Actually theres a Elric video game in development. It would propably be releaced in 2024. Also there was an Elric tv series, but it was cancelled becase they thought that the audience will see it as a Witcher copy (while in reality its the other way around) and because Moorcock saw that it was driven more and more from his books as the series was developing.
You have to remember, when Moorcock wrote these books, Fantasy, as a literary genre, barely existed. Or if it did, it was somewhere below science fiction, and barely above comic books. Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, especially the Elric arcs, defined the genre we now today, all the tropes, all the mythical themes, and the interconnected iterations of The Champion were pretty much the very first literary introduction of the multiverse model that *every* major fantasy franchise, across every format from comic books, animation, MCU, DCEU still use today. A pale, Prince from a fallen empire. An inbred albino Dragonrider. An evil cousin, his hot sister, and an incestuous love triangle? Magic swords, sister-wives, exileS from a fallen Empire, flexing through the Young Kingdoms with their sORorcery and Dragons. Armies of the dead. Spooky Ice Zombies, magical dragon horns, a Purple fleet, strange, Lovecraftian sea demons, scheming Dwarfs, giants, all taking place within the gargantuan struggle between order and chaos. Which, (contrary to popular belief) is not a ladder. Moorcock's influence is phenomenally under-rated, not just as a writer, but in every fantasy themed format. Dungeons and Dragons, computer gaming, music, from Space Rock to Doom Metal owe their WHOLE aesthetic to Moorcock. He's the actual literary behemoth that Alan Moore wanted so very badly to be. Cool review anyway.
It's good to see Michael getting some of the credit he has long deserved. The Elric stories were some of the first fantasy novels I read in my early teens- going back to the late 70s, and some of the best. The ending was haunting and it still amazes me no movies have been done for it. Never forget hearing Blue Oyster Cult's Black Blade on the Cultosaurus Erectus album for the first time and trying to get my head around what I was listening to. Was it Elric? It had to be. It couldn't be. WTF? Was that the demon sword talking? This was before the internet, of course, and so it took a few years before I discovered that not only was it about Elric- but that Moorcock had written the lyrics. (That and another BOC favorite- Veteran of the Psychic Wars). I wasn't aware of the Witcher's similarities to Elric but I had seen the comic in stores. Never opened a page or it would have been obvious. A lawsuit would be a slam dunk if filed in America or Britain- I would assume- but Moorcock has the smartest attitude on the subject. Don't get bogged down in the acrimony and negativity a lawsuit would invariably put you in. That creep "creator" of the Witcher should make himself less of a creep and break off a mil or 2 and hand it to the Witcher's co-author immediately. Moorcock's cool, he's practically in a rock band. All would be forgiven. One last note- Fritz Leiber is a name that also isn't mentioned enough. His Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories came out before Elric, if I'm not mistaken, and were a huge inspiration to D&D, amongst other things. Peace
So many villans and hero's inspired by Moorcock and Elric. One of my favorites The Morgaine Cycle by C J Cherryh and the sword Changeling. George R. R, Martin clearly owes Westros and the Targaryen to Moorcock, almost a direct copy of the Melnibonaens. I would not say Fantasy did not exist though Moorcock was on the cutting edge in the late 60s. It exploded in the 70s. Maybe not mainstream but bookstores were full of fantasy novels. Poul Anderson, Fletcher Pratt, the great pre WWII authors Cabel Branch, Dunsany, Mervyn Peake, E R Eddison, then Leigh Brackett, Anne McCaffery, Tanith Lee, Lin Carter, Roger Zelzany, Piers Anthony, Katherine Kurtz, Andre Norton, L Sprague de Camp - there is an author who needs to come back and another favorite Jack Vance.
The editing in this video was wonderfully done. Every picture and comic panel highlighted the script. You really underscored how inevitably tragic Elric is. Looking forward to the rest of the Moorcock universe. Thanks.
