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Stormbringer 1965

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  • #1

    Stormbringer 1965

    Hello,

    Can anyone tell me the difference between the 1965 Stormbringer, and the sixth book in the Elric saga, of the same title?



    Thanks.
    Tags: Del Rey, Revisions, sci-fi, Stormbringer, White Wolf
  • #2
    It's the same book essentially, but it gets a little complicated

    The 1965 hardback was edited down slightly from the original magazine stories in Science Fantasy for book publication . That version (used for the US Lancer and UK Mayflower paperback editions) remained in print until the late 70s when DAW reissued the book, and Mike revised the book back to full length from the original stories, although apparently there was at least one sequence inadvertently left out. (n.b. The original Stealer Of Souls book was also split up and combined with other stories to make The Weird Of The White Wolf and The Bane Of The Black Sword volumes at this point).

    I think Mike has since altered the full length version of Stormbringer further to take account of the Elric books written since the late 70s and to help it fit in to the wider EC cycle as a whole.

    David Mosley or John Davey may have further details about changes made, I think there was a thread about this before but I couldn't find it.

    Hope that helps.
    Last edited by Marca; 09-18-2010, 03:21 AM.
    'You know, I can't keep up with you. If I hadn't met you in person, I quite honestly would NOT believe you really existed. I just COULDN'T. You do so MUCH... if half of what goes into your zines is to be believed, you've read more at the age of 17 than I have at the age of 32 - LOTS more'

    Archie Mercer to Mike (Burroughsania letters page, 1957)

    Comment

    • #3
      In short, the '65 SB is abridged and revised - meaning it has lost about a quarter of the original material that appeared in Science Fantasy but has additional linking material (not available elsewhere) to make sense of the remaining content, which is also arranged differently as well to some extent. Whereas the '77 SB presented the four novellas as they 'originally' appeared in Science Fantasy, albeit it with some (further) revisions being made including some text being omitted; a state that remained until the re-issuing of the novellas in the first Del Rey collection, Elric: The Stealer of Souls (not to be confused, btw, with the White Wolf omnibus, Elric: The Stealer of Souls!).

      Most of the '65 changes affect the middle two novellas, 'Black Sword's Brothers' and 'Sad Giant's Shield'. If you want chapter and verse I can do that but it will take a little time to collate.

      Of course, the novel has been further revised in subsequent re-issuings, including both the aforementioned collection/omnibus. As of writing then there are five different versions (at least) of the novel:
      1. Original Science Fantasy novellas (1963-4)
      2. Stormbringer 'fix-up' novel (1965)
      3. Stormbringer 'restored/revised' novel (1977)
      4. Stormbringer/Elric: The Stealer of Souls omnibus (1993 UK/1998 USA)
      5. Elric: The Stealer of Souls collection (2008)

      For my money, the 'definitive' version is the '08, since it includes the 'best' versions of all the previous revisions as well as all the text that had been missing since 1965/1977, but I have a fondness for the '65 version as well. (I'd have loved to have seen that version included in the Del Rey collections - since it features unique material - but it wasn't to be. )

      Last edited by David Mosley; 09-18-2010, 03:43 AM.
      _"For an eternity Allard was alone in an icy limbo where all the colours were bright and sharp and comfortless.
      _For another eternity Allard swam through seas without end, all green and cool and deep, where distorted creatures drifted, sometimes attacking him.
      _And then, at last, he had reached the real world – the world he had created, where he was God and could create or destroy whatever he wished.
      _He was supremely powerful. He told planets to destroy themselves, and they did. He created suns. Beautiful women flocked to be his. Of all men, he was the mightiest. Of all gods, he was the greatest."

      Comment

      • #4
        Originally posted by Marca View Post
        David Mosley or John Davey may have further details about changes made...
        As I was saying...
        'You know, I can't keep up with you. If I hadn't met you in person, I quite honestly would NOT believe you really existed. I just COULDN'T. You do so MUCH... if half of what goes into your zines is to be believed, you've read more at the age of 17 than I have at the age of 32 - LOTS more'

        Archie Mercer to Mike (Burroughsania letters page, 1957)

        Comment

        • #5
          Originally posted by Marca View Post
          Originally posted by Marca View Post
          David Mosley or John Davey may have further details about changes made...
          As I was saying...
          Always happy to oblige.

