Fantasy Master Michael Moorcock: Elric: The Stealer of Souls….
Free on Kindle, As one fan notes, this cover is a sad comparison to the original Michael Whelan art, but it is a nice first volume collection of stories for those who may have misplaced their original paperbacks and are rebuilding their collection…ours are well worn and well loved and ready for our son to read….Click the image for an excerpt at the link…
From Amazon:
Product Description
“The stories here are the raw heart of Michael Moorcock. They are the spells that first drew me and all the numerous admirers of his work with whom I am acquainted into Moorcock’s luminous and captivating web.”
–from the Foreword by Alan Moore, creator of V for VendettaWhen Michael Moorcock began chronicling the adventures of the albino sorcerer Elric, last king of decadent Melniboné, and his sentient vampiric sword, Stormbringer, he set out to create a new kind of fantasy adventure, one that broke with tradition and reflected a more up-to-date sophistication of theme and style. The result was a bold and unique hero–weak in body, subtle in mind, dependent on drugs for the vitality to sustain himself–with great crimes behind him and a greater destiny ahead: a rock-and-roll antihero who would channel all the violent excesses of the sixties into one enduring archetype.
Now, with a major film in development, here is the first volume of a dazzling collection of stories containing the seminal appearances of Elric and lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist John Picacio–plus essays, letters, maps, and other material. Adventures include “The Dreaming City,” “While the Gods Laugh,” “Kings in Darkness,” “Dead God’s Homecoming,” “Black Sword’s Brothers,” and “Sad Giant’s Shield.”
An indispensable addition to any fantasy collection, Elric: The Stealer of Souls is an unmatched introduction to a brilliant writer and his most famous–or infamous–creation.
“The most significant UK author of sword and sorcery, a form he has both borrowed from and transformed.”
–The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
For the Whelan fans:
Amazon:
Amazon.com Review
Elric of Melniboné is a requisite title in the hard fantasy canon, a book no fantasy fan should leave unread. Author Michael Moorcock, already a major player in science fiction, cemented his position in the fantasy pantheon with the five-book Elric saga, of which Elric of Melniboné is the first installment. The book’s namesake, the brooding albino emperor of the dying nation of Melniboné, is a sort of Superman for Goths, truly an archetype of the genre. The youthful Elric is a cynical and melancholy king, heir to a nation whose 100,000-year rule of the world ended less than 500 years hence. More interested in brooding contemplation than holding the throne, Elric is a reluctant ruler, but he also realizes that no other worthy successor exists and the survival of his once-powerful, decadent nation depends on him alone. Elric’s nefarious, brutish cousin Yrkoon has no patience for his physically weak kinsman, and he plots constantly to seize Elric’s throne, usually over his dead body. Elric of Melniboné follows Yrkoon’s scheming, reaching its climax in a battle between Elric and Yrkoon with the demonic runeblades Stormbringer and Mournblade. In this battle, Elric gains control of the soul-stealing Stormbringer, an event that proves pivotal to the Elric saga. –Paul Hughes
Want to know the latest on the development of the film? Check out Michael’s fan board: Moorcock’s Miscellany
The original report of the pick up on the option, CNN by way of Variety:
The literary series began with 1972’s “Elric of Melnibone.” Universal’s option deal with production company Depth of Field covers 11 books — the original six installments of the series and five subsequent novels that touch on the saga.
The film adaptation, which will be produced but not written or directed by Depth of Field partners Chris and Paul Weitz, is conceived as a potential trilogy whose first installment will be culled from the series’ first six volumes. The producers plan to shop the book to writers and directors.
The novels are sensual and atmospheric sword-and-sorcery tales that center on Elric, a brooding albino warrior who presides over an unruly, decadent island nation. The novels follow Elric on a series of adventures, in which he is betrayed by his cousin, sent into exile and attempts to come to terms with his own humanity.
“We have loved this series since we were kids and can appreciate it even more as adults. It’s a sophisticated, literate, philosophically dense fantasy — a sort of ‘Matrix’ of the sword-and-sorcery genre,” Chris Weitz said.
Moorcock oversaw the sci-fi magazine New Worlds and helped usher in the “new wave” sci-fi movement of the 1960s and ’70s. He also performed in the British hard rock band Hawkwind and will co-produce the movie project.
If you are unfamiliar with Hawkwind, here is Pt 1 of the BBC4 Documentary, go to HawklordPXR5’s channel for the rest:
Moderate in the Middle 