I'm a huge Elric fan, and I'm very excited whenever I see someone covering Moorcock. So far ive finished volume 1 of the Saga Press collection. Ive jumped around and read a few from the Von Bek stories as well. I'm nearly done with the first Corum Trilogy as well.
greatest fictional character ever created imho. i read a bunch of the elric stories as a child, and i was transfixed by both the beauty and despair that seemed to infuse moorcock's work. i was watching this video and i seem to remember thinking that elric turned the ruby throne into a almost like a plinth to hold the body of cymoril, lol its not hard to see that my imagination was rampant and that i was a romantic daydreaming of things like that when i was 10. it honestly breaks my heart that books have become such a niche interest these days, the things that books did for my imagination... it was wonderful and its VERY hard to not be nostalgic about it now that im in my 40's.... those truly... were the days... sigh
damn, wish I had time to read your book right now, I love Sengoku period stories. But between all the Moorcock, Eriksson, and Durfee I'm catching up on, it will be awhile.
I've had the good fortune to edit and publish a brand new Elric story, so I can say from personal experience that Mike is as wonderful a person as you could hope for.
I wish this series was more coherent lol I love deep world yet hate disorganized books/stories and finding the order to read these in has been literal hell
Imagine you go to hell and it's an infinitely long fantasy series you have to read and every book just raises more questions and gets worse and worse, and every page gives you a papercut 😮
Tried very hard , but just didn't get on with the Elric stories ! I have no idea why ? Because I love The Eternal Champion series ! I preferred Corum ! I love The Warhound and the World's Pain , that could be a great movie ! I did try very hard to love Elric , I didn't dislike the stories , I really did prefer Corum , a quite beautiful character in my opinion !
That intro was super badass. Also, Fortress Of The Pearl had my favorite scene of Elrics. *Spoilers* The ending is so powerful and nihilistic. Forcing dude to eat whole what he sent so many to die for. Plus the secret council getting their just deserts. Just for the prize to be thrown away.
and that was elric of melnibone when moorcock finished writing him back in the 70's, but moorcock isn't dead, what's he been doing since? He's literally got one of the most famous fantasy characters ever created and he's just been sitting on him for 40 years?
He released some new elric stories over the decades so it's not like he's doing nothing with the character. As for adaptations/franchises, given modern entertainment, that might be a blessing in disguise.
@@Brainstorm-Lore I don't mean this to come off as rude but why didn't you cover any of his writings post 70's? I don't mean to be rude as you're a fan as well, but we've got one of the most influential fantasy authors and people act like he died 40 years ago. I just had to correct a reviewer the other day and point out that he isn't dead. I'm not even sure what he's written which is why I watched this vid hoping for a comprehensive list. I mean it's this simple, does moorcock have no interset in writing or does he want 100 million pounds to flesh out his world?
@@grazzitdvram MOORCOCK HAS CONTINUED to write a variety of books including books which won prizes, Why not check out his Wiki page to see all the various books he's written and is still writing!
Dunno if it's a poem, but the opening is Michael Moorcock doing an intro for Hawkwind at a live concert. Hawkwind had a heavy fantasy theme to most of its music.
@ true! I think he still takes the cake with his multiple fully formed languages. Nothing wrong with world building, it’s why I watch these videos, just commenting on the irony.
Funny, I thought the Targaryens looked like Melniboneans and the Iron Throne reminded me of the Ruby Throne. Moorcock, like the Simpsons, did it first.
Yes, I would say GRRM ripped of Moorcock but, George doesn't hide or lie about it, he admits he got ideas from Moorcock so u got to respect that. The Targaryens/Velaryons are based off the Melniboneans.
@@slabbyfatback2272Tryon (like Elric) was a sickly child resented by his father both because of his deformity and that his birth caused the death of his mother.
Yeah that's right Michael Moorcock is not just one of the great fantasy writers of all time, he is a freaking rock star.
I watched him kill a man
Elric would make a good animated series and/or video game.
Not in this current industry. Best not give them ideas.
