FREE ELRIC: THE FORTRESS OF THE PEARL PDF Michael Moorcock | 288 pages | 28 Jan 2015 | Orion Publishing Co | 9780575113435 | English | London, United Kingdom The Fortress of the Pearl: An Elric tale | For my review of the first book of the series, Elric of Melnibonesee this post. However, even a comparatively underwhelming Elric book has Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl going for it than your usual high fantasy offering. More about him when we get there. Asking the reader to grow used to one world and one set of circumstances for the protagonist only to turn that on its head by dragging him out of that world entirely is probably a little demanding — and thus risky — in the second book. The reason I chose these particular comments is because they affirm a lot of my own thoughts that I contemplated after I re-read the book. Thematically there is an Eternal Champion Construct story, a medieval romance story, and a Black-Sword-Does-What-It-Wants story, and all jar against each other in a distinct lack of continuity. Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl the re-read, I remembered Sailing to the Future perfectly, most likely because the story is repeated later in Corum and Hawkmoon novels. I had forgotten Sailing to the Present completely, with no recollection of that story whatsoever. The tale I was most looking forward to was Sailing to the Pastas I remembered the ending to be important, but did not recall the events leading up to that ending. As Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl seeks answers to his past, he chooses a path that Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl come back to haunt him in his future. This is where Sailing to the Past becomes essential in establishing events in subsequent books. By the third story, Elric recalls nothing of the happenings within the first story…the events of that first story become fleeting shadows that seem more like a dream. Free will versus fate, opposing forces within the universe at war, and an increasingly sentient sword are explored. In a strong bit of irony, Elric has been fighting the concept of fate and believes that he has free will, but by making an honorable choice through free will, he will unleash a disastrous chain of events and solidify a dark fate. Take this introductory passage, for instance:. A thin rain fell. And the clouds were never still. From dusky jet to deadly white they swirled slowly, like the cloaks of men and Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl engaged in a trancelike and formalistic minuet: the man standing on the shingle of the grim beach was reminded of giants dancing to the music of the faraway storm and felt as one must feel who walks unwittingly into a hall where gods are at play. He turned his gaze from the clouds to the ocean. The sea seemed weary. Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl waves heaved themselves together with difficulty and collapsed as if in relief, gasping as they struck the sharp rocks. Elric himself is a polite yet complex fellow, with a mixture of flowery speech, irony, skeptiscism, wit, wisdom, and world-weariness, with an honor and empathy not found in his people of Melnibone. Yet beneath it all, the cruel nature of his people lurks, and at times he loses himself to that nature. Also, Stormbringer is ever a constant, evil influence on his actions and Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl. Such sorcery is more of a deus ex machina, however, for Elric is able to call on old debts in certain times of need, yet in other Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl he is unable to do so, and it seems to be largely a function of satisfying the plot. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is not the most satisfying Elric book to read, but it is important in setting into motion the events that will make the albino sorcerer with the black sword one of the most distinctive, influential, and legendary characters ever created in fantasy fiction. Format: Hard Cover, First Edition, The plot revolves around a threat to the Skrayling Tree, an ancient oak whose branches represent the Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl. The setting is ancient America, particularly the Rocky Mountains, and involves time-traveling, as well as many Native American aspects, of which the Tree of Creation Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl one. But the attempt to shoehorn Elric into a Native American setting is ludicrous. This immediately on the heels of Elric battling Nazis feels like Moorcock has jumped the shark. Of all the millions of worlds in the multiverse, Elric visits Earth multiple times? Compounding the problem is a distinct lack of action. In addition I found the story fairly predictable — Moorcock does little to disguise that Gunner the Doomed Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl really Gaynor the Damned…I mean, you can tell by the name for crying out loud…. Classic Review is a feature where I pull a book that is over 20 years old from my collection and re-read it, then review it…. My library had the fourth and fifth books in the series: The Vanishing Tower, with a giant bug on the cover, and Bane of the Black Sword, with a cool-looking, giant lich on the cover. It was those great Michael Whelan covers that sucked me in. Both books functioned well as stand-alone stories, and both immediately captured my imagination. This was a time when I was standing in line to see The Empire Strikes Back, discovering Dungeons and Dragons, and playing my Intellivision game console. It was literally a time when the world felt open and unscripted to me, as if anything were possible, and my mind openly embraced the Elric novels. Not long after I read books four and five, I was able to track down the rest of the books and start from the beginning — and what a beginning it is. Elric is the ruler of a nation called Melnibone, the Dragon Isle, in a place where we are not really sure of but is later revealed to be one of many planes of existence in the Multiverse with Earth being one such plane. Elric himself is an albino, with pale white skin, red eyes, and less-than-average strength that requires drugs to sustain him and give him energy. Where emporers in the past would have executed such musings from a traitor, Elric dismisses such talk as insignificant. This is our first glimpse into what makes Elric different from his countrymen — that he is lenient and capable of forgiveness and mercy. When the book states that Elric plans to make Cymoril his emporess, you can understand where my inbreeding comment comes from. This early part of the book almost seems to be written in second person. It is somewhat strange to read a story written this way when you are used to first-person or third-person accounts. However, by chapter two the book reverts to a standard third-person format. The plot revolves around pirate raiders seeking to plunder Melnibone and steal its treasures. At the same time, Yyrkoon plots against Elric because he desires the throne. It is here that Elric has his first encounter with Stormbringer, the famous soul-sucking sword, and he also meets Rackhir the Red Archer for the first time Rackhir will appear in later books. We also start to get a feel for the vastness of the Multiverse and the creatures and powerful beings that inhabit it. The Eternal Champion is one of those mirror-type elements: a hero saving the world, in various aspects, across those multiple worlds. Elric is a manifestation of the Eternal Champion concept, though that fact is not fully revealed until the next book in the series. Most of the imagery required for the story the reader needs to imagine, as Moorcock provides enough to get the job done, but could have provided more. Also, the motivations of supporting characters could have been explained in more detail. What you will find is a fast-paced, action-laden adventure full of sword fights and sorcerous duels. Howard with creation of Conan, and who in turn derived it from Greek mythology and Tales of the Arabian Nights. The genre name was coined by Fritz Leiber in an exchange with Moorcock, who wanted a name to define the style. Elric was the first character I read about with serious flaws: the weak strength, the subsistence on drugs, and a naivete that would come back to haunt him. Personally, I feel that there is room for all these types of genres to co-exist, and I think reading only one type is self-limiting. Elric of Melnibone is highly recommended for fans of Sword and Sorcery, and also anyone looking for a brief respite from huge novels. I also encourage people to read this to see where the origins of current fantasy found its inspiration from. Elric was something wonderfully different. Lord of the Rings was a carefully crafted tale full of structured language, culture, and a single, laser- focused plot. Elric, Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl the other hand, was wildly imaginative, adventuring where Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl took him, the plot shifting like the stuff of Chaos to which Elric was beholden. All too soon I had run through the entire Eternal Champion Cycle and was left with fading memories. Time was unkind to the relationship between Elric and I from Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl point; for Elric, he would appear in stories with new titles, but they were the same old stories; for myself, my interests turned to stories of Glen Cook, Robin Hobb, Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind.