Elric Swords and Roses - Michael Moorcock [1]
“The World of Elric” map by John Collier and Walter Romanski, © 1976, first published in Elric of Melniboné. “Elric in the Young Kingdoms” map by John Collier, © 2009. These corrected versions, previously unpublished, reprinted by permission of John Collier.
Interior artwork and “L’Ère des Jeunes Royaumes” map, both by Philippe Druillet, from Elric le Necromancien, Éditions Opta, © 1969. Reprinted by permission of Philippe Druillet.
The Revenge of the Rose, Ace Books, cover artwork © 1991 by Robert J. Gould. Reprinted by permission of Ace Books.
Various Elric artworks by James Cawthorn reprinted by permission of Maureen Bell on behalf of James Cawthorn.
“Dream of a Doomed Lord” © 1978 by James Cawthorn, first published in Something Else No. 1, edited by Charles Partington, Spring 1980. Reprinted by permission of Charles Partington.
Cover artwork for Crucified Toad No. 4, edited by David Britton, Winter 1974, and a page from Stormbringer, graphic adaptation, Savoy Books, © 1976, both by James Cawthorn. Reprinted by permission of David Britton, Savoy Books.
ALSO BY MICHAEL MOORCOCK
Behold the Man
Breakfast in the Ruins
Gloriana
The Metatemporal Detective
CHRONICLES OF THE LAST EMPEROR OF MELNIBONÉ
Elric: The Stealer of Souls
Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn
Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress
Duke Elric
Elric: In the Dream Realms
THE CORNELIUS QUARTET
The Final Program
A Cure for Cancer
The English Assassin
The Condition of Muzak
BETWEEN THE WARS: THE PYAT QUARTET
Byzantium Endures
The Laughter of Carthage
Jerusalem Commands
The Vengeance of Rome
And many more
In Memoriam
Jim Cawthorn
December 21, 1929–December 2, 2008
CONTENTS
Cover
Praise for Michael Moorcock and the Elric Series
Title Page
Copyright
Other Books by This Author
Dedication
Foreword by Tad Williams
Introduction
THE REVENGE OF THE ROSE
Book One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Book Two
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Book Three
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
STORMBRINGER: FIRST DRAFT SCREENPLAY
BLACK PETALS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Epilogue
ASPECTS OF FANTASY (PART 4)
INTRODUCTION TO THE SKRAYLING TREE
INTRODUCTION TO THE FRENCH EDITION OF ELRIC
ELRIC: A NEW READER’S GUIDE
ORIGINS
Early artwork associated with Elric’s first appearances in magazines and books
About the Author
About the Illustrator
FOREWORD
by Tad Williams
Michael Moorcock is my religion.
I’ll explain that, I promise. It may take me a few minutes …
First off, if you’re standing in a store reading this and you don’t know Moorcock’s work, just buy the book. There. You’ve done yourself a favor.
If you’re one of my readers (I feel presumptuous even mentioning it) and you haven’t read any Moorcock, you must. He is one of the field’s few living legends and has had a gigantic influence on me (and on most other writers of speculative fiction my age).
If you’re new to his work and want to know more about Moorcock’s background, go get the first volume of this series, The Stealer of Souls, and read Alan Moore’s foreword. In fact, get the whole series. That’s not what this foreword’s about.
And, no, I haven’t forgotten that I said I’d explain the religion thing.
See, I sat down to write this foreword and realized that the other writers who had talked about Moorcock in the previous volumes had said pretty much all the general stuff about the man and his work that needed to be said. He’s an artist who knocked people’s socks off when he was a wunderkind, but he has continued to get better and better every damn year of his life. The scope of his work is probably unmatched in the field—science fiction, fantasy, black humor, surrealism, you name