What is the first Elric book?

[Sir Whiskers]

... (probably because the guy who wrote it didn't want to be accused of ripping off Drizzt, or something) ...snip... Then he kills a lot of stuff even though he's a sickly albino freak, in a big blatant Raistlin rip-off.

Just for the record, Moorcock started writing Elric long before either Drizzt or Raistlin saw the light of day.

That said, the books are rather depressing, if interesting.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

She believes that you read Elric to get depressed and Cthulhu once you are depressed.

ROTFLMAO! Thanks for that, what a great way to start a Monday morning!

 

[Hand of Evil]

Here's a complete and perfect synopsis of the first Elric book:

Melniboneans are evil. Really evil. Elric is a Melnibonean. Strangely enough, he's actually evil too, (probably because the guy who wrote it didn't want to be accused of ripping off Drizzt, or something) but he broods a lot with cold wind blowing his freaky albino-white hair across his face in a way that makes anime characters gnash their teeth with envy, and he probably has the hots for his sister. Or for a sister-figure. Or something, I forget. Then he kills a lot of stuff even though he's a sickly albino freak, in a big blatant Raistlin rip-off.

There, you don't have to read it anymore.

I did get a laugh from this but Elric was born in the early 60s, the time of law and chaos, one of the many books that gave birth to D&D, Drizzt and Raistlin were born from D&D.

 

[mmu1]

I did get a laugh from this but Elric was born in the early 60s, the time of law and chaos, one of the many books that gave birth to D&D, Drizzt and Raistlin were born from D&D.

*sigh* This is what I get for trying to mock three writers in a single post. Efficiency is wasted on you people.

 

[Hand of Evil]

*sigh* This is what I get for trying to mock three writers in a single post. Efficiency is wasted on you people.

Only on a Moanday morning. I did think that was what you were doing, really.

 

[Tewligan]

If you do read the Elric books, for the love of God, stop after "Stormbringer". (Trust me, you'll know it's over.) The Elric books that Moorcock has published since then are so bad they are literally incoherent. And unreadable. It's sad, really.

Yeah, the original 6 are definitely the best. I read "Fortress of the Pearl" and "Revenge of the Rose", and was not too impressed by them. Those written after Stormbringer are quite the letdown. But up until then, whoo!

Oh, and DO read the Hawkmoon series also. I'm gonna say it's as good as Elric, and that's pretty damn good.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

Yeah, the original 6 are definitely the best. I read "Fortress of the Pearl" and "Revenge of the Rose", and was not too impressed by them. Those written after Stormbringer are quite the letdown. But up until then, whoo!

Agreed.

There really shouldn't be any more episodes after Stormbringer. It is clearly the end.

 

[nikolai]

Okay, I've been wanting to read Moorcock's Elric stuff for quite some time (years). I can't seem to find anyone who knows what the first book in the series is, though.

I found (and still find) this a really problem with Moorcocks stuff. The Elric stuff is in various collections, and has been chopped up in various different ways over the years. It is confusing to figure out which order to read stuff in. The only real solution is not to worry about it; but some more concrete suggestions are below.

The first Elric story ever writen was The Dreaming City. The first story chronologically is Elric of Melniboné. Both are good places to start. The last story chronologically is Stormbringer.

I wouldn't worry about internal chronology though. I'd read Elric of Melniboné and then Stormbringer. Moorcock wrote the beginning and the end of the Elric cycle very close together, everything else is just an interjection written whenever Moorcock felt like it. It's best not to worry about the order that much, it isn't a closely linked or planned series like Wheel of Time. Just pick up something and get started, people get into the series in different way. I started with the Fantasy Masterworks, introduction volume.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1857987438/202-9991973-5095831

The internal chronology is:

• Elric of Melniboné (novel)
• The Fortress of the Pearl (novel)
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (collection)
• The Weird of the White Wolf (collection)
• The Vanishing Tower (aka The Sleeping Sorceress) (novel)
• The Revenge of the Rose (novel)
• The Bane of the Black Sword (collection)
• Stormbringer (collection)

One what to read thread is on Moorcock's boards: http://www.multiverse.org/phpnuke/postp663.html#663

Also, what is the relationship of Elric and the Eternal Champion? Should I read one before the other? Is Elric just one facet of the Eternal Champion?

Elric is one aspect of the eternal champion. You can read the other stuff before Elric, or the other way around. There's no definitive order.

 

[milotha]

I really enjoyed the series, but then again I'm partial to anti-heros and dark fantasy. I found the first (Elric of Melnibone) and last (Stormbringer) books of the series to be the best, though I enjoyed the other ones. Here's the order I have the original books in.

Elric of Melnibone
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
The Weird of the White Wolf
The Vanishing Tower
The Bane of the Black Sword
Stormbringer

Though Elric is close to an anti Conan, there is a fair degree of mowing through opponents with the star of the show- Stormbringer, and he does get around with the women.