Elric of Melnibone

[Ryujin]

Maybe they could ease into doing a series of Moorcock based media by starting with something that could stand alone, like "The Ice Schooner"?

A little reminder that Moorcock has, on occasion, permitted Elric to be portrayed in other media (though he did it himself).

 

[Mannahnin]

I would say it’s deeper than that. Moorcock is actively deconstructing Conan.

How is he deconstructing Conan? Just by inverting him?

As for Salvatore, Drizzt was originally intended as a supporting character and mentor, rather than a protagonist hero.

I wrote "sidekick". But yeah.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

How is he deconstructing Conan? Just by inverting him?

Not just inverted, he also embodies characteristics that are vilified in the Conan stores.

Also, Conan quite often manages to accidentally do something good, whereas Elric often accidentally achieves something bad.

 

[Umbran]

Does anyone know about any other homages to Elric?

For completeness - Blackrazor, from White Plume Mountain.

 

[Umbran]

I would say it’s deeper than that. Moorcock is actively deconstructing Conan.

What do you mean by "deconstructing"?

Because, in literary analysis, it means something specific, and Elric ain't it.

 

[Umbran]

Does anyone know about any other homages to Elric?

Oh, wait - there's a whole tvtropes page of them...

The Elric Saga - TV Tropes

As one of the paradigmatic works of Sword and Sorcery, the Elric Saga has inspired a lot of references in later works. Griffith is based heavily on Elric, in terms of both his elfin appearance and status as an Unscrupulous Hero with a Clingy …

tvtropes.org

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Oh, wait - there's a whole tvtropes page of them...

The Elric Saga - TV Tropes

As one of the paradigmatic works of Sword and Sorcery, the Elric Saga has inspired a lot of references in later works. Griffith is based heavily on Elric, in terms of both his elfin appearance and status as an Unscrupulous Hero with a Clingy …

tvtropes.org

That’s actually a pretty bad page. It fails to mention Babylon 5 (which aside from the law/chaos thing actually calls a character Elric in homage) whilst including things that are highly questionable, like Hellboy2.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What do you mean by "deconstructing"?

Because, in literary analysis, it means something specific, and Elric ain't it.

It's been a long time since I read the original Elric books, and the recent ones aren't really relevant, but the idea that "education is bad" is an obvious example of an REH trope that is deconstructed by Moorcock. Another one would be "mercenaries are good". It's not hard to find holes in REH to pick apart. And it's quite possible to do that whist still being fond of the material.

 

[Joshua Randall]

What stands out to me from the Elric books is not so much the literary technique (or lack thereof), writing quality (or increasingly lack thereof), or deep characterization (or… you get the idea) — but rather the striking images and scenes.

• The previously mentioned chorus of single-note torture victims.
• The Ship that Sails Over Land and Sea.
• The weird tower that is the bad guy.
• Elric yelling his name to “Pig” yelling its.
• Elric shoving a giant pearl down someone’s throat to grant that villain what he wanted, but not the way he wanted it.

And those are just 5 that randomly popped into my head.

I’ve read tons and tons of fantasy fiction but for most of it, I couldn’t tell you a single scene or image from any of the books.

Elric is memorable.

 

[Mannahnin]

It's been a long time since I read the original Elric books, and the recent ones aren't really relevant, but the idea that "education is bad" is an obvious example of an REH trope that is deconstructed by Moorcock. Another one would be "mercenaries are good". It's not hard to find holes in REH to pick apart. And it's quite possible to do that whist still being fond of the material.

I don't think you're using the right word. That sounds like you're using it to mean just "disagree." Expressing different or opposite beliefs or themes as another writer isn't the same thing as deconstructing their work.

Where in the Elric stories does Moorcock, say, show how wrong or self-contradictory Howard's thesis is about civilizations? Always how they always rise and then fall into corruption and decadence, before being overtaken and conquered by younger, more moral and vibrant barbaric ones? Which then follow the same cycle? I would tend to say that the Elric stories actually reinforce that concept rather than deconstruct it.