Book Review: The Citadel of Forgotten Myths, by Michael Moorcock
Return to the classics: Elric, Moonglum, and Stormbringer.
Gallery, 2022, 320 pages
Elric along with his companion Moonglum return, in this prequel set within the early days of Elric’s wanderings, in order to investigate the history of Melniboné and its dragons, known as the Phroon, in this exciting new addition to the Elric Saga from World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael Moorcock.
Elric is the estranged emperor of the Melnibonéan empire, struggling with his nature while desperately striving to move forward with his dying empire alongside the constant thirst of his soul-sucking sword, Stormbringer. Elric is on the hunt for the great Citadel of Forgotten Myths while traveling through the remnants of his empire with his tragic best friend Moonglum, as Elric seeks the answers to the nature of the phroon of The Young Kingdoms. Taking place between the first and second book in the Elric Saga, The Citadel of Forgotten Myths is perfect for longtime fans and those new to this epic fantasy series.
The Elric saga is a swords and sorcery classic. There are few epic fantasy heroes more iconic than Elric of Melniboné and his soul-eating black sword Stormbringer. Michael Moorcock's gods and heroes got write-ups in the original AD&D Deities & Demigods, and indeed, Moorcock's Law/Order cosmology was foundational to the original D&D alignment system.
It's been years since I read the original Elric books. If you're not sure where to get started, the six-book Daw paperback series is the best starting point. Everything else is short stories, side quests, Elric roaming elsewhere in the multiverse, or other Eternal Hero stories (Moorcock's multiverse-spanning cosmology tying almost all his books together, long before Brandon Sanderson ever came up with the Cosmere).
Elric is a brooding prince of Melniboné. The Melnibonéans are semi-immortal elf-like sorcerers who ruled an empire for ten thousand years, but in Elric's time, they were beginning to be challenged by the upstart human Young Kingdoms. Elric, a weak albino who needs potions to sustain his strength, becomes the bearer of the black sword Stormbringer, which is actually a bound demon that drinks the souls of anyone it kills and feeds its power to Elric. Elric is very much an anti-hero; he wanders the worlds occasionally rescuing princesses or killing warlords, but his saga is a tragedy. He's just as likely to kill his friends, as indeed he does end up killing almost everyone he cares about by series end.
You'll notice that TSR decided that Elric was "Chaotic Evil." This is arguable, I suppose: he gleefully and with little remorse wields a demonic sword that literally eats people's souls, over the course of his career he earns the title "Kinslayer" and "Betrayer of his people," and he has no compunctions about murder and torture. And of course, he worships a literal Prince of Hell. Still, in most of his adventures he seems more detached and inhuman than evil, and he does sometimes show a nobler side.
The Citadel of Forgotten Myths is a recent work by Moorcock that stitches together a few earlier short stories into another episode in Elric's life, along with his human sidekick Moonglum. Supposedly it takes place between the first and second book of the main series, but the timeline is kind of weird (and time and space are fungible and non-linear in Moorcock's multiverse anyway).
It read like a collection of loosely connected short stories. Elric and Moonglum have wandered to another world, in search of the origins of Elric's people. His ostensible desire to learn where the Melnibonéans came from leads to him befriending ancient dragons, banging a princess or two, mowing down armies of mooks, and eventually, a protracted battle between the Lords of Law and Chaos, in which we learn that in this multiverse too, all gods are assholes.
Moorcock's writing is often poetic and borders on pulpish, but I really liked the long descriptions of magic bees who produce blue honey mead, ancient dragons who are the ancestors of the Melnibonéans, the gender-swapping psychopathic Lords of Order and Chaos, and of course, Stormbringer, an incarnation of hell in the form of a sword. Elric sometimes wants to be rid of the black blade and its curse, but like a drug, he must always draw it eventually, so we know sooner or later he will once again be slaughtering enemies right and left screaming "Blood and souls for my Lord Arioch!"
This book isn't the best place to begin the Elric saga, though it probably stands up well enough on its own. But I would highly recommend starting with Elric of Melniboné and reading on from there. Elric's story is not a heroic quest, and arguably it was one of the earliest examples of "grimdark" fantasy (as overused as that term is nowadays). It's nice to see Moorcock is still producing these, with all the old school fantasy flavor of the originals.