          Some additional information about specific textual changes is available in this thread, as well as the Wikiverse article on 'Black Sword's Brothers'. I haven't done one yet for 'SGS' but probably should really.
          _"For an eternity Allard was alone in an icy limbo where all the colours were bright and sharp and comfortless.
          _For another eternity Allard swam through seas without end, all green and cool and deep, where distorted creatures drifted, sometimes attacking him.
          _And then, at last, he had reached the real world – the world he had created, where he was God and could create or destroy whatever he wished.
          _He was supremely powerful. He told planets to destroy themselves, and they did. He created suns. Beautiful women flocked to be his. Of all men, he was the mightiest. Of all gods, he was the greatest."

          Comment

          • #6
            ...

            Much obliged - I didn't expect such a detailed and fast response. Excellent!

            Comment

            • #7
              Okay, for those interested in such things, I've compiled a basic breakdown of the differences between the four original Science Fantasy novellas (which formed the basis of the 1977 Stormbringer) and the 1965 Stormbringer 'fix-up' novel. It's a bit complicated, particularly in the middle section, but bear with me.
              Stormbringer (1965)
              Book One: The Coming of Chaos
              Prologue - revised from 'Dead God's Homecoming', one
              One - revised from 'Dead God's Homecoming', one
              Two - revised from 'Dead God's Homecoming', two
              Three - revised from 'Dead God's Homecoming', three
              Four - revised from 'Dead God's Homecoming', four
              Five - revised from 'Dead God's Homecoming', five
              Six - revised, with new material, from 'Dead God's Homecoming', six
              Seven - revised, with new material, from 'Black Sword's Brothers', two (part only)
              Eight - revised from 'Black Sword's Brothers', three
              Nine - revised, with new material, from 'Black Sword's Brothers', four
              Ten - revised from 'Black Sword's Brothers', four
              Eleven - revised from 'Black Sword's Brothers', five
              Twelve - revised, with new material, from 'Black Sword's Brothers', six (part only) & 'Sad Giant's Shield', three (part only)
              Thirteen - revised, with new material, from 'Sad Giant's Shield', four (part only) & one (part only)

              Book Two: Sad Giant's Shield
              One - revised, with new material, from 'Sad Giant's Shield', five (part only) & 'Black Sword's Brothers', six (part only)
              Two - revised, with new material, from 'Sad Giant's Shield', three (part only) & 'Sad Giant's Shield', five (part only)
              Three - revised, with new material, from 'Sad Giant's Shield', six
              Four - revised, with new material, from 'Sad Giant's Shield', seven

              Book Three: Doomed Lord's Passing
              One - 'Doomed Lord's Passing', one
              Two - revised from 'Doomed Lord's Passing', two
              Three - revised from 'Doomed Lord's Passing', three
              Four - revised from 'Doomed Lord's Passing', four
              Five - revised from 'Doomed Lord's Passing', five
              Six - revised from 'Doomed Lord's Passing', six
              As you can see, the part of the novel most affected is from Book One, Chapter Twelve through to Book Two, Chapter Two, which not only mixes up the arrangement of 'Sad Giant's Shield' but includes some (small) parts of the final chapter of 'Black Sword's Brothers' omitted earlier. Mainly this is because there are two sea battles in the original text but only one in the '65 novel, so Mike had some consolidation to do. As far as I can tell, Straasha doesn't appear in the '65 version although he is mentioned.

              For comparison, the chapter layout of Stormbringer (1977) is:
              Book One: Dead God's Homecoming
              One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six

              Book Two: Black Sword's Brothers
              One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six

              Book Three: Sad Giant's Shield
              One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven

              Book Four: Doomed Lord's Passing
              One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six
              which basically mirrors the original novellas but remember Mike also revised the '77 version, in some cases retaining some of the revisions he made to the '65 text.

              As I say, this is only a basic breakdown, but hopefully gives some idea of the differences.
              _"For an eternity Allard was alone in an icy limbo where all the colours were bright and sharp and comfortless.
              _For another eternity Allard swam through seas without end, all green and cool and deep, where distorted creatures drifted, sometimes attacking him.
              _And then, at last, he had reached the real world – the world he had created, where he was God and could create or destroy whatever he wished.
              _He was supremely powerful. He told planets to destroy themselves, and they did. He created suns. Beautiful women flocked to be his. Of all men, he was the mightiest. Of all gods, he was the greatest."

              Comment

              • #8
                nicely put together David, I think I follow

                Comment

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