Actually theres a Elric video game in development. It would propably be releaced in 2024. Also there was an Elric tv series, but it was cancelled becase they thought that the audience will see it as a Witcher copy (while in reality its the other way around) and because Moorcock saw that it was driven more and more from his books as the series was developing.
@@Brainstorm-Lore well we had inspired by him Legacy of Kain Soul River
@@TheMarcone1985 I did say 'current industry'.
There a was a movie screen play written quite some time back as well.
that's the best intro i've ever seen in a youtube video. Nothing could introduce Micheal Moorcock works better than this.
You have to remember, when Moorcock wrote these books, Fantasy, as a literary genre, barely existed. Or if it did, it was somewhere below science fiction, and barely above comic books. Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, especially the Elric arcs, defined the genre we now today, all the tropes, all the mythical themes, and the interconnected iterations of The Champion were pretty much the very first literary introduction of the multiverse model that *every* major fantasy franchise, across every format from comic books, animation, MCU, DCEU still use today.
A pale, Prince from a fallen empire. An inbred albino Dragonrider. An evil cousin, his hot sister, and an incestuous love triangle? Magic swords, sister-wives, exileS from a fallen Empire, flexing through the Young Kingdoms with their sORorcery and Dragons. Armies of the dead. Spooky Ice Zombies, magical dragon horns, a Purple fleet, strange, Lovecraftian sea demons, scheming Dwarfs, giants, all taking place within the gargantuan struggle between order and chaos. Which, (contrary to popular belief) is not a ladder.
Moorcock's influence is phenomenally under-rated, not just as a writer, but in every fantasy themed format. Dungeons and Dragons, computer gaming, music, from Space Rock to Doom Metal owe their WHOLE aesthetic to Moorcock. He's the actual literary behemoth that Alan Moore wanted so very badly to be. Cool review anyway.
It's good to see Michael getting some of the credit he has long deserved. The Elric stories were some of the first fantasy novels I read in my early teens- going back to the late 70s, and some of the best. The ending was haunting and it still amazes me no movies have been done for it.
Never forget hearing Blue Oyster Cult's Black Blade on the Cultosaurus Erectus album for the first time and trying to get my head around what I was listening to. Was it Elric? It had to be. It couldn't be. WTF? Was that the demon sword talking? This was before the internet, of course, and so it took a few years before I discovered that not only was it about Elric- but that Moorcock had written the lyrics. (That and another BOC favorite- Veteran of the Psychic Wars).
I wasn't aware of the Witcher's similarities to Elric but I had seen the comic in stores. Never opened a page or it would have been obvious.
A lawsuit would be a slam dunk if filed in America or Britain- I would assume- but Moorcock has the smartest attitude on the subject.
Don't get bogged down in the acrimony and negativity a lawsuit would invariably put you in. That creep "creator" of the Witcher should make himself less of a creep and break off a mil or 2 and hand it to the Witcher's co-author immediately.
Moorcock's cool, he's practically in a rock band. All would be forgiven.
One last note- Fritz Leiber is a name that also isn't mentioned enough. His Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories came out before Elric, if I'm not mistaken, and were a huge inspiration to D&D, amongst other things.
Peace
Ohh, so well said!!! U nailed it!
Co.e moore got it to and the main stream lnow him moore but id ride as a companion of the holdernof the rune staff any day
So many villans and hero's inspired by Moorcock and Elric. One of my favorites The Morgaine Cycle by C J Cherryh and the sword Changeling. George R. R, Martin clearly owes Westros and the Targaryen to Moorcock, almost a direct copy of the Melnibonaens. I would not say Fantasy did not exist though Moorcock was on the cutting edge in the late 60s. It exploded in the 70s. Maybe not mainstream but bookstores were full of fantasy novels. Poul Anderson, Fletcher Pratt, the great pre WWII authors Cabel Branch, Dunsany, Mervyn Peake, E R Eddison, then Leigh Brackett, Anne McCaffery, Tanith Lee, Lin Carter, Roger Zelzany, Piers Anthony, Katherine Kurtz, Andre Norton, L Sprague de Camp - there is an author who needs to come back and another favorite Jack Vance.
