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 Super Reader August 30, 2007
Stormbringer is the end of this Elric cycle. Many times Elric has struggled with his symbiotic relationship with the powerful demonsword Stormbringer. It gives him energy, but has caused him to destroy those close to him, earning him the sobriquets Kinslayer and Womanslayer, at times.
He finally faces the Dukes of Hell, again, and must summon all his creativity, and dig deep into the last of his bag of tricks, not the least of which are the Dragons of Melnibone.
This is the end for this Eternal Champion, as he faces his final destiny, and his place in the multiverse.
 Not nearly as good as they say February 17, 2005
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
I will beg to differ with so many of the glowing reviews of Stormbringer, and indeed the whole of the Elric saga. Before reading them, I had heard how great they were from a variety of people. Given the time of their writing, they obviously fall into the latter stages of the great pulp/sci-fi/fantasy boom that occured from the twenties until the late sixties. I have greatly enjoyed many of Moorcock's contemporaries and forefathers, such as R.E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and, of course, Tolkien. Each writer has his own set of strengths and weaknesses, but they all bring some sparkling thing to their work, some great gift.
After reading a six book saga from Moorcock, as well as a three book Omnibus long since forgotten, I have to wonder if the same is true for this author. I've foud that his charactarization is poor, in the main. His central characters tend to be disconnected brooders, while the rest are really just moveable scenery. No one moves to the level of attaining a connection with the reader. In addition, even at points of wild action and universe-moving portent, the tension in the writing is lacking for me. It's all a fairly dispassionate walk-through, in my eyes. I'm sure people are cursing my name at this moment, but I can only provide my opinion, for good or ill.
In the end, however, the biggest problem with this whole saga is this: Elric is a one-trick horse. He laments the terrible cost that carrying Stormbringer incurs, killing his friends and loved ones, addicting him like a drug to its evil power. He tries to find ways to leave his dependence on the sword behind. Something occurs that causes him to pick up Stormbringer yet again. Elric gets in trouble, and Stormbringer's awful power solves the problem, albiet with some terrible cost to him. It's the same story every time. Even the type of evil that Stormbringer causes is fairly predictable. It plunges itself into someone's flesh and takes their soul, killing one of Elric's friends or comrades. Over the long haul (or even the short one, really), it becomes rather uninspiring.
There are far better fantasy sagas out there. I would hesitate to recommend this one to any but the hard-core reader. Though it's hard to find, Michael Scott Rohan's Winter of the World saga is a thousand times better, and deals with some of the same ideas. Cheers.
Review: Stormbringer (Elric Saga) (Michael Moorcock) July 27, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Plot:
Elric, Crimson-Eyed Albino, Last Emperor of Melnibon?, Kinslayer (and many more unflattering titles), is still closely bound to his sword, Stormbringer. It being a product of Chaos, much like himself, makes it the perfect weapon against his former Masters.
In this book, the last of the Elric Saga, Elric will at long last learn his Fate. More yet, he will have to blow the Horn of Fate, thrice, before the World can be reborn. But of course, the Lords of Chaos aren't just going to let him destroy everything they own, everything they are.
It's an all out Battle against the Dukes of Hell themselves, and Elric is running out of Allies. The Sourcerer-Albino still has a few tricks up his sleeve, and the Horn of Fate is able to help him rouse the Dragons of Melnibon? from their slumber on the Dragon Isle.
But it will take more than the Mighty Melnibonean Dragons to overcome these forces of Chaos.
While his enemies are numerous and the most powerful forces in all of the Multiverse, Elric is aided by The Servants of Fate. And that is help one cannot overlook.
Of course, that's all I can say, I can't spoil the entire book for you, wouldn't be nice.
Characters:
Michael Moorcock's characters are somewhat unique. Elric most of all. He is in some ways a typical anti-hero, though so much more. The characters, and particularly Elric, are very well thought out, and as Moorcock would say "They're everything Tolkien's characters aren't".
Moonglum is in many ways (still) the exact opposite of Elric. Though they are both part of a greater being, and serve a common purpose, they are entirely different.
Dyvim Slorm again is completely different. Whereas Elric lacked certain Melnibon?an traits (among other things due his albinism), he is the perfect example of a True Melnibon?an. What that means, you will have see for yourself.
Still, you will have to read the book to get better acquainted with all the characters. Who knows, you might just like some of them .