My complete list of book reviews.
Gallery, 2022, 320 pages
Elric along with his companion Moonglum return, in this prequel set within the early days of Elric’s wanderings, in order to investigate the history of Melniboné and its dragons, known as the Phroon, in this exciting new addition to the Elric Saga from World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael Moorcock.
Elric is the estranged emperor of the Melnibonéan empire, struggling with his nature while desperately striving to move forward with his dying empire alongside the constant thirst of his soul-sucking sword, Stormbringer. Elric is on the hunt for the great Citadel of Forgotten Myths while traveling through the remnants of his empire with his tragic best friend Moonglum, as Elric seeks the answers to the nature of the phroon of The Young Kingdoms. Taking place between the first and second book in the Elric Saga, The Citadel of Forgotten Myths is perfect for longtime fans and those new to this epic fantasy series.
The Elric saga is a swords and sorcery classic. There are few epic fantasy heroes more iconic than Elric of Melniboné and his soul-eating black sword Stormbringer. Michael Moorcock's gods and heroes got write-ups in the original AD&D Deities & Demigods, and indeed, Moorcock's Law/Order cosmology was foundational to the original D&D alignment system.
It's been years since I read the original Elric books. If you're not sure where to get started, the six-book Daw paperback series is the best starting point. Everything else is short stories, side quests, Elric roaming elsewhere in the multiverse, or other Eternal Hero stories (Moorcock's multiverse-spanning cosmology tying almost all his books together, long before Brandon Sanderson ever came up with the Cosmere).
Elric is a brooding prince of Melniboné. The Melnibonéans are semi-immortal elf-like sorcerers who ruled an empire for ten thousand years, but in Elric's time, they were beginning to be challenged by the upstart human Young Kingdoms. Elric, a weak albino who needs potions to sustain his strength, becomes the bearer of the black sword Stormbringer, which is actually a bound demon that drinks the souls of anyone it kills and feeds its power to Elric. Elric is very much an anti-hero; he wanders the worlds occasionally rescuing princesses or killing warlords, but his saga is a tragedy. He's just as likely to kill his friends, as indeed he does end up killing almost everyone he cares about by series end.
You'll notice that TSR decided that Elric was "Chaotic Evil." This is arguable, I suppose: he gleefully and with little remorse wields a demonic sword that literally eats people's souls, over the course of his career he earns the title "Kinslayer" and "Betrayer of his people," and he has no compunctions about murder and torture. And of course, he worships a literal Prince of Hell. Still, in most of his adventures he seems more detached and inhuman than evil, and he does sometimes show a nobler side.
The Citadel of Forgotten Myths is a recent work by Moorcock that stitches together a few earlier short stories into another episode in Elric's life, along with his human sidekick Moonglum. Supposedly it takes place between the first and second book of the main series, but the timeline is kind of weird (and time and space are fungible and non-linear in Moorcock's multiverse anyway).
It read like a collection of loosely connected short stories. Elric and Moonglum have wandered to another world, in search of the origins of Elric's people. His ostensible desire to learn where the Melnibonéans came from leads to him befriending ancient dragons, banging a princess or two, mowing down armies of mooks, and eventually, a protracted battle between the Lords of Law and Chaos, in which we learn that in this multiverse too, all gods are assholes.
Moorcock's writing is often poetic and borders on pulpish, but I really liked the long descriptions of magic bees who produce blue honey mead, ancient dragons who are the ancestors of the Melnibonéans, the gender-swapping psychopathic Lords of Order and Chaos, and of course, Stormbringer, an incarnation of hell in the form of a sword. Elric sometimes wants to be rid of the black blade and its curse, but like a drug, he must always draw it eventually, so we know sooner or later he will once again be slaughtering enemies right and left screaming "Blood and souls for my Lord Arioch!"
This book isn't the best place to begin the Elric saga, though it probably stands up well enough on its own. But I would highly recommend starting with Elric of Melniboné and reading on from there. Elric's story is not a heroic quest, and arguably it was one of the earliest examples of "grimdark" fantasy (as overused as that term is nowadays). It's nice to see Moorcock is still producing these, with all the old school fantasy flavor of the originals.
My complete list of book reviews.