Some possible inconsistencies.....

[Anonymous]

After reading a Herculean amount of Moorcock,not only was my brain frazzled but I also noticed a few strange anomalies or interesting points for those who love such pedantic detail.

'He (Elric) reached into his belt pouch and took from it a sliver of smoked bacon'
The Sailor On The Seas Of Fate.

'Since pork was not eaten by any Melnibonean of the higher castes..'
The Dreamthief's Daughter.

So either Elric is a taboo breaker or Ap-Yss-Alara, Queen of swine don't see eye to snout!

...and also


'Moonglum found a pot and heated water in it so that they (he and Elric) might shave'
The Sleeping Sorceress.

'Needing neither to shave nor,in the conventional sense, pass feces, few Melniboneans were familiar with beards or urinals.'
The Skrayling Tree.

All I can say is "No shit Mister Moorcock?"


The question is ...are these mistakes or deliberately inserted to mess with the minds of such nitpicking souls as me? :lol:


Sayonara for now folks!


Tirapheg :D :D :D

[Mikey_C]

And one would wonder how they pass faeces in an unconventional sense (or, indeed, what role a urinal would play in the process), but its probably best not to go there... :lol:

[DiGiMac]

Re: Some possible inconsistencies.....

'Needing neither to shave nor,in the conventional sense, pass feces, few Melniboneans were familiar with beards or urinals.'
The Skrayling Tree.

And one would wonder how they pass faeces in an unconventional sense (or, indeed, what role a urinal would play in the process), but its probably best not to go there...

I'm reading The Skrayling Tree right now and got to that part over breakfast this morning. I asked myself the same two questions as Mikey_C and then decided that thinking about it any more with a bowl of Weetabix on the table in front of me was definitely a bad idea...

[Marca]

Possibly they are mistakes that mess with the minds of nitpicking souls :P

Maintaining absolute consistency in a series that has been going for over forty years would be a Herculean task in itself. I'm the kind of person who tends not to notice these things, but if he does lets them pass

Good question about the urinal though...

[PsychicWarVeteran]

You know, even having read as much Elric as I have, I never noticed the pork inconsistency nor the shaving one. And had I noticed them, I suspect I'd have the same attitude as Aral Vilsn and just let it go...

I would be happy to never have to pass feces again.

I'd be happy to never have to shave or eat again. The money I'd save!

[mordenkainen]

Actually, if you consider the volume of MM's works, the time span and the speed at which some of it was written, it's quite a feat that there only be two of these inconsistencies, and, by their anecdotical nature, only noticeable to extremely nitpicking minds!
I wish I had Mike's brains instead of the bowl of jell-O I use to make decisions (such as "is it time to eat or time to sleep?" and "bagel, donut or bagel and donut?")

[HawkLord]

Yeh such inconsistencies don't really matter, although they can be fun to spot.

[Michael Moorcock]

As a great admirer of pigs AND bacon I determined some years ago that bacon is a vegetable.
Damn! I thought I might have made a shaving mistake back there. I ought to read those books sometime. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll
try to remember when I do the next edition!
I haven't shaved in years because metal next to my skin creates serious allergies, so I suppose I was identifying too much with the albino.

[PsychicWarVeteran]

Thanks for pointing it out. I'll
try to remember when I do the next edition!

Hmmm, that's interesting.

Mike, you actually make text changes like that to newer editions? So that a re-release of The Sleeping Sorceress might only mention that Moonglum shaved and not Elric?

[Michael Moorcock]

Well, if I remember! Don't think Tolkien had a chance to remove the reference to 'express trains' did he ?
And Peake didn't get the chance to make the colour of Titus's eyes consistent, as I recall.

[DeeCrowSeer]

I've never read the Sherlock Holmes books myself, but I remember reading that they are chock full of inconsistencies... also some less-than-painstaking research. It certainly hasn't hurt the great detective's reputation over the years!

http://www.sherlockian.net/world/cruxes.html

[L'Etranger]

I think Cymoril or Oona shaving would be a much more serious affair, wouldn't it?

[PsychicWarVeteran]

Well, if I remember! Don't think Tolkien had a chance to remove the reference to 'express trains' did he ?
And Peake didn't get the chance to make the colour of Titus's eyes consistent, as I recall.

Precisely why I thought it so interesting. If it were me, I doubt I'd even bother unless the inconsistency actually made the story fall apart. Whether or not Elric shaved or ate pork doesn't really affect the stories, so I would be pretty durned impressed if those things ever got changed.

[Anonymous]

Discerning Minds

Actually, if you consider the volume of MM's works, the time span and the speed at which some of it was written, it's quite a feat that there only be two of these inconsistencies, and, by their anecdotical nature, only noticeable to extremely nitpicking minds!
I wish I had Mike's brains instead of the bowl of jell-O I use to make decisions (such as "is it time to eat or time to sleep?" and "bagel, donut or bagel and donut?")

Hey isn't it quite a feat to read so much of any author and notice such minor inconsistencies? Don't I deserve a "No Prize" for such a feat of mental linearity?

What I really want to know is ...why the Sexton/Seaton Begg thing goin' on? What,praytell, is the difference? All in the name of fun y'know!

:D :D :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tirapheg.

[Marca]

Re: Discerning Minds

Hey isn't it quite a feat to read so much of any author and notice such minor inconsistencies? Don't I deserve a "No Prize" for such a feat of mental linearity?

Actually, I'm inclined to agree with you there. And if, as Mike said, he might revise future editions to remove them then you've done a great service in maintaining consistency in the Multiverse :)