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Elric of Melniboné, one of the most iconic characters in fantasy literature. If you're a fairly big fantasy fan, chances are you've heard of Elric. The antihero albino Melnibonéan emo with the soul-sucking blade Stormbringer. This character, and the stories surrounding him, have had a rather large impact on how sword and sorcery and fantasy have been shaped throughout the years. Some inspirations in other novel series are obvious, like the Valyrians in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire or Geralt of Rivia from Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher. It seems of little doubt that Elric and his sword probably indirectly inspired the character of Anomander Rake and his sword Dragnipur, even though Steven Erikson has never read Moorcock. Regardless, there's no question that Elric has had a huge impact on the world and these omnibuses are the most accessible and affordable way to get into this series. The second omnibus will be released this month and the third sometime later down the road.
The omnibus is split into four novels and I'll review each one separately with no spoilers.
"Elric of Melnibone" 4/5 Stars
Now I first read the initial novel to this series, titled "Elric of Melniboné," a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. I found the themes and progression of the story far too predictable, however, and very cliche. It goes about how you'd imagine any revenge and betrayal story to go. However, I will admit there are a few parts I did find myself surprised at simply because I had the foreknowledge that Elric was an antihero. But it's important to know these beginning novels are the prequels to what Elric becomes known as. Aside from typical archetypes, the story is well written and is fun and fantastical. There is clear Lovecraft influence in the latter half of the story and the Lords of Chaos oft remind me of the Daedric Princes from the Elder Scrolls.
"The Fortress of the Pearl" 3.5/5 Stars
The second novel is largely carried by its beginning and its conclusion. In all honesty, I come close to recommending a reader to even skip this novel. Not that it's necessarily bad (though it is often boring), but because it just doesn't feel like an Elric story. In fact, with it being (assumedly) your second Elric novel, it is a horrible follow-up to the first novel. You'll understand why if you read it. The only reason I may not recommend skipping it is that there is a character (as well as an event) that does seem to be important to the latter part of the series. I don't know how much later, but it may be worth a read if only for this character.
But on the bright side of this being the second novel, it does seem it'll be the worst in the series. So if you do enjoy it, you can take comfort in the fact that it can probably only get better from here.
"The Sailor on the Seas of Fate" 5/5
I enjoyed this novel the most and it seems more of a story arc-based novel rather than one overarching story like the first two novels. It's split into three parts, all of which follow a different sort of story, though they are connected. There is a section in the first part that I found . . . well, just odd. I didn't get the point of it and it was slightly hard to follow and I can only just call it weird. Which, to be fair, is one of the genres of this novel series. So I guess it gets a pass, right? Besides that, this story was told very well. There are some great twists, action, and amazing descriptions. This serves as an excellent world-building book for Elric as well and dives a bit deeper into the Multiverse.
"The Weird of the White Wolf" 4/5
This novel, similarly to the previous one, is also cut into three arcs. It is also the first of the novels to feature a prologue, which was thrilling and suspenseful. I must admit, the first part of this novel is a bit anti-climatic. It is an important event and I feel it is rushed a bit too quickly. In fact, I expected this event to be the entire novel and felt that's what should have been done. Aside from the rush of the first part, I felt the story was well done. There were a few questionable moments here and there on certain characters' motives, but other than that this serves as probably the second-best Elric novel so far.
Overall this omnibus receives about a 9/10 from me. I rounded up to 5/5 since I prefer to go up than down. This is only the beginning and I'm excited for the second omnibus which begins with the first published novel "Stormbringer." I highly recommend this novel series if you are someone who loves dark fantasy. For someone who many desire to get into this genre because of a love for Berserk or Dark Souls, I definitely suggest this as your first dark fantasy series to check out. Black Company and Malazan are also great picks.
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