ELRIC OF MELNIBONE: Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8

ELRIC OF MELNIBONE

Books 1, 2 and 3

SYNOPSIS

Robert E. Howard’s Conan of Cimmeria is generally credited with starting the boom in heroic fantasy that began in the late 1920s and has been with us ever since. He spawned lots of imitators, lots and lots of imitators…
       In any event, after thirty years of Thongors, Elaks, Kyriks, Duars, Donters, Braks, Whacks, Thugs and Thwacks, readers were sick of it. Somewhere along the way the writers (with the exception of the redoubtable Fritz Leiber) had forgotten all about the sorcery part of the equation, leaving the basic plot being the lumbering oaf facing off against the frail but far smarter and more powerful sorcerer, who in some act of hubris would manage to screw everything up and wind up with his head in a bag.
      To save us all, a young man from England arrived on the scene in the rather unlikely place of the pages of John Carnell’s Science Fantasy. Michael Moorcock wrote stories about a character that, without his soul-drinking sword, was too weak to raise himself off the couch. Readers had never seen anything quite like the albino prince before and initially weren’t sure what to make of him. Playing on the theme of the Ultimate Outsider, Moorcock’s protagonist wasn’t even human in the strictest sense. By the time the second novella saw print the readership had made up their minds: they loved Elric!
      Lancer Books brought out a two-volume set of Elric stories in 1967. One featured the novel Stormbringer, and the other book, Stealer of Souls, gathered up the short stories. More Elric work followed, such as The Sleeping Sorceress, The Weird of the White Wolf, and numerous other short stories, novellas and novels.
       Now, for the first time, the titles, contents, and order of the Elric stories appear exactly as Michael Moorcock has long intended, making the Centipede Press editions (ultimately 9 volumes, with a tenth volume of archival artwork) the most definitive sets of these books ever made available.

These are archival editions, with gorgeous illustrations and featuring guest introductions from some of the top writers in the field. Each volume will be signed by the author, introducer and artists. This was the first three books consisting of the following

• Elric of Melniboné
• The Fortress of the Pearl
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate 

Specifics:

• Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Piotr Jablonski, and Holly Black.
• Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
• Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book with translucent overlays.
• Introduction by Holly Black.
• Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches.
• Gorgeous dustjacket.
• Head and tail bands, ribbon marker.
• Top-edge stain.

Book 4 THE SLEEPING SORCERESS

SYNOPSIS

       Finally! Elric of Melnibone makes his return in what will no doubt be acclaimed as one of the very best chapters in the saga of the doomed albino prince. While many of you may recall reading this installment in the series as The Vanishing Tower, Mr. Moorcock has made substantial alterations to the text, bringing it up to the quality that you have come to expect from the author who is certainly in the discussion as Britain’s greatest living fantasist. It’s true that at the time of original publication, fair claims could be made that Moorcock wrote many of the “fill-in-the-gaps” stories and novels in a tremendous hurry at the insistence of publishers who knew that they had a goldmine in Elric and weren’t entirely sure that the same degree of success was in the cards for Jerry Cornelius…
       It has all worked out for the best; the intervening years have given Moorcock the opportunity to revise and shore up these additional pieces, (all of which take place before the events recounted in Stormbringer), and rather than the work being done by a writer in a tremendous hurry, trying to juggle the editing of the legendary magazine, New Worlds with the authoring of a great many new novels as a demanding publisher eager for more of their “sure thing” hung over his shoulder like so many vultures. We have the results of one of the greatest fantasists in the world applying his energies to carefully revise and rewrite these additions to the Elric series bringing them up to the highest possible level of quality.

