Elric of Melnibone

[Gnostic Goblin]

I cannot recall from where I read many years ago, Moorecock explaining how he was fed up of fantasy stories where a hero starts off as a nobody, builds their strength, wealth and power, kills all the monsters, defeats all the bad guys, rescues and marries the princesses, unites and rules the kingdom in a goodly way. To create an anti-hero who is directly the opposite to the hero trope this was the inspiration for Elric.

 

[Mannahnin]

I cannot recall from where I read many years ago, Moorecock explaining how he was fed up of fantasy stories where a hero starts off as a nobody, builds their strength, wealth and power, kills all the monsters, defeats all the bad guys, rescues and marries the princesses, unites and rules the kingdom in a goodly way. To create an anti-hero who is directly the opposite to the hero trope this was the inspiration for Elric.

Right. Instead of a nobody outsider he's the king of the most powerful nation, who starts the stories by abandoning his position and privilege.

And a sorcerer (who were almost always the villains of swords & sorcery) instead of a brawny barbarian. A physical weakling instead of a Hercules. Drug dependent instead of preternaturally healthy. From the most advanced civilization instead of savage. An albino as opposed to a tanned sun-loving bodybuilder. A summoner and maker of pacts with demons instead of a guy who kills folks who do those things.

All of those are examples of the inversion I was talking about.