language, and I read this saga originally had 8 volumes. If I buy these two volumes, do I get the full saga? Thanks!
There is a third volume, which I talk about here th-cam.com/video/Pr26IhdFu-Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=9wHqW1MEKuSFWAYp And a new novel which fits in the sage which I discuss over here th-cam.com/video/1FfhXGYrh10/w-d-xo.htmlsi=H0OB6No10XfP4bEJ These three volumes and new novel contain "almost" everything ever published about Elric written by Moorcock.
Absolutely loved Moorcock's writings as a youngster, but with age his hard-in-the-paint anti-hero schtick has grown a bit unpalatable. The perspective afforded by the intervening years highlights Moorcock's apparent hatred of humanity as a species and his character's inability to learn from their experiences (particularly Corum Jhaelen Irsei from the Swords Trilogy and Chronicles of Corum). Dorian Hawkmoon is one of the few sagas that actually has a positive outcome (when considering the Castle Brass trilogy), and has long remained on my list of favorite works by the author. NGL, personally I find his politics just shy of disgusting and his willingness to fling insults at other authors somewhat ironic, particularly when wrapped up in his political rhetoric.
It's irregular in style due to how these storiers were published. Things that later were put into books as parts of one story were originally published in a serielized way, and these are quite short and fast paced. The two novels that were published as such in one volume from the go, Fortress of the Pearl and Revenge of the Rose, which are also the last stories published in the previous century, are the largest stories, the less schematic ones, and with the most sophisticated writing of them all. I would say that in promedy they have a medium level of both pace and writing sophistication. I might have not expressed myself well enough, so I'll add that the Elric saga books are amongst my favorite three sagas or series of books (the other two being Harry Potter and the Sherlock Holmes stories)
I found Elric of Melniboné through a metal band called Cirith Ungol and I'm just now diving into their source material. Its super interesting and I can't wait to read through these volumes!
Read Corum and Hawkmoon too,
@@samclegg4045 Will do; I'll add it to the list.
I found these books when I was a kid. My dad had a set of them and I was hooked fast. And that was over twenty years ago now. I am so glad to see others love them as much as I do. 💕
Thank you for actually showing the inside of books. So many review but never show the books. Worthless for us who must know font size. You just saved me money as the font is to small for my old eyes. Have to go Kindle on these.
Blood and Souls for Thee, Arioch!
The marketing department botched the ads for The Citadel of Forgotten Myths. It's mostly new, but not completely. It's also not set early in his story, but very near the end.
First off, the video goes into how Moorcock had fix-up novels that reworked some of his short stories and such to fit into a more consistent and coherent narrative. That's basically what happened with The Citadel of Forgotten Myths. The stories he fixed-up were Black Petals (2008, short story), Red Pearls (2010, short story), and White Steel (an unreleased novella that he'd been working on since 2013). These three stories were reworked and updated to make The Citadel of Forgotten Myths.
Originally, Black Petals and Red Pearls took place between the Saga Press Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. So it WOULD have been correct. But in the reworking, the timeline of these stories shifted. Now it begins with Red Pearls, leads into Black Petals, and the majority of the novel is White Steel and they are all linked. This adventure NOW takes place AFTER Kings in Darkness and BEFORE The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams (aka The Flame Bringers). This story slots right between these two tales, which are located in the Saga Press Vol. 2.
Hopefully people see this. Moorcock himself has been in numerous interviews and tried clearing up the timeline location and doesn't know how or why it was advertised as being an early adventure when really it's almost his penultimate adventure. As for this being reworked stories, I haven't seen that advertised at all, so it was sort of a surprise.
I discovered Elric long ago in the Ace paperbacks. It was also my first taste of grimdark fantasy.
Thanks for the overview of the books. I have the first volume but i was waiting to learn a little more about the second. It's good, at least, to have the series in hardcover and in collected editions.
Glad it was helpful!
yes finally
Picked up both novels at the San Diego Comic Con.
Love having the 4 volumes but still... I think Moorcock's Elric (&Corum) deserves a much higher end edition.
I agree.
Really want to get these books to read more about Elric. I was first introduced to him with the Dragonbane cover art, and in earlier editions of Drakar Och Demoner.
Thanks for the great video.
Glad you liked it!
Great video! Thank U!
Read these in 7th grade in the mid-80s. Perhaps time for a revisit.
Love The Elric Saga.
insanely beatiful !
These are super cool
Ah so thats what saga volume three is, I wasn't sure how was going to fit in continuity. Look forward getting my copy saga three and Citadel of Forgotten Myths in December. If you like graphic novels, there is also an Elric hardcover boxset out in September.
