---
product_id: 25021612
title: "Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, Vol. 1)"
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---

# Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, Vol. 1)

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## 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 Vendetta When 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

Review: Among the All-Time Fantasy Greats - This fantastic book is a collection of novellas concerning Elric and his accursed blade, Stormbringer. What brilliant writing! This was a complete joy, and anyone that enjoyed Lord of the Rings will find this enthralling as well. The story is so original despite the fact that it shares the common structure of sword & sorcery which is "hero goes on a quest to fulfill said objective, encounters obstacles, and prevails." I knew right away I had to read this book when Alan Moore, one of the most gifted comic book writers of all time said the Elric stories were classics. Michael Moorcock writes in a similar way, with dense description and vocabulary, and philosophical questions in parallel with action. Elric is a fascinating, flawed "anti-hero" in the Greek tradition. The gods put him on endless quests, Sisyphus-like, and his sword Stormbringer is one of the most interesting inanimate objects as character in all of fiction. Elric, Stealer of Souls is a collection of novellas presented in serial form. If you have read trade paperback anthologies of comic book series like "Y- the Last Man" or "The Watchmen" this style will be familiar to you. Each novella is a self-encapsulated story of its own, and in totality, they all build to create a greater dramatic arc together. The introduction is by Alan Moore and it is dense and thoughtful. Remarks by the author follow. Michael Moorcock simultaneously gives the reader a primer on the sword & sorcery structure and history while laying out what he intends to accomplish with Elric. After the stories, the author shares with us some of the allegorical meanings behind the Elric saga. Rather than spoiling the story as so often occurs, it adds a dimension. He writes to entertain, but the bigger issues he attempts to discuss below the surface are profound, and do not detract from the story. Like his Multiverse concept, the story of Elric is enjoyable on many levels. When he tells the reader some of his intent, he also teases, by saying he does not intend to spur us to re-read the book, looking for these themes. I wanted to do exactly that. Elric is a must-read for any fan, casual or serious, of the "fantasy" genre. Anyone that has played Dungeons & Dragons will instantly recognize how extremely foundational Elric was to the game. More so even than Lord of the Rings, or the Arthurian legend, Elric stories were the genesis for D&D. Michael Moorcock has labored in relative obscurity, and is self-effacing in his writing, like a true artist, detesting his work for the minute flaws that only he can see. I consider him a member of the pantheon of writing greats such as Tolkien, Herbert, and Alan Moore. I pity those readers who content themselves with the lightweight work of JK Rowling and have never experienced the multiverse of Elric, Stealer of Souls.
Review: Behold, the Elric saga! - More popular and well-known in England than here in the States (though by no means unknown on this side of the pond), Michael Moorcock's Elric saga is a touchstone work of fantasy that's seldom praised simply because it's become too familiar, too comfortable a houseguest in the hearts and minds of its many fans. It's not that it isn't a great work of fantasy fiction, or that it didn't have an earth-shaking effect on the genre--it's simply that those effects have been so long-hence encountered and absorbed that we've sort of forgotten the initial shock and wonder of them. Not only did it introduce the world to its mean, moody, and magnificent eponymous antihero, it's also a well-realized piece of escapist fiction: as finely-tuned and smoothly crafted as its auspicious pulpy predecessors, and overflowing with adventuresome incident, unforgettable characters, malefic mysticism, and wonders galore. I was first introduced to Elric at a time when fantasy, for me, consisted of a very simple trinity: The Hobbit (and by extension, The Lord of the Rings); Conan the Barbarian (who I was more familiar with through his Marvel comics than through his film incarnation, who I was still not allowed to watch); and Dungeons & Dragons. Fantasy was hobbits running from goblins bearing magic rings. Fantasy was a big, strapping hero cutting a bloody swathe through the world because no one--I mean no one--could stop him. Or, fantasy was my older brother and his friends (and sometimes, me, after much whining) sitting around our dining room table eating Cheetos, drinking grape soda, pretending to be on some rad adventure in a mythical land of dragons and wizards--when in fact all we were doing was sitting at a table, staring at a map, occasionally rolling some funny dice to see if we made our saving throws or not. In short, fantasy was safe; fantasy was escapist; and fantasy was, largely, still about good and evil, right and wrong, being small and morally upright like a hobbit, or big, brawny, bloody and lusty like Conan. But, encountering Elric, I discovered something that my precocious-but-still-fairly-sheltered little mind could barely grasp: fantasy didn't need good and evil. More importantly, fantasy could be about some deep, serious, frightening and philosophical stuff--while also being thoroughly entertaining and wildly imaginative. What a concept! Elric was nothing like the other heroes I'd read about or seen in movies. He was skinny, scrawny, pale ; he was physically weak but incredibly smart, and liked to sit and think about things; and even though he was the guy in charge--the prince, the leader!--he didn't seem happy about it. Most of the heroes I'd encountered always started as nobody but became great leaders. Getting to be in charge was, in many ways, the prize they earned by being the heroes of stories (that, and getting the girl). But here was a guy who was already large and in charge, yet didn't seem to care. But chief among Elric's attractions was his constant awareness of how shady everything and everyone around him was. He didn't trust the decadence of his fellow Melnibonéans, or their entire, degenerate culture. He didn't trust the chaos gods he regularly sought help from (though he still sought help from them, because chaos gods are more or less reliable when it comes to slaying your enemies and stuff). And when he finally acquires Stormbringer at the end of Elric of Melniboné--the black, red rune-covered, soul-sucking sword that will ultimately make him a fearsome legend in his own time ("Bound by hell-forged chains and fate-haunted circumstance") --well, he doesn't trust that damned sword, either. For a hero, Elric spent an awful lot of time questioning things, and that made an impression on me as a youngster, even though it would be years before I could intellectually articulate why it made an impression. There was also the worldview offered by Michael Moorcock--a cosmology in which there were no gods of good or evil--indeed, there was almost never even a consideration of good and evil. Rather, in Elric's world (and, I would come to learn, all the worlds of the `Multiverse' which Moorcock's imagination played in), the primary conflict was between Law (capital L) and Chaos (capital C). These forces were neither good nor evil in and of themselves; they were, rather, meant to be in balance. And Elric, as an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, was meant not to always champion one cause or the other, but simply to restore a balance. So what are you waiting for? These new omnibus editions gather all of Moorcock's Elric tales and present them in corrected editions in a new order. They're the perfect way to meet Elric for the first time--or to revisit his world after many years away.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #426,053 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,074 in Fantasy Anthologies #10,154 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books) #10,785 in Epic Fantasy (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 227 Reviews |

