Introduction to Elric of Melniboné
Here's a Michael Whelan book cover from 1976, which I prefer to the Gollancz collection.
Elric of Melniboné!
Before Anomander Rake and Dragnipur, before the Dragonlords of Valyria fell, before Geralt the White Wolf hunted monsters, there was Elric.
Like Clark Ashton Smith's work, you may not have read Elric directly, but his DNA is all over the fantasy scene. In fact, creator Michael Moorcock had trouble getting an Elric television series made, because all the things that make Elric uniquely Elric are everywhere else. Written as a character for magazine stories in the 1960s, Moorcock made Elric deliberately distinct from Conan, to distance himself from the writings of Robert E. Howard. Elric is an albino, physically weak without his soul-devouring sword, and is often described as brooding and melancholy. Elric was the last Emperor of Imrryr, the dreaming city. The Melnibonéans are an ancient race who live longer than humans. Perhaps you could describe them as a flavour of elves, decadent and cruel, with elongated features and pointed ears. Elric destroyed his own empire by leading a group of pirates and freebooters through its protective maze, committed genocide against his own people, and murdered the woman he wanted to marry.
Most of Elric’s adventures are when he’s acting as mercenary, in many sword & sorcery stories. Compared to Conan though, Elric has baggage. When a potential client asks for his aid in While the Gods Laugh, Elric says, "I am an evil man, and my destiny is hell-doomed...I scream in my sleep at times and am often tormented by incurable self-loathing. Go while you can, lady, and forget Elric for he can only bring grief to your soul."
Elric is bound to the demon Arioch, a Lord of Chaos, for whom he harvests souls. He wields Stormbringer, a malevolent runesword that drains souls and gives Elric strength in exchange. Elric is also an accomplished sorcerer, who can call upon powerful elementals for aid. In his initial magazine appearances, Elric was found to be offensive and infuriating by readers. Moorcock notes in his introduction to Stealer of Souls, "Later writers like Stephen Donaldson, Steven Erikson, and Scott Bakker would be similarly criticised." The initial Elric stories are published in the Stealer of Souls collection, which starts with Elric invading his empire to gain revenge upon his usurping cousin, includes a few stories about Elric acting as a mercenary in the Young Kingdoms, and ending with his death. However, Moorcock frequently revised his own canon by inserting more novels and stories between these initial offerings. Gollancz released a series of "definitive" books, or so I hope they are, as I'm working through them now. In the first, Elric of Melniboné, it covers some of Moorcock's early stories and essays about fantasy (which is interesting in its own right; he's also an accomplished editor and critic). There's a short story with Aubec (another hero), and a script for a graphic novel illustrated by Walter Simonson, about Elric's training as a sorcerer (although Elric spends most of these in dream trances having flashbacks about how the Empire made pacts with its elements.)
The collection's titular story (and best in this collection) is set during Elric's reign as Emperor, where he clashes with his brutish cousin, Yyrkoon. Here, the empire of Melniboné comes alive in its last days. The decadent Melnibonéans spend their days in drugged pleasure, ruling over slaves. Part of their military supremacy comes from their dragons, which sleep until they are roused for service (although they're never available when needed, due to terrible dragon schedule management). At this stage, while Elric is an accomplished sorcerer, he relies on various potions and concoctions to stay active. (His illness reads, nowadays, like a harsh version of chronic fatigue). He's in love with his cousin Cymoril and plans to marry her, although Yyrkoon would prefer to marry his own sister and become Emperor instead. Still, Elric has birthright, which keeps him on the throne, for now.
The crisis hits when raiders from the Young Kingdoms seek to conquer Melniboné. After torturing a spy, battle plans are revealed and the Melnibonéans defend Imrryr through their naval might. Golden battlebarges (which are also a homage to an earlier Moorcock story) crush the invading fleet in their sea maze.
During the fight, Elric is dumped overboard by Yyrkoon (despite Cymoril and Elric's advisers warning him against his cousin's potential treachery). Elric survives by summoning a water elemental and turns to take vengeance upon Yyrkoon. He regains his throne and decides to spare his cousin.
Later, Yyrkoon attempts a coup (again) and kidnaps Cymoril. Elric calls upon the Demon Lord Arioch, hunts Yyrkoon through the Young Kingdoms and other dimensions. After rescuing Cymoril, and claiming Stormbringinger, he pardons Yyrkoon again (a terrible decision), and decides to take a sabbatical from being Emperor. As no one else wants to do the job, Elric installs Yyrkoon as regent and wanders the Young Kingdoms as a mercenary.
Not the wisest of decisions, but this leads into Elric's freebooter phase, where he goes on various sword-and-sorcery-related adventures, until he returns once more to destroy the empire he once ruled. Overall, this is a good introduction to Elric; once the story gets going, it shows off Moorcock's surreal fantasy world, Elric's passion for revenge, and his weariness at being Emperor. The ending is a bit constrained by Moorcock's own continuity, mostly because everything would have been so much better with Yrkoon's death! But then, we wouldn’t have the rest of the stories in the cycle.