Elric of Melniboné is where fantasy meets horror. It was the prototype for so much dark fantasy, and heavily inspired works like The Witcher and Game of Thrones. But Michael Moorcock’s Elric was first.
He was an emperor of an evil land, but he had something of a conscience. Problem was, his sword, Stormbringer, had none. Elric was a wonderful brooding anti-hero, who thought deeply, cared passionately, and lost everything.
I read a ton of these books in the 70s, when I was definitely too young to be doing so. Eh, I turned out fine. Right? I also stopped reading in the 70s. I shouldn’t have. I just didn’t realize that Moorcock never stopped. Hasn’t stopped yet. There are a lot of Elric stories.
I only found out today, in fact, because of the video that inspired this post. Exits Examined, a favorite channel of mine, did a great essay on the history of Elric. If you are curious, I encourage you to check it out.