## Images

![Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, Vol. 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61SRHwnplCL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Among the All-Time Fantasy Greats
*by P***R on June 1, 2009*

This fantastic book is a collection of novellas concerning Elric and his accursed blade, Stormbringer. What brilliant writing! This was a complete joy, and anyone that enjoyed Lord of the Rings will find this enthralling as well. The story is so original despite the fact that it shares the common structure of sword & sorcery which is "hero goes on a quest to fulfill said objective, encounters obstacles, and prevails." I knew right away I had to read this book when Alan Moore, one of the most gifted comic book writers of all time said the Elric stories were classics. Michael Moorcock writes in a similar way, with dense description and vocabulary, and philosophical questions in parallel with action. Elric is a fascinating, flawed "anti-hero" in the Greek tradition. The gods put him on endless quests, Sisyphus-like, and his sword Stormbringer is one of the most interesting inanimate objects as character in all of fiction. Elric, Stealer of Souls is a collection of novellas presented in serial form. If you have read trade paperback anthologies of comic book series like "Y- the Last Man" or "The Watchmen" this style will be familiar to you. Each novella is a self-encapsulated story of its own, and in totality, they all build to create a greater dramatic arc together. The introduction is by Alan Moore and it is dense and thoughtful. Remarks by the author follow. Michael Moorcock simultaneously gives the reader a primer on the sword & sorcery structure and history while laying out what he intends to accomplish with Elric. After the stories, the author shares with us some of the allegorical meanings behind the Elric saga. Rather than spoiling the story as so often occurs, it adds a dimension. He writes to entertain, but the bigger issues he attempts to discuss below the surface are profound, and do not detract from the story. Like his Multiverse concept, the story of Elric is enjoyable on many levels. When he tells the reader some of his intent, he also teases, by saying he does not intend to spur us to re-read the book, looking for these themes. I wanted to do exactly that. Elric is a must-read for any fan, casual or serious, of the "fantasy" genre. Anyone that has played Dungeons & Dragons will instantly recognize how extremely foundational Elric was to the game. More so even than Lord of the Rings, or the Arthurian legend, Elric stories were the genesis for D&D. Michael Moorcock has labored in relative obscurity, and is self-effacing in his writing, like a true artist, detesting his work for the minute flaws that only he can see. I consider him a member of the pantheon of writing greats such as Tolkien, Herbert, and Alan Moore. I pity those readers who content themselves with the lightweight work of JK Rowling and have never experienced the multiverse of Elric, Stealer of Souls.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Behold, the Elric saga!
*by D***E on July 24, 2013*