The editing in this video was wonderfully done. Every picture and comic panel highlighted the script. You really underscored how inevitably tragic Elric is. Looking forward to the rest of the Moorcock universe. Thanks.
You're welcome.
I'm a huge Elric fan, and I'm very excited whenever I see someone covering Moorcock. So far ive finished volume 1 of the Saga Press collection. Ive jumped around and read a few from the Von Bek stories as well. I'm nearly done with the first Corum Trilogy as well.
Hell yea. Moorcock is one of the pillars of fantasy and talented in many other ways
Just recently find out his works. The guy is great and love his books
That intro fuckin rules
Anne McCaffery told MM how much she loved his dragons when they first met. They remained good friends.
This has the potential to become an amazing anime!
All through the intro I was thinking, “Man, who’s gonna be wrestling this guy?”
If you want some serious music based on elric of melibone check out Cirith Ungol
Thanks… ⚔️🙏🏽⚔️
greatest fictional character ever created imho. i read a bunch of the elric stories as a child, and i was transfixed by both the beauty and despair that seemed to infuse moorcock's work. i was watching this video and i seem to remember thinking that elric turned the ruby throne into a almost like a plinth to hold the body of cymoril, lol its not hard to see that my imagination was rampant and that i was a romantic daydreaming of things like that when i was 10.
it honestly breaks my heart that books have become such a niche interest these days, the things that books did for my imagination... it was wonderful and its VERY hard to not be nostalgic about it now that im in my 40's.... those truly... were the days... sigh
You a smart mug to even understand Moorcock at 10!!! Oooh, to read it with your eyes… awesome dude! Kiss thy parents, ( just because) ⚔️🙏🏽⚔️
One of the best things ever. It's beauty sad people don't know it it's one of the most influential fantasies
Banger of an opening,
Thank you, I'm rather proud of it myself.
Yes how dare her brother try to marry her when she is engaged to her cousin.
This set is currently on a 50% sale everywhere so good time to grab it for $39.99.
Thank you for making this video. I have been trying to get into the Elric saga!
Start with the dreaming city imo l, but the chronological start is also great
So glad I'm discovering Morcock through this channel. Thanks a bunch.
Well I found my next book series ti get into.
Wow!!! This song is actually good unlike most Elric related songs.
damn, wish I had time to read your book right now, I love Sengoku period stories. But between all the Moorcock, Eriksson, and Durfee I'm catching up on, it will be awhile.
Excelent, it was a complete story line please could You do a video of the tales of elric con Beck.
You listed off his friends, and left out Moonglum. How dare you.
I focused on Elric's origins, up to The Dreanming City. He doesn't meet Moonglum until after that.
I've had the good fortune to edit and publish a brand new Elric story, so I can say from personal experience that Mike is as wonderful a person as you could hope for.
Citadel of Forgotten Myths? Or is there a new one on the way already?
nice to know you added the lore of Fortress of the pearl
I think FotP might be the best of all the elric stories.
Holy shit hawkwind rules
I know right?
The original White Wolf!!!🤘🏻
That was fantastic!
The Original White Wolf !!
And still the only true one!!!
Incredible video!
“…. a solidified demon….”
Speaking in fiction of *the black sword.*
I need my nedlegun. Eternal champion.
Nice Hawks intro. I was at that gig.
Whoa! Really?
@@robertwebb5648 I was, yep. Seen Hawkwind dozens of times.
@@robertwebb5648 Also, you have my father's name. Are you my father?
@@nodiggity9472 Nope.
I wish this series was more coherent lol I love deep world yet hate disorganized books/stories and finding the order to read these in has been literal hell
Imagine you go to hell and it's an infinitely long fantasy series you have to read and every book just raises more questions and gets worse and worse, and every page gives you a papercut 😮
Tried very hard , but just didn't get on with the Elric stories !
I have no idea why ?
Because I love The Eternal Champion series !
I preferred Corum !
