Michael Moorcock

Now sword and man are one, and Elric and his blade Stormbringer must go forth through havoc and horror to carve out their destiny.

The Weird of the White Wolf

The Weird White Wolf

Fraser Simons

It’s almost maddening how these books could have been amazing. As it is I think 4 stars is pretty generous if you were to be critical of the text. A lot of it is just the fast pacing getting to the very imaginative and interesting moments. 

The writing can’t be said to be that great, though the authorial voice is good. The plotting resolved the overarching bits about law and chaos but other things were pushed aside, making those parts feel contrived. 

For instance, *spoiler filled rant* when he leaves to go to the his castle without any explanation right after he told his companions that the plan was to literally go there and slay everyone save the people he goes and visits RIGHT THEN. Cymoril is, again, sleeping based on sorcery and he is discovered and has to fuck off. Then he goes back and they attack anyways but she’s awake and it’s a trap and tanglebones is killed despite the fact that we know he is the best swordsman; in fact he trained Elric himself. Then she’s awake long enough to say she’ll die too and then she does. Everything is just so in service to that moment in the book that you question things you otherwise wouldn’t. Like... just don’t fucking go there to alert the bad guy first for literally no reason, right? It’s never explained at all why he does it. And that kind of shit happens a few times per book.
*end spoiler rant*

Anyways, it’s essentially just a lot of cool shit that makes this stuff work and it’s enjoyable for that reason when you accept it for what it is. It just could have been really incredible, is all.

Sarah Escorsa

Actual rating: 2.512457856 stars. Because I'm in a good mood today.

Were I NOT following the Tor reading order for this series (internal series chronology), I might have enjoyed this installment more. But I am, so I didn’t. 

Had I NOT read my Barbarian Paramour’s mightily titillating adventures before the Grumpy Albino’s, I might have enjoyed this installment a lot bloody shrimping more. But I did, so I didn’t. 

Because:

① Incongruities and Inconsistencies R Us.
The stories in this collection were the first Moorcock wrote in this series, even though they take place 
  after
 the events depicted in books 1-3 of the saga. And oh my squid, does it show. It feels like Elric got a personality transplant (more or that later) and his actions here (especially in The Dreaming City) make no bloody fishing sense. (view spoiler)[
  Really real, spoilerish spoiler coming right up. Thou hast been warned and stuff.
  (view spoiler)[ Off to destroy Melniboné with a whole bunch of glorified pirates? How? What? Why? Huh? Where the shrimp did that come from? How many installments did I miss, exactly? (hide spoiler)]
 (hide spoiler)] Most discombobulating this complete lack of coherence is.



Yes, this is me being slightly discombobulated. Sorry for the overabundant pilosity, by the way, but quarantine's a bitch when it comes to hair removal.

And while I understand that this being Moorcock’s initial foray in Elric’s world could explain some discrepancies, it doesn’t explain why he never bothered reconciling the rest of the saga against these earlier stories. I mean, narrative continuity, it’s a thing and stuff. 

② Conan Wannabe, Begone!
Two of the stories in this collection are complete Conan rip-offs and feature all the elements of a classic Barbarian Mine tale (same plot structure and cast breakdown, use of similar—if not identical—words and/or phrasing). This wouldn’t be a problem if the writing wasn’t so not good and lacklustre and stuff. But it is. Moorcock is no Robert E. Howard (far from it). Also, my Cimmerian Cutie Pie isn’t around, which is quite unacceptable. Also also, as much as I like Stormbringer, the sentient sword is a complete joke compared to Conan’s weapon of choice, the most lethal beef-bone. So blah and stuff. 

③ Poor Execution Inc. 
Such lazy writing, much meh. There’s so much potential in this series. The premise, the characters…So much room for development here! But did Moorcock bother to give some substance to his story, dig a little deeper into his characters and/or try to make them more complex? (view spoiler)[
  
 (hide spoiler)] Don’t be silly now, that would have been way too much work! Why exploit your arc and characters to their full potential when you can write repetitive, uninspired plots and turn your cast members into underdeveloped, sketchy as fish plot devices? 👋 waves at Yyrkoon the comic book villain and Sweet Cymoril the ever-sleeping damsel in distress 👋 And talking about poorly written cast members, believe me when I tell you that you don’t want to get me started on the way female characters are portrayed here. Oh no, you don’t.



Precisely.

④ Elric of the Previous Installments, Where Art Thou? 
In books #1-3, Elric has all the markings of a beautifully fished-up, harem-worthy character in the making. He is the moody as fish albino with the grumpy sword (aka YUM). In this book, however, his flat-as-a-Dover-sole character is naught but an arrogant, selfish ass with no agency whatsoever. Does our almighty hero actually save the day even once? (view spoiler)[
  
 (hide spoiler)] Oh, please he’s got better, more important things to do with his life! “So what does he do when faced with an evil foe,” you ask? Why he calls Ghostbusters Arioch (his personal, on-demand deus ex machina), of course. Well either that or he lets Stormbringer do all the work for him. And is Elric ever conflicted about this constant, complete lack of control? Nope. Does it ever seem to bother him or present some sort of internal struggle that his sword is a bloodthirsty homicidal maniac, and makes him skewer every shrimp that gets in his way? Nope nope and nope. The guy is just there. Totally unresponsive. And about as emotional as a rock. Yay. (view spoiler)[
  

  

  
 (hide spoiler)]

➽ Nefarious Last Words #1 (NLW™): The more I think about this book, the more I realize the best thing about it is probably its 1977 cover.



I rest in my case and stuff.

👋 To be continued and stuff.

• Book 1: Elric of Melniboné ★★★★★
• Book 2: The Fortress of the Pearl ★★★★★
• Book 3: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate ★★★★★
• Book 4: The Weird of the White Wolf ★★★
• Book 5: The Vanishing Tower (aka “The Sleeping Sorceress”) - to be read.
• Book 6: The Revenge of the Black Rose - to be read.
• Book 7: The Bane of the Black Sword - to be read.
• Book 8: Stormbringer - to be read.
• Book 9: Elric at the End of Time - to be read.
• Book 10: Daughter of Dreams - to be read.
• Book 11: Destiny’s Brother - to be read.
• Book 12: Son of the Wolf - to be read.

(Following the Tor reading order)



[Pre-review nonsense]

FYI, this was NOT me while I was reading this book:



This, however, might very well have been me:



Full review to come and stuff.

P.S. Mr Moorcock, the crustaceans are NOT amused.

The Weird of the White Wolf

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