More popular and well-known in England than here in the States (though by no means unknown on this side of the pond), Michael Moorcock's Elric saga is a touchstone work of fantasy that's seldom praised simply because it's become too familiar, too comfortable a houseguest in the hearts and minds of its many fans. It's not that it isn't a great work of fantasy fiction, or that it didn't have an earth-shaking effect on the genre--it's simply that those effects have been so long-hence encountered and absorbed that we've sort of forgotten the initial shock and wonder of them. Not only did it introduce the world to its mean, moody, and magnificent eponymous antihero, it's also a well-realized piece of escapist fiction: as finely-tuned and smoothly crafted as its auspicious pulpy predecessors, and overflowing with adventuresome incident, unforgettable characters, malefic mysticism, and wonders galore. I was first introduced to Elric at a time when fantasy, for me, consisted of a very simple trinity: The Hobbit (and by extension, The Lord of the Rings); Conan the Barbarian (who I was more familiar with through his Marvel comics than through his film incarnation, who I was still not allowed to watch); and Dungeons & Dragons. Fantasy was hobbits running from goblins bearing magic rings. Fantasy was a big, strapping hero cutting a bloody swathe through the world because no one--I mean no one--could stop him. Or, fantasy was my older brother and his friends (and sometimes, me, after much whining) sitting around our dining room table eating Cheetos, drinking grape soda, pretending to be on some rad adventure in a mythical land of dragons and wizards--when in fact all we were doing was sitting at a table, staring at a map, occasionally rolling some funny dice to see if we made our saving throws or not. In short, fantasy was safe; fantasy was escapist; and fantasy was, largely, still about good and evil, right and wrong, being small and morally upright like a hobbit, or big, brawny, bloody and lusty like Conan. But, encountering Elric, I discovered something that my precocious-but-still-fairly-sheltered little mind could barely grasp: fantasy didn't need good and evil. More importantly, fantasy could be about some deep, serious, frightening and philosophical stuff--while also being thoroughly entertaining and wildly imaginative. What a concept! Elric was nothing like the other heroes I'd read about or seen in movies. He was skinny, scrawny, pale ; he was physically weak but incredibly smart, and liked to sit and think about things; and even though he was the guy in charge--the prince, the leader!--he didn't seem happy about it. Most of the heroes I'd encountered always started as nobody but became great leaders. Getting to be in charge was, in many ways, the prize they earned by being the heroes of stories (that, and getting the girl). But here was a guy who was already large and in charge, yet didn't seem to care. But chief among Elric's attractions was his constant awareness of how shady everything and everyone around him was. He didn't trust the decadence of his fellow Melnibonéans, or their entire, degenerate culture. He didn't trust the chaos gods he regularly sought help from (though he still sought help from them, because chaos gods are more or less reliable when it comes to slaying your enemies and stuff). And when he finally acquires Stormbringer at the end of Elric of Melniboné--the black, red rune-covered, soul-sucking sword that will ultimately make him a fearsome legend in his own time ("Bound by hell-forged chains and fate-haunted circumstance") --well, he doesn't trust that damned sword, either. For a hero, Elric spent an awful lot of time questioning things, and that made an impression on me as a youngster, even though it would be years before I could intellectually articulate why it made an impression. There was also the worldview offered by Michael Moorcock--a cosmology in which there were no gods of good or evil--indeed, there was almost never even a consideration of good and evil. Rather, in Elric's world (and, I would come to learn, all the worlds of the `Multiverse' which Moorcock's imagination played in), the primary conflict was between Law (capital L) and Chaos (capital C). These forces were neither good nor evil in and of themselves; they were, rather, meant to be in balance. And Elric, as an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, was meant not to always champion one cause or the other, but simply to restore a balance. So what are you waiting for? These new omnibus editions gather all of Moorcock's Elric tales and present them in corrected editions in a new order. They're the perfect way to meet Elric for the first time--or to revisit his world after many years away.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Elric is Amazing, As Always
*by L***S on December 21, 2014*

This book wasn't a novel as I had expected, but more a collection of the early Elric stories, starting back in the 60s when Michael Moorcock first began writing them. Back then, SF/F novels weren't the gargantuan things they are today, so what was being published would be considered novella length now. Regardless, it was a pleasure to revisit the old stories and be re-introduced to both Elric and to Michael Moorcock's universe of the Eternal Champion. Definitely an excellent read, and definitely one that I'll be buying the sequels to.

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