"The Elric Saga" by Michael Moorcock is one of the great classics of high
fantasy, dark fantasy, and sword & sorcery. Six books form its core: "Elric of
Melniboné," "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate," "The Weird of the White Wolf,"
"The Vanishing Tower," "The Bane of the Black Sword," and "Stormbringer."
These books, however, have been supplemented by six later Moorcock works:
"Elric at the End of Time," "The Fortress of the Pearl," "The Revenge of the
Rose," "The Dreamthief’s Daughter: A Tale of the Albino," "The Skrayling
Tree: The Albino in America," and "The White Wolf’s Son: The Albino
Underground."
Unlike the core of books of "The Elric Saga" (most of which were originally
serials), the supplemental books were all originally constructed as novels (with
the exception of "Elric at the End of Time"). They also differ from the core
books in other ways: as the newer books progress, they seem increasingly
aimed at a different audience than the pulp serials. The newer works change
writing styles to be increasingly metaphysics- and philosophy-oriented rather
than action-oriented, with wandering plots and large numbers of characters.
Further, Elric himself is a vastly different personality by the end of these later
works, and Stormbringer becomes little more than an obligatory afterthought.
The result is fans of the pulp serials will not necessarily be fans of these later
works, and vice versa. Moreover, these works are not suitable as introductions
to either Elric or Moorcock's multiverse theory.
Elric at the End of Time
This is an unconventional little book. Like the core books, this is another
collection. However despite its title, most of the stories "Elric at the End of
Time" are not of Elric, but rather Sojan the Swordsman, Moorcock’s first
fantasy stories written during the 1950s when he was a teenager. The work also
includes two non-fiction essays regarding the creation of Elric and Jerry
Cornelius, two of Moorcock’s most well-known characters. I will discuss only
the Elric-related material here.
“Elric at the End of Time,” is the first of the Elric short stories. Probably most
accurately described as a novella, “Elric at the End of Time,” does not neatly fit
into the timeline established in the core Elric books – other than it takes place
sometime after "Sailing to the Present" (the second section of "The Sailor on
the Seas of Fate," Book 2 of "The Elric Saga") and before "The Dreaming City"
(the first section of "The Weird of the White Wolf," Book 3 of "The Elric
Saga"). According to Moorcock’s Introduction, this tale was written
contemporaneously with the other Elric stories and was created before
Stormbringer, although the tale itself bears little resemblance to other Elric
stories and Elric himself is quite different.
“Elric at the End of Time” sees Elric sucked into a void following a sorcerous
battle. With the aid of his runesword Stormbringer, Elric is able to escape the
void into an unknown plane where, he believes, Chaos rules. Elric does not
realize that he has entered the End of Time, populated by the League of
Temporal Adventurers and their creations. Featured in Moorcock’s "End of
Time" books, the time-travelers include Una Persson, Sergeant Alvarez,
Werther de Goethe, Mistress Christina the Everlasting Concubine, and Lord
Jagged of Canaria. Mentions are made of both Jerry Cornelius and Jherek
Carnelian (who feature in other Moorcock stories). The time-travelers are able
to change their bizarre world at will, and do so repeatedly in misguided
attempts to entertain Elric. The result, unfortunately, is confusing for both
Elric and the reader.
The most interesting concept from “Elric at the End of Time” results from Elric’
s belief that he has stumbled into the realm of Chaos and that the time-travelers
are gods of Chaos. In contrast, the time-travelers insist that they are simple
humans. This conception is complicated further by the suggestion that – just
perhaps – Lord Jagged really is Elric’s patron Lord Arioch, Duke of Chaos. The
reader is left to ponder what Elric cannot conceive: are his gods really just
other mortals? Such a question, of course, is the launching pad for even more
pondering…
fantasy, dark fantasy, and sword & sorcery. Six books form its core: "Elric of
Melniboné," "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate," "The Weird of the White Wolf,"
"The Vanishing Tower," "The Bane of the Black Sword," and "Stormbringer."