This volume focuses mainly on Elric’s opposition to the Melnibonean sorcerer, Theleb Ka’arna, who on the surface does not initially appear to be a worthy opponent, however, it is Elric’s own self-absorption and angst that allows Theleb Ka’arna opportunities to both escape Elric’s rage and to catch him in traps that by all rights he should have avoided. Moorcock deftly utilizes Elric’s flaws in order to build page-turning suspense that is almost unique to the sword and sorcery genre. In much of the genre we expect the brawny (if not necessarily brainy) hero to somehow muddle along and by sheer luck as much as anything else defeat the much smarter sorcerer, usually done in by his own hubris. In the Elric saga, we are given a character as capable of wielding a powerful spell as he is adept at wielding the vampiric black blade, Stormbringer.
      The contents page and other page spreads are shown below. The titles, contents, and order of the works appear, for the first time, exactly as Michael Moorcock has long intended, making these the most definitive sets of these books ever made available.
       The Sleeping Sorceress includes the novel of the same name and two short stories: “The Singing Citdael” and “While the Gods Laugh.” It also has an introduction by Walter Mosley and new artwork by Tyler Jacobson.

INFORMATION ON THE SLEEPING SORCERESS

• Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Tyler Jacobson, and Walter Mosley.
• Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
• Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book with translucent overlays.
• Introduction by Walter Mosley.
• Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches.
• Gorgeous dustjacket.
• Head and tail bands, ribbon marker.
• Top-edge stain.
• Published February 2020.

Book 5 The Revenge of the Rose

The saga of Elric of Melniboné continues with the fifth volume of the author’s preferred text and organization, The Revenge of the Rose. This book collects the novel The Revenge of the Rose and the novella “The Stealer of Souls.”
       Elric of Melniboné — proud prince of ruins, kinslayer — call him what you will. He remains, together with maybe Jerry Cornelius, Michael Moorcock’s most enduring, if not always most endearing, character.
       There had been, from 1976 until 1989, no new novel-length episodes in the Elric Saga. The character’s eagerly awaited return in The Fortress of the Pearl was followed up in 1991 — thirty years from his first ever appearance — with The Revenge of the Rose.These two comparatively lengthy novels were a deliberate attempt on the author’s part to produce the most intelligent and literate chapters ever, expanding the breadth not only of the character, but also of the saga, and of the whole heroic-fantasy genre itself.
       As Moorcock has since recounted (about writing The Revenge of the Rose), “I felt I needed to bring some innovation and new vitality to the series. I needed to feel as ambitious about that book as I had felt in 1961 when I began the series and was one of very few writers producing this kind of fantasy, establishing the conventions of a budding genre…Whether one is writing popular fiction or literary fiction, one still needs to keep pushing the envelope. I had to continue to find new ways of telling the story.”
       This volume focuses mainly on dual quests: Elric’s own, to locate and retrieve the soulbox of his dead father Sadric, and his efforts to assist a mysterious being known only as the Rose to achieve her long-sought-after revenge. In this the two fierce heroes are accompanied by the intense, diminutive poet and temporal adventurer, Ernest Wheldrake — stranded in time and space as far removed from his original homeland in Gloriana’s Albion as ever could be — and by the variously psychic Family Phatt, outcasts from the ceaselessly moving cities of the Gypsy Nation in which they all find themselves.
       If Elric achieves his goal, then the lost soulbox — claimed by two rival Chaos Lords, Mashabak and Elric’s patron Arioch — will free his father’s spirit to join his mother’s in the fabled Forest of Souls where she awaits him. If the quest fails, then Sadric’s soul will leave its prison and enter Elric, uniting the pair in enmity for all time.
       The terrible and tragic nature of the crime and criminal against which the Rose seeks her revenge unfolds gradually throughout the book (and so it would seem inappropriate to reveal too much here). Suffice to say that she, Elric and their disparate allies all find themselves inexorably drawn into the orbit of the thoroughly untrustworthy Prince Gaynor the Damned, whose willingness to betray friend and foe alike in the furtherance of his own corrupted ends knows no bounds.
      Page spreads are shown below. The titles, contents, and order of the works appear, for the first time, exactly as Michael Moorcock has long intended, making these the most definitive sets of these books ever made available. It also has an introduction by Alan Moore and new artwork by legendary artist Brom.

INFORMATION ON THE REVENGE OF THE ROSE

• Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Brom, and Alan Moore.
• Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
• Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book with translucent overlays.
• Introduction by Alan Moore.
• Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches with 352 pages.
• Gorgeous dustjacket.
• Head and tail bands, ribbon marker.
• Top-edge stain.
• Published October 2020.

