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j. d. worthington · 3rd June 2006, 06:21 AM

Correct, and thanks for clearing that up. One doesn't have to have read any of the Von Bek books to follow the story as, while these also are interrelated to some degree, they deal with different members of the family through generations, rather than a single individual's life. As I've said before, nearly everything Moorcock as written has, at this point, been subsumed into the Champion cycle at least thematically, and if you read all his work, you'll find some surprising connections; this even includes his non-fiction writings (much as was the case with James Branch Cabell, interestingly enough).

And, for anyone who's interested in such trivia and doesn't already know it, the first two books of Elric were originally The Stealer of Souls (1963) and Stormbringer! (1965); then came The Singing Citadel (story collection; 1970), The Sleeping Sorceress (1971), and Elric of Melnibone (1972). He'd pretty much decided to leave it at that, but then Lin Carter asked him for a novella for the Flashing Swords set, when he wrote "The Jade Man's Eyes" (later considerably revised as the final part of Sailor on the Seas of Fate), which was published separately in GB as a small paperback. This got him back to writing about Elric again, and that's when he put out the revised 6-volume set in the mid- to late-1970s, which have been frequently reprinted. In the 1980s he wrote The Fortress of the Pearl and The Revenge of the Rose (as well as The Dragon in the Sword, the "final" story of the Eternal Champion, as it was called, about yet another incarnation holding Erekose's/John Daker's memories)... and then in the mid- to late-1980s he began putting together a revised, uniform set of his fantasies in omnibus editions (which differed seriously between British and American editions), and then wrote The Dreamthief's Daughter, and .... Is it any wonder this is confusing?

So, no, I don't rule out Moorcock writing another story of the White Wolf -- Elric's been part of his career since "The Dreaming City" was published in Science Fantasy back in June 1961; "The Eternal Champion" (short story) dates back even farther, though published later. These were by no means written in order; but then, with Moorcock's philosophical concepts underlying his work, this actually works to their advantage, I think. (But, then, I'm rather fond of his short story "Flux", not to mention "The Deep Fix", so I may be in the minority here.)

Now that I've given you this mass of useless information .... anyone else here need an aspirin?

3rd June 2006, 06:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
j. d. worthington Moderator Join Date: May 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,725	Re: Elric Reading Order Correct, and thanks for clearing that up. One doesn't have to have read any of the Von Bek books to follow the story as, while these also are interrelated to some degree, they deal with different members of the family through generations, rather than a single individual's life. As I've said before, nearly everything Moorcock as written has, at this point, been subsumed into the Champion cycle at least thematically, and if you read all his work, you'll find some surprising connections; this even includes his non-fiction writings (much as was the case with James Branch Cabell, interestingly enough). And, for anyone who's interested in such trivia and doesn't already know it, the first two books of Elric were originally The Stealer of Souls (1963) and Stormbringer! (1965); then came The Singing Citadel (story collection; 1970), The Sleeping Sorceress (1971), and Elric of Melnibone (1972). He'd pretty much decided to leave it at that, but then Lin Carter asked him for a novella for the Flashing Swords set, when he wrote "The Jade Man's Eyes" (later considerably revised as the final part of Sailor on the Seas of Fate), which was published separately in GB as a small paperback. This got him back to writing about Elric again, and that's when he put out the revised 6-volume set in the mid- to late-1970s, which have been frequently reprinted. In the 1980s he wrote The Fortress of the Pearl and The Revenge of the Rose (as well as The Dragon in the Sword, the "final" story of the Eternal Champion, as it was called, about yet another incarnation holding Erekose's/John Daker's memories)... and then in the mid- to late-1980s he began putting together a revised, uniform set of his fantasies in omnibus editions (which differed seriously between British and American editions), and then wrote The Dreamthief's Daughter, and .... Is it any wonder this is confusing? So, no, I don't rule out Moorcock writing another story of the White Wolf -- Elric's been part of his career since "The Dreaming City" was published in Science Fantasy back in June 1961; "The Eternal Champion" (short story) dates back even farther, though published later. These were by no means written in order; but then, with Moorcock's philosophical concepts underlying his work, this actually works to their advantage, I think. (But, then, I'm rather fond of his short story "Flux", not to mention "The Deep Fix", so I may be in the minority here.) Now that I've given you this mass of useless information .... anyone else here need an aspirin?