This week, let's take a look at Michael Moorcock's seminal Swords & Sorcery novella "Elric of Melniboné":
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Elric of Melniboné follows the eponymous protagonist, Emperor of the titular island nation of Melniboné, fend off the multiple blatant and unclever attempts of his cousin Yrkoon to usurp the crown.
The story works both as a straightforward Swords & Sorcery yarn, but also as a deliberate deconstruction of the genre: Elric is physically weak and dependent on drugs, highly flawed and a master of dark sorcery. This is where the novella shines, as Moorcock is intentionally playing against the archetype.
There's also an interesting gothic and moody vibe with the protagonist as the doomed ruler of a doomed people.
Unfortunately, Moorcock shatters my sense of disbelief with an unbelievable (in several senses of the word) own goal at the very end: he tries to play up the tragic angle by making Elric a complete moron and by making the Melnibonéans completely unrealistic: placing would-be usurper Yrkoon as regent should rightly shatter confidence in Elric and his government. Furthermore, Yrkoon's heel-turn is telegraphed from approximately a bazillion miles away.
I realize that Moorcock is trying to show that Elric is different from the rest of his people because he is thoughtful and capable of mercy. However, by flying in the face of common sense and basic self-preservation, he merely comes across as unbelievably stupid. For example, Elric pointedly ignores the prudent advice of his trusted advisors, while offering nonsensical counterarguments.
I also realize that this work was written over 40 years ago, but if one attempts to defend the above idiocy on those grounds, they are admitting that the story is horribly dated, as successful modern authors are typically far more sensible on matters of political science (at least post-Babylon 5). I mean, even Ned Stark would do the smart thing and kill Yrkoon!
There's also an interesting gothic and moody vibe with the protagonist as the doomed ruler of a doomed people.
Unfortunately, Moorcock shatters my sense of disbelief with an unbelievable (in several senses of the word) own goal at the very end: he tries to play up the tragic angle by making Elric a complete moron and by making the Melnibonéans completely unrealistic: placing would-be usurper Yrkoon as regent should rightly shatter confidence in Elric and his government. Furthermore, Yrkoon's heel-turn is telegraphed from approximately a bazillion miles away.
I realize that Moorcock is trying to show that Elric is different from the rest of his people because he is thoughtful and capable of mercy. However, by flying in the face of common sense and basic self-preservation, he merely comes across as unbelievably stupid. For example, Elric pointedly ignores the prudent advice of his trusted advisors, while offering nonsensical counterarguments.
I also realize that this work was written over 40 years ago, but if one attempts to defend the above idiocy on those grounds, they are admitting that the story is horribly dated, as successful modern authors are typically far more sensible on matters of political science (at least post-Babylon 5). I mean, even Ned Stark would do the smart thing and kill Yrkoon!
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