Book Review: Sailor on the Seas of Fate

When I reviewed Fortress of the Pearl, I was partway through the next book in the first of the more recent Elric omnibus collections, and I came to the realization that book was written less with the thought of “How do I fit this story within the larger Elric saga?” and more “I have an Idea for an Elric story – where do I put it?” By contrast, Sailor on the Seas of Fate, which was published soon after Elric of Melnibone, feels like Moorcock continuing with the concepts he had with that first story – setting up the chain of events that lead to where the first published Elric story – “The Dreaming City” – picks up, and in the process further building up the concept of the Eternal Champion Mythos, based on the other incarnations that had been published at this point.

Alexander CaseMarch 5, 2023February 25, 2023Leave a comment

Books

The Fortress of the Pearl: Book Review

The Fortress of the Pearl is Michael Moorcock, in 1989, writing a book set between Elric of Melnibone (1972) and Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976). The current Elric omnibus collections put this in that space in the chronology in their reading order, while my previous video on the Elric reading order recommended reading it significantly later. Re-reading the book now, in its place at the timeline – I think my assessment is accurate, but not necessarily for the reasons that I thought originally.