The Elric series is a good read. Very dark, considering the period it was written in. I'd skip the latter two books he wrote, but the first 6 are great. "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate" is still a great fantasy title.

Seeing this cover just made me realize that the sword Dragnipur (from Steven Erikson's Malazan books) is sort of a "Stormbringer on steroids".

Posted by Stefan on Tuesday August 28, 2007 at 12:12 PM

I liked the Elric books because when the inexplicable happens, it does so openly and unambiguously. There's no "I sensed a malignant presence," but rather the presence appears, usually over a mile tall and crushing things.
I agree the first six rock. I thought the later ones got a little too involved in multiverse metaphysics and depended far to much on dreams.

Posted by Jeff P on Tuesday August 28, 2007 at 4:14 PM

Definitely read the original 6 and stop there.

The only problem I had with Elric, and Moorcock in general, is an incredible amount of deus ex machina - literally. "Oh no, Elric's in over his head! Better call on one his ancestal gods!"

Posted by scotty on Tuesday August 28, 2007 at 6:15 PM

What's your take on the Elric series?

God Awful

Is it a worthwhile read?

no

Posted by joshua corning on Tuesday August 28, 2007 at 7:56 PM

I think you learn to appreciate all the deus ex machina a lot more if you ever played the Stormbringer RPG. Not a computer game - the old pencil and paper type games. Yes, I am aging myself here. In any case, in that game you were able to accumulate points (I seem to think they were called 'elan' points) which allowed you, at a certain point, to summon your friendly god of chaos to help out. Ah, I still remember the joy of having Xiombarg drop into a scene...

Posted by Stefan on Tuesday August 28, 2007 at 8:17 PM

I found them to be quite juvenile... while I was a juvenile. Perhaps I should try to read them again, but there so many other books to read.

Posted by Wes on Wednesday August 29, 2007 at 1:21 AM

Yes, definitely worth reading.

Posted by Blue Tyson on Wednesday August 29, 2007 at 2:36 AM

I've only read a couple of the Elric novels, and that was a while ago, but I remember them being very different than I expected-- very atmospheric, and the complete opposite of, say, Conan. The books are all pretty short, so I think the best way to find out if you'll like them is just to read the first one.

Posted by Gabriel Mckee on Wednesday August 29, 2007 at 7:36 AM

I read them as a teenager back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and LOVED them. I re-read them as an adult in my thirties and still enjoyed them very much.

I cant say that about some of the re-reads that I loved as a teenager (Dragonlance springs to mind).

I think they're worth the read.

Posted by Michael Natale on Wednesday August 29, 2007 at 9:10 PM

I read the first six books twenty years ago when I was a teenager. I loved them. I'm a science fiction guy and generally hate fantasy except for Howard's Conan, Lord of the Rings and Elric. I thought Moorcock had some pretty wild ideas. I thought his world was terribly cool and most of the stories were fast-paced and easily digestible. I liked the fact that Elric's magic was elaborate to use and took some time to work. I don't know how they'd hold up for me today, but I'd definitely recommend the first one to anyone just to see if they'd like it.

Posted by Matthew Sanborn Smith on Thursday August 30, 2007 at 5:26 PM