What is the fascination with Elric

[Everydayislikesunday]

:P

Yes, Elric is a goog character, but he is not the be all of Moorcock's creation.
Elric is relatively middle of road when compared with the crerations of Hawkmoon and Count Brass. They are truly weird, strange and twisted one could say. Why?

Well lets take a peak. We have knights riding Flamingos carrying flame throwers. Is that normal to you. So I say bring on the weird and give a cheer for Hawkmoon.

What do you say? Do you agree or not?

Sorry about my spelling.

[DeeCrowSeer]

I would venture that some people will put it down to what Mr M called the "duckling effect". Elric tends to be the character that most readers discover first, and therefore he will be the one that those people most closely associate with the author and his writing. Even if they prefer other characters, Elric will always have a place in readers' hearts because he was the first Eternal Champion they bumped into. Well, that's the way it is for me, anyhow.

Either way I salute your boldness, Sunday!

I can't speak for the man himself, obviously, but I would imagine that as long as people are buying and reading his books, it doesn't matter where their allegiances lie.

D...

[zakt]

Hurray! I'm in the Cornelius corner though. :D

[Starscream]

Re: What is the fascination with Elric

:P

Yes, Elric is a goog character, but he is not the be all of Moorcock's creation.
Elric is relatively middle of road when compared with the crerations of Hawkmoon and Count Brass. They are truly weird, strange and twisted one could say. Why?

Well lets take a peak. We have knights riding Flamingos carrying flame throwers. Is that normal to you. So I say bring on the weird and give a cheer for Hawkmoon.

What do you say? Do you agree or not?

Sorry about my spelling.

Actually I don’t agree. Ive read Hawkmoon and Corum but Elric is the better IMO. Why? Knights riding Flamingos carrying flame-throwers is nothing. Yes its weird in a superficial manner. It has nothing to do with the persona (ie Elric, Dorian, Corum). What significance to the essence, the psyche, the personality of Dorian or Elric does these giant birds and funky weapons have? I think what makes Elric so favored is the inner turmoil he has with himself. He could ride a purple elephant and I don’t care. It wouldn’t matter when looking at whats inside of him. It’s the complexity of Elric on all levels that appeals to a lot of people. Theres nothing superficial about Elric. He is always at odds with himself, his destiny, everything.

I really enjoyed the Dorian series and the Corum series but I do favor Corum over Dorian (even though I really like the Dorian character) when its all said and done. Why? Corum to me is more complex. Elric is more complex then Corum so I prefer Elric to Corum. Erikose is complex and enjoyable to read as well. Ive just started reading the Jerry Cornelius series so the jury is still out on him. Count Brass to be honest does nothing for me. Don’t know why, just not into that character. Though I just got the Chronicles of Count Brass and will read them soon enough but I got them more to read the rest of Dorians adventures then for Brass.

Im really bombing out trying to put into words what Im trying to say here ^_^ so I hope Im making some sense here. But yes, Elric is all that (and a bag of chips in more ways then one) IMO.

[Bob]

Hey, all.

I'm one for Elric, too. His experiences and adventures always seem to be rooted in something far more believable. I guess his strive for a balance within himself is something that we all identify within ourselves to some degree. Also, you have to love his supreme arrogance at times!

Corum is a close second. The naivity of his character in the early part of his chronicles, through to him becoming a hardened warrior, was fascinating. I felt for him on more than one occasion. Don't get me started on the ending. 8O

I enjoyed Dorian Hawkmoon's tale immensly, but as a character he seemed a little simple. It was D'Averc (spell?) that had my main attention during the adventures!

Please don't stone me!

[GreatOldOne]

For what it's worth, Elric was in the first of MM's books I read (Stormbringer, it was) but that lead me onto Hawkmoon and Corum, both of whom I prefer as characters to Elric, who I always found a little too moany. Each to his own, I suppose.

[krunky]

I think that there's something just plain old "classic" about the Elric character. [Here I might make a distinction between the original set of novels, maybe with the inclusion of "Elric at the End of Time," and the subsequent novels.] The original set of Elric novels created a fairly believable world, set a believable character in it, and then explored what might happen to that character given his times, predilections and fallible nature.