I love The Warhound and the World's Pain , that could be a great movie !
I did try very hard to love Elric , I didn't dislike the stories , I really did prefer Corum , a quite beautiful character in my opinion !
this why Jighjsnder was a great series as well the influences elric Sword StormBringer
A blade that devours souls? Soul Reaver anyone?😎
That intro was super badass. Also, Fortress Of The Pearl had my favorite scene of Elrics.
*Spoilers*
The ending is so powerful and nihilistic. Forcing dude to eat whole what he sent so many to die for. Plus the secret council getting their just deserts. Just for the prize to be thrown away.
So hard the intro with Song of the Swords of Hawkwind
I thought maybe i clicked on a very long music video after a minute of the intro, it definitely was exciting.
and that was elric of melnibone when moorcock finished writing him back in the 70's, but moorcock isn't dead, what's he been doing since? He's literally got one of the most famous fantasy characters ever created and he's just been sitting on him for 40 years?
He released some new elric stories over the decades so it's not like he's doing nothing with the character. As for adaptations/franchises, given modern entertainment, that might be a blessing in disguise.
@@Brainstorm-Lore I don't mean this to come off as rude but why didn't you cover any of his writings post 70's? I don't mean to be rude as you're a fan as well, but we've got one of the most influential fantasy authors and people act like he died 40 years ago. I just had to correct a reviewer the other day and point out that he isn't dead. I'm not even sure what he's written which is why I watched this vid hoping for a comprehensive list. I mean it's this simple, does moorcock have no interset in writing or does he want 100 million pounds to flesh out his world?
@@grazzitdvram MOORCOCK HAS CONTINUED to write a variety of books including books which won prizes, Why not check out his Wiki page to see all the various books he's written and is still writing!
@@grazzitdvramdon’t be rude
Where does the opening poem come from?
Dunno if it's a poem, but the opening is Michael Moorcock doing an intro for Hawkwind at a live concert. Hawkwind had a heavy fantasy theme to most of its music.
@@Brainstorm-LoreThat’s incredible, thanks for sharing it
@@Brainstorm-Lore He wrote lyrics for Hawkwind, Blue Oyster Cult and the Deep Fix and many others!
What is that faint background music?
Check the description, it's hawkmoon songs
@@elgatochurro Those are the opening songs. I can see that. I meant the faint guitar that you can hear in the background of the rest of the video.
awesome
What is the name of that song at the intro
song of the swords by hawkwind
Brilliant 👏
Hawkmoon Slay slot of Boar Soldiers
There's not a lot of worldbuilding or backstory to the world of Elirc...
Proceeds to spout an insanely complex info dump...
I should have clarified, not a lot of world building compared to Tolkien. :)
@ true! I think he still takes the cake with his multiple fully formed languages.
Nothing wrong with world building, it’s why I watch these videos, just commenting on the irony.
This sounds so much like the valyrian empire
That's on purpose.
The melniboneans look like the targaryens and the ruby throne reminds me of the iron throne.
Moorcock and Martin have been good friends for a long time.
Funny, I thought the Targaryens looked like Melniboneans and the Iron Throne reminded me of the Ruby Throne. Moorcock, like the Simpsons, did it first.
Dave Averc
Sounds pretty confusing...
Jesus….3 minute intro…
That intro was way too long
Huge fan of game if thrones before I'd even heard the name Eric... Everything makes sense now.
Yes, I would say GRRM ripped of Moorcock but, George doesn't hide or lie about it, he admits he got ideas from Moorcock so u got to respect that. The Targaryens/Velaryons are based off the Melniboneans.
@@slabbyfatback2272Tryon (like Elric) was a sickly child resented by his father both because of his deformity and that his birth caused the death of his mother.
@@MarkLeBay Now your seeing it!!! George got most of his ideas from Mike.
@@slabbyfatback2272 … and Yrkoon’s lust for his sister Cymoril
… and maybe a little bit of Lord Elric’s summoning of King Strasha, the drowned god?