I read all the Elric books published by DAW which had the best covers by Michael Whelan!
I used to own the hardcover slipcased volume of The Vanishing Tower (I forget which small press published it; with a terrific Whelan color plate as well!) but in a fit of a spiritual crisis in the mid '80's destroyed it ( and a lot if other fantasy book collectibles) 🤯 Which is a cautionary tale, the moral being " Entrust your collection to a friend for a time lest you destroy it all and when later you return to your senses don't kick yourself for decades ever after!" 😆
This video is perfect, I was thinking of getting this edition. I'm glad it is made by a fellow roleplayer too!
Glad you like it!
I'm going to pick these up. It's hard to find the older versions without paying a fortune!
@@midnightgreen8319 I highly recommend them, I am very satisfied with my purchase; and remember that around December, the third volume with a new story is going to come out.
@@TalkingAboutGames Fantastic!! I just started the 3rd Corum book yesterday
@@midnightgreen8319 I've never read the other Eternal Champion books, it is my intention to eventually read them though.
Great video. I have some of the separate Elric paperbacks but I don't have the full story. After this review, I'm going to have to buy these editions.
Glad it was helpful.
funny as i found elric in D&D in the early edition before they had to take them out
I always thought that Elric's sword Stormbringer is the most powerful magical weapon held by a mortal, that a mortal can hold. And it is also an evil god in the form of a sword.
One reference is that the soul trapped in the sword was once a Dragon.
@@AggroPhene OK. I didn't know that.
@swirlcrop It could have been an evolved concept of contributing author, not Moorcock's; but I definitely remember reading that in an Elric/Stormbringer tale.
@@AggroPhene Ok. The Elric story is such a great story idea.
Wait up... If I just read these two books, do I get a full fantasy story? Or does he come to earth in these too?
I just ordered the first book to see if I like it...
It's not really a big epic fantasy story like the Lord of the Rings for example. It is a collection of short stories, novellas and some a couple of novels all featuring the adventures of Elric. Think the Conan stories by Robert E Howard. They are in chronological order of when they are set, not the original publication order. The first story is the beginning of his story and the final novela is most definitely the end. So in that sense you are getting a full story. He doesn't come to "our" earth in these two books, but they are releasing another collection later this year featuring the three novels where he comes to "our" earth or one similar in the 1930s.
Hi! Great video! Just one question: is the entire saga put in these two volumes? Sorry, English is not my mother language, and I read this saga originally had 8 volumes. If I buy these two volumes, do I get the full saga?
Thanks!
There is a third volume, which I talk about here th-cam.com/video/Pr26IhdFu-Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=9wHqW1MEKuSFWAYp
And a new novel which fits in the sage which I discuss over here th-cam.com/video/1FfhXGYrh10/w-d-xo.htmlsi=H0OB6No10XfP4bEJ
These three volumes and new novel contain "almost" everything ever published about Elric written by Moorcock.
Absolutely loved Moorcock's writings as a youngster, but with age his hard-in-the-paint anti-hero schtick has grown a bit unpalatable. The perspective afforded by the intervening years highlights Moorcock's apparent hatred of humanity as a species and his character's inability to learn from their experiences (particularly Corum Jhaelen Irsei from the Swords Trilogy and Chronicles of Corum). Dorian Hawkmoon is one of the few sagas that actually has a positive outcome (when considering the Castle Brass trilogy), and has long remained on my list of favorite works by the author. NGL, personally I find his politics just shy of disgusting and his willingness to fling insults at other authors somewhat ironic, particularly when wrapped up in his political rhetoric.
I'm interested in this series but I am very turned off by bad writing. Are these well written?
Not sure what you mean by bad writing. That's a bit subjective. I really enjoy Michael Moorcock's writing style, but it might not be for everyone.
@@Jaysenpl Good point. For example I tried the Forgotten Realms books but I found them poorly written. The same goes for the Dragonlance books.
Personally , I always found Moorcock’s writing to be rich, exciting, poetic and colorful and well worth repeated readings
It's irregular in style due to how these storiers were published. Things that later were put into books as parts of one story were originally published in a serielized way, and these are quite short and fast paced. The two novels that were published as such in one volume from the go, Fortress of the Pearl and Revenge of the Rose, which are also the last stories published in the previous century, are the largest stories, the less schematic ones, and with the most sophisticated writing of them all. I would say that in promedy they have a medium level of both pace and writing sophistication.
I might have not expressed myself well enough, so I'll add that the Elric saga books are amongst my favorite three sagas or series of books (the other two being Harry Potter and the Sherlock Holmes stories)