To help us along Moorcock uses symbols from world mythology to give the story resonance: the horn of fate, the enchanted sword (which Moorcock assures us is connected to things like Roland's Durandal and very probably Arthur's Excalibur), etc. To further help us along, I think there were obvious parallels between Melnibone and the early Viking culture. So ultimately, Elric's world is strange and filled with uncommon wonders - but much of it resonates with seemingly familiar features.

Borrowing, or unknowingly recreating, ideas from Campbell's "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" and from theoretical physics (of probable interest to a budding sci-fi author) Moorcock sets the whole Elric subset into the much larger framework of the Eternal Champion.

What Moorcock cannot lift/borrow/recreate he creates originally for himself. When you strip away everything else that seems to have some kind of logical antecedent, you are still left with characters, relationships, and stories that are unique to the series.

If Moorcock himself is to be believed, I seem to recall his saying that many of Elric's adventures have a pacing not unlike the sex act - that he purposely used imagery both phallic and womb-like to heighten the drama. I think that was in the Sojan book, but I don't have it to hand to confirm and I may be embellishing slightly. But the nugget of MM's statement is there.

Jumping ahead, or sideways, or whatever - Corum is similarly imbued with both borrowed and original ideas: those surrounding the mythological Nuada Argetlamh. But Moorcock does bring some interesting things to the table even so.

It's not precisely that there is anything truly new or startlingly original with Elric - it's more a matter of style.

I think we like the style of the Elric stories.

[Starscream]

Hey, all.

I'm one for Elric, too. His experiences and adventures always seem to be rooted in something far more believable. I guess his strive for a balance within himself is something that we all identify within ourselves to some degree. Also, you have to love his supreme arrogance at times!

Elric’s arrogance is just so cool LOL

Corum is a close second. The naivity of his character in the early part of his chronicles, through to him becoming a hardened warrior, was fascinating. I felt for him on more than one occasion. Don't get me started on the ending. 8O

Same here. I really felt for Corum throughout the stories and at the end . . . 8O Man don’t get me started on the ending to Corums tales either. I was absolutely stunned when I read the ending.

I enjoyed Dorian Hawkmoon's tale immensly, but as a character he seemed a little simple. It was D'Averc (spell?) that had my main attention during the adventures!

I noticed Dorian seemed ‘simple’ but I actually enjoyed the simplicity about him. D’Averc was my fav character in the whole series too LOL He was great!! Man when he got killed 8O I was like NOOoooooooooooo

Krunky

It's not precisely that there is anything truly new or startlingly original with Elric - it's more a matter of style.

I disagree here. There were plenty of things truly original about Elric. All aspects of Elric were detailed and unique IMO. From his physical features to his morality and ‘alignment’. He was a character youd never expect to see as a hero. He was the first ‘tragic hero’ and the best. Other people have had the same idea of a tragic hero. Someone opposite of the typical die cut *yawn* hero types. There were so many things about Elric that people can relate to. But Mr M. was the first to put it in print as far as I know. Elric is the master template to the ‘tragic hero’ and always will be IMO.

[krunky]

I disagree here. There were plenty of things truly original about Elric. All aspects of Elric were detailed and unique IMO. From his physical features to his morality and ?alignment?. He was a character youd never expect to see as a hero. He was the first ?tragic hero? and the best. Other people have had the same idea of a tragic hero. Someone opposite of the typical die cut *yawn* hero types. There were so many things about Elric that people can relate to. But Mr M. was the first to put it in print as far as I know. Elric is the master template to the ?tragic hero? and always will be IMO.

Well I agree that there are original elements in the Elric series, in my view mostly points of style and characterization.

MM has stated that the appearance of Elric derives at least in part from "Zenith the Albino", see: http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/albino.htm

As to whether Elric is a hero I guess is a point I am somewhat ambivalent about. The ending of Stormbringer is at least part Ragnarok. We end for a lack of players. A very "viking" ending to my mind.

The rest is silence.

[Jerico]

The way I viewed Elric as original can be summed up
this way:
He is the opposite of the traditional hero.
He is not physically strong and verile, an albino.
He wore black, and was prone to self-loathing. He sought
revenge on his enemies, yet you rooted for him.
One of the earliest, well-known anti-heroes.

Perhaps that shows why some, like the original poster, don't like
red-eyes so much.

