My recent foray into the works of Fritz Leiber inspired me to re-read one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. So, this weekend I dove into Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné.
I grew up on Elric. There was no hero more complex, more tragic, or more dangerous than he was. Elric is a loner and a thinker, largely misunderstood by the people surrounding him. During some of my teenage years, I could relate to him far more than any hobbits or rangers, despite my love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books.
Re-reading Elric of Melniboné was tremendous fun. It’s a short novel (just 158 pages), and I finished it in a single sitting. This book is different than the vintage fantasy of Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber that I’ve previously explored. The books about Conan the Barbarian and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are mostly compilations of short stories published in magazines between the 1930s and 1960s. They are not novels with overarching plots like the kind we’ve grown accustomed to. Elric of Melniboné, however, was published in 1972, with a gripping plot that reads like an epic fantasy.
When the book begins, the empire of Melniboné, which once ruled the world for thousands of years, is in decline. Elric is a young emperor, the 428th sorcerer-king to sit on the Ruby Throne. The Melnibonéans remind me a lot of the Targaryens, and I wonder how much the Ruby Throne influenced what would become the Iron Throne of Westeros.
The Melnibonéans are a cruel and decadent race whose sorcerer-kings used to serve the Lord of Chaos, evil gods who are sometimes referred to as the Dukes of Hell. But Elric has no desire to follow the immoral traditions of his people. Born an albino, sickly and weak, he grew up reading all the books in his father’s library, and now he wonders if Melnibonéan society can become better than it is. This is his tragic flaw: Elric wants to be merciful and just, but his life would be easier if he embraced the ruthless ways of his Melnibonéan ancestry.
The story’s conflict arrives in Elric’s cousin, Prince Yyrkoon, who is second in line to the throne and believes Elric is a weak and unworthy emperor. Yyrkoon longs to re-establish the old Melnibonéan traditions and to conquer the world that the empire once ruled. He also covets Elric’s lover, Cymoril, who happens to be Yyrkoon’s sister. Suffice it to say, there’s a very Game of Throne vibe to Melniboné.
Elric’s mercy toward his cousin leads to a series of disasters that ultimately imperils Cymoril’s life. Short on options, Elric seeks aid by summoning his ancestral god, a Chaos Lord named Arioch. Elric’s bargain with Arioch forces him down a dark path, yet he fights to remain true to himself. But will his moral aspirations be strong enough to overcome the gravitational pull of his evil god, his Melnibonéan ancestry, and ultimately, his black sword Stormbringer? The tragedy is slow to unfold and extends beyond this novel, leaving the reader longing to see how it all plays out.
Elric of Melniboné is the first act in the saga of perhaps the most epic fantasy character of all time. I’m looking forward to reliving it again!