These books, however, have been supplemented by six later Moorcock works:
"Elric at the End of Time," "The Fortress of the Pearl," "The Revenge of the
Rose," "The Dreamthief’s Daughter: A Tale of the Albino," "The Skrayling
Tree: The Albino in America," and "The White Wolf’s Son: The Albino
Underground."
Unlike the core of books of "The Elric Saga" (most of which were originally
serials), the supplemental books were all originally constructed as novels (with
the exception of "Elric at the End of Time"). They also differ from the core
books in other ways: as the newer books progress, they seem increasingly
aimed at a different audience than the pulp serials. The newer works change
writing styles to be increasingly metaphysics- and philosophy-oriented rather
than action-oriented, with wandering plots and large numbers of characters.
Further, Elric himself is a vastly different personality by the end of these later
works, and Stormbringer becomes little more than an obligatory afterthought.
The result is fans of the pulp serials will not necessarily be fans of these later
works, and vice versa. Moreover, these works are not suitable as introductions
to either Elric or Moorcock's multiverse theory.
Elric at the End of Time
This is an unconventional little book. Like the core books, this is another
collection. However despite its title, most of the stories "Elric at the End of
Time" are not of Elric, but rather Sojan the Swordsman, Moorcock’s first
fantasy stories written during the 1950s when he was a teenager. The work also
includes two non-fiction essays regarding the creation of Elric and Jerry
Cornelius, two of Moorcock’s most well-known characters. I will discuss only
the Elric-related material here.
“Elric at the End of Time,” is the first of the Elric short stories. Probably most
accurately described as a novella, “Elric at the End of Time,” does not neatly fit
into the timeline established in the core Elric books – other than it takes place
sometime after "Sailing to the Present" (the second section of "The Sailor on
the Seas of Fate," Book 2 of "The Elric Saga") and before "The Dreaming City"
(the first section of "The Weird of the White Wolf," Book 3 of "The Elric
Saga"). According to Moorcock’s Introduction, this tale was written
contemporaneously with the other Elric stories and was created before
Stormbringer, although the tale itself bears little resemblance to other Elric
stories and Elric himself is quite different.
“Elric at the End of Time” sees Elric sucked into a void following a sorcerous
battle. With the aid of his runesword Stormbringer, Elric is able to escape the
void into an unknown plane where, he believes, Chaos rules. Elric does not
realize that he has entered the End of Time, populated by the League of
Temporal Adventurers and their creations. Featured in Moorcock’s "End of
Time" books, the time-travelers include Una Persson, Sergeant Alvarez,
Werther de Goethe, Mistress Christina the Everlasting Concubine, and Lord
Jagged of Canaria. Mentions are made of both Jerry Cornelius and Jherek
Carnelian (who feature in other Moorcock stories). The time-travelers are able
to change their bizarre world at will, and do so repeatedly in misguided
attempts to entertain Elric. The result, unfortunately, is confusing for both
Elric and the reader.
The most interesting concept from “Elric at the End of Time” results from Elric’
s belief that he has stumbled into the realm of Chaos and that the time-travelers
are gods of Chaos. In contrast, the time-travelers insist that they are simple
humans. This conception is complicated further by the suggestion that – just
perhaps – Lord Jagged really is Elric’s patron Lord Arioch, Duke of Chaos. The
reader is left to ponder what Elric cannot conceive: are his gods really just
other mortals? Such a question, of course, is the launching pad for even more
pondering…
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| The Elric Saga: Overview Part 2 By SC Bryce |
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Publication History |
First Printing:
SwordandSorcery.org, Howard
Andrew Jones, ed. (Sept. 11, 2005),
at www.SwordandSorcery.org.
SwordandSorcery.org, Howard
Andrew Jones, ed. (Sept. 11, 2005),
at www.SwordandSorcery.org.
Readers' Comments |
"I've just finished reading the three later Elric books (DD - WWS) and googled a bit to see what other people thought. Was very impressed with your comments, which nicely pinpoint both strengths and weaknesses. Since reviewers normally get no feedback (except badly-reviewed authors wielding hatchets) thought I'd just hand out a bit of e-kudos." Reader, on The Elric Saga Overview Part 2. |