[Doc]

The way I viewed Elric as original can be summed up
this way:
He is the opposite of the traditional hero.
He is not physically strong and verile, an albino.
He wore black, and was prone to self-loathing. He sought
revenge on his enemies, yet you rooted for him.
One of the earliest, well-known anti-heroes.

I agree with both Jer and Krunky. Elric is a great character--quite the opposite of Conan and other pulp heroes-- even if his stories touch on familar, almost archtypical elements. More importantly, his relationship with Stormbringer is one of the most original and interesting relationships any author could imagine.

I could even see where some may argue that Stormbringer is even more important to the Elric stories than Elric (but I wouldn't agree).

[Starscream]

Jerico:

You were dead on in your comments. I was thinking of that too but went a bit more vague in my comments for some stupid reason.

And on a side note ... if Elric is my fav incarnation of the EC ... Jerry Cornelius is my LEAST fav . . . Oh I liked the character. Jerrys intriguing . . .But for starters, I just CAN'T STAND THE 1960s (the only good thing that came from the 60s IMO was the 1961-69 Thunderbird, 1968-69 Charger R/T, Charger Daytona, Charger 500, and Led Zeppelin) . . . that put a real bad slant to the story for me from the get go. But I kept on anyway, even though nothing was making any sense. I was 4 chapters into it and I dont know why but I still had no clear idea what was going on. Jerrys got a thing for his captive sister, they are going to blow up a house blah blah... I didnt care for Miss Brunner or any of the other characters flat out and finally just put the book down.

I do not mean to offend anyone at all. Im glad others enjoy that series and I wish I could cause Id really like to learn about Cornelius but *shakes head* it just wasnt working for me. :( Sorry :(


*runs and hides*

[zakt]

Starscream - start from the basics: Final Programme as Stealer of Souls for modern times. Then plug yourself into Jimi for a few days. :D JC ultimately takes Elric way beyond the possibilities of S&S (IMHO), and reaches comic resolution, where Stormbringer was tragic. Not to say Elric's not good (Stormbringer's finale will be awesome on film), just Cornelius is more complex, more subtle, more satisfying. (bet I get more howls of outrage than you )

[Erik]

Like most people, the Elric books were my first MM books. And I was introduced to them when I was 13, and felt just as alien and weird and angry and misplaced as Elric seemed to feel. It was the perfect fantasy hero for a confused teen, especially a pretty weird art-obsessed teen growing up in a conservative small town

I enjoyed the Corum books, Hawkmoon, etc., but Elric was always the one I identified with, and thus always remained my favorite.

Plus, let's be honest... the cool factor on Elric - albino, dragon armor, spell-casting, sentient black sword - is right off the chart. :D

-erik

[Starscream]

I started with 'The Final Programme'. Actually I started with the introduction 'The Repossession of Jerry Cornelius' and that was a bad thing. Not far into it Im like WTF? I got to 'Sociology and anthropology . . . ' and Im like 'This is not going to be fun.' I really could care less about the between the lines BS of the city or whatever. . . I dunno, Im not a stupid person but Im not one who really gives a damn about stuff like that. My life has been pretty isolated emotionally and intellectually (not by choice) and my interaction with my fellow humans is detached and touchy at best. I have realized that now I really dont care. And Im not that interested in most ‘hidden messages’ in stories and stuff and blah blah. I read peoples comments about 'Stormbringer represented this and Melnibone represented that' and Im like WHY SHOULD IT MATTER? Ok I rambled . . .

So anyway, I started on Preliminary Data. Jerry and Hira are talking about time or something.

Phase 1 is some group of people waiting for Jerry. Not one of them sparked any interest in me what so ever for some reason.

Chapter two. Jerry goes to his(?) house to try and rescue(?) his sister and has a confrontation with his brother Frank.

Chapter three. We are back with Brunner who we learn was fantasizing about Jerry. . . and now we are switched to some hermaphrodite named Miss Dazzle . . . I make it to where Jerrys in it again. Hes listening to the Beatles. (I do not and never have cared for the Beatles) . . . interesting that Jerry can live off the vitality of others. I couldnt help but think of Stormbringer and how its been said the EC and the sword are one.

Anyway, by chapter 4 I lost the struggle to keep any interest and put it down. And I don’t think any amount of plugging into Jimi’s going to help me in this one. I really really really do NOT like the 1960s (not fond of the 70s either).

I guess I am to stupid to enjoy this book series.