Book reviews / Fantasy

Book review: Elric of Melniboné

God. I’m getting tired of these. Really.

Maybe this was good when it was published in the 1970s but god, it’s just…ugh.

So, plot: in some mystical land, where everyone is an arrogant, self-entitled, slave-owning bastard – you’re supposed to like this one particular arrogant, self-entitled, slave-owning bastard because he’s got ‘weak blood’ and talks about ‘morality’. Whatever. He’s an asshole, just like the rest of them.

So, problem one: I don’t like any of the characters, not even the one I’m supposed to like.

Problem two: it doesn’t even remotely pass the test.

The one woman in basically the entire book says shit like: “This searching of conscience. Its purpose is beyond my simple brain.” (P. 188).

She then spends most of the book being kidnapped and being a victim of the two men in her life (Elric, who she loves, and Yyrkoon, her brother, who has the stupidest name ever). Also, Yyrkoon gets a bit incesty. Eww. So the ever boring trope of being threatened with rape happens twice and once is by the woman’s brother. Honestly. What the fuck.

It’s just all a bit shit, basically. The plot is predictable and dull. The characters are all terrible and it doesn’t even have a proper ending. They have dragons and they don’t even get used (just mentioned that they can’t use the dragons because they’re sleeping…what!)

I don’t know what else to say. It was boring and awful. How did it make it on the list of 100 best sci-fi and fantasy books. I imagine, by the power of nostalgia only.

Don’t read it, it’s terrible. 0/5 stars.

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