Book's Cons:
The only downside to this book is that it is the last one in the Saga. After this there is nothing more for Elric. Once you read the Final Chapter you know that it's time to let go of what is in my opinion the most amazing character in the history of Fantasy! You might just shed a tear, though that's not really a bad thing.
Book's Pros:
The best part of the book is that despite its being Fantasy, very dark and gloomy Fantasy, you can still relate to it. Of course, you can't relate to going up against the Lords of Chaos, but Elric is a very emotional character in some ways, and that is something everyone can relate to.
I'm not going to lie to you, not many people will like this book. Fantasy is already a somewhat 'despised' genre among many, and Moorcock is possibly one of the more despised writers ever, but that alone is a great proof of his awesome talent.
If you like a very exciting book, of which you know the end will be sad; if you like Moorcock's Multiverse, his Champion Eternal, his struggle for the Balance; then you will love this book. If not, then you won't.
The best 'pro' however is this one: Elric can kick some serious ass with that bad ass sword of his! Go Stormbringer!
Other Comments:
To put in the word those silly kids nowadays use "OMFG IT PWNZ!11!!".
Erhm, I mean, yes, the book rocks.
In all seriousness, this is my favourite book in my favourite Saga by my favourite author. Before I read Moorcock's books I thought nothing could get better than The Lord of the Rings, boy, was I wrong.
Full throttle fantasy! March 11, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I'm moved to write this review after finishing "Stormbringer" again for the nth time. Actually, I read Stormbringer again after slogging through one of the Robert Jordan books, and it was like a bucket of cold water over my head. I realized just how bored and uninterested I have become with the Wheel of Time series.Stormbringer and the other books about the brooding albino anti-hero Elric of Melnibone are full of apocalyptic energy, epic plots, and immense creativity. Stormbringer is of course the demonic sword carried by Elric of Melnibone, the last of the Dragon Emperors. Elric is an aspect of the Eternal Champion (a character found in nost of Moorcock's fantasy work) doomed, in this world, to bring its destruction and in the process, restore the balance between Law and Chaos. Stormbringer was written before a lot of the other stories in the Elric saga, so Moorcock really glories in the character he has created. In a series of short stories, Elric discovers his fate and seeks to carry it out. I've had the Stormbringer book for years, and read it from time to time. After finishing it (in about a day) I started on again with another Elric omnibus edition and I'm halfway through it already. Moorcock's prose is fast and deadly and moves like greased lightning. Each scene pushes things further and faster ahead and there is no wandering around, looking at the flowers. I've given up on Jordan and many of his contemporaries. There's just too much navel-gazing going on in current fantasy novels. But Moorcock is one of the best there is and was. If you're stuck in the fantasy doldrums, tired of slogging through 700 pages with no payoff, all it will take is for you to read "Stormbringer" to be whipped away in its gale force winds.
The saga concludes with one of fantasy's great novels March 11, 2004
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Michael Moorcock created the character of Elric, a doomed albino prince of a dying race who carries a cursed sword called Stormbringer in his wanderings throughout the Young Kingdoms of the humans, in the mid-sixties for "Science Fantasy Magazine." Elric starred in a series of novellas, the last four of which were gathered together to create this single novel, "Stormbringer." Although Moorcock has gone on to write many more novels featuring Elric, "Stormbringer is chronologically the last of the series; the albino prince meets his destiny and the world faces its fate in the eternal battle of law and chaos.And the saga ends on its highest note; without a doubt, "Stormbringer" is one of the best of Michael Moorcock novels. Most fans consider this finale the best in the series. Even though it was originally published as four novellas, the parts flow together in one concentrated epic of sorcerery, horror, and war. The storyline has the the Theocrat of Pan Tang, Jagreed Lern, ally himself with the Dukes of Hell to spread Chaos across the Earth, warping it in nightmarish ways. Leading the seemingly hopeless struggle against the conquerors, Elric comes to understand finally the destiny appointed him, and that the fate of the entire world -- and the one that will follow it -- rests on his own, hideous sacrifice. Moorcock's imagination here is feverish and grotesque, the battles sequences are epic and thrilling, and the language is poetic and deeply tragic. Everything that has come before in the saga of Elric (principally in the five earlier novellas that make up "The Werid of the White Wolf" and "The Bane of the Black Sword," as well as the 1972 prequel novel "Elric of Melnibone") crashes together for the cosmic, cathartic conclusion. This stands easily amongst the best fantasy novels ever written, and fine example of dark, philosophic fantasy filled with imagery that you will never forget.
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