Book 6 Stormbringer

Sword and sorcery has a battle cry. And its reveler is the immutable albino prince, Elric of Melniboné. This is true despite Stormbringer’s opening passages, which announce Elric’s quasi-retreat into the comforts of married life, settling down and living out his days in leisure within the walls of Karlaak. But you can never really take the war out of the warrior. At least, not without a fight.
       When Elric’s wife, Zarozinia, is abducted during the night by hellish beasts summoned by the Lords of Chaos, he reluctantly calls upon his old friend, the soul-sucking blade Stormbringer, to aid in her search and rescue. Little does he know this is just a lowly spark that sets a blaze which may well overthrow the world’s spell of serenity. And this time, Fate is there to determine the outcome.
       At the helm of these legions is the wicked Jagreen Lern, who allures and connives to ensure his nefarious plans won’t come to naught. With added support from the Lords of Chaos and Dukes of Hell, Lern is the ultimate adversary in a war that will even decide Elric’s fate.
       But don’t be fooled. Even with all the imbibing, debauchery, and reckless abandon, Stormbringer finds Elric conjuring more than just his inner Odysseus possessed by the throes of war. His soul is troubled by an ambivalence that belies his no-nonsense nature. And at the center of it all is his sword. It may bring him the power to conquer Chaos, but it may also wield treachery.
       Stormbringer roars with the ferocity of a sleeping dragon startled from its slumber. So, now is the time to act. Heed the call and draw arms. Sharpen your battle-axe and mount your steed. Chaos and Law await your presence on the battlefield.

The titles, contents, and order of the works appear, for the first time, exactly as Michael Moorcock has long intended, making these the most definitive sets of these books ever made available. It also has an introduction by Eric Bloom of Blue Öyster Cult and new artwork by legendary fantasy artist Rodney Matthews.

INFORMATION ON STORMBRINGER

• Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Rodney Matthews, and Eric Bloom.
• Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
• Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book with translucent overlays.
• Full color printed endpapers.
• Over 15 interior illustrations.
• Introduction by Eric Bloom.
• Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches with 424 pages.
• Gorgeous dustjacket.
• Head and tail bands, ribbon marker.
• Top-edge stain.
• Published March 2022.

Book 7 The Dreamthief’s Daughter

synopsis

Master fantasist Michael Moorcock returns to his most famous character, Elric of Melniboné, in an astounding novel of revelation, magic and intrigue. The author introduces Count Ulric von Bek, the last member of the von Bek line and Oona, the Dreamthief’s Daughter, who together with Elric seek to save the multiverse from the machinations of Prince Gaynor.
       As the Nazis begin their big play in World War II, an imprisoned and beaten Ulric von Bek fights to keep his mystical black sword Ravenbrand from his power-mad cousin, S.S. Major Gaynor von Minct.
       Elric falls during Lady Miggea’s siege of Eternal Tanelorn, in a plot that will bring the forces of both Law and Chaos to bear against the Balance.
       Only the combined souls of Ulric and Elric can triumph, as Stormbringer and the Holy Grail fall into Gaynor’s and Hitler’s hands, and the schemes of the mysterious Oona might be the last chance to save them all.
       This is an epic adventure moving from the concentration camps of Germany, into the wondrous underground land of Mu-Ooria, to a besieged Tanelorn, on to the point of origin of all things — the Grey Fees, and beyond that, to the shores of Britain. Moorcock fans will be delighted as the author takes them on a Grand Tour of his own personal wonderland — the Million-Sphered Multiverse.

The titles, contents, and order of the works appear, for the first time, exactly as Michael Moorcock has long intended, making these the most definitive sets of these books ever made available. It also has an introduction by Paul Di Filippo and new artwork by fantasy artist Brian LeBlanc.

Information on The Dreamthief’s Daughter

• Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Brian LeBlanc, and Paul Di Filippo.
• Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
• Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book.
• Duotone printed endpapers.
• Over 8 interior illustrations.
• Introduction by Paul Di Filippo.
• Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches with 400 pages.
• Gorgeous dustjacket.
• Head and tail bands, ribbon marker.
• Top-edge stain.
• Published December 2022.
• ISBN 978-1-61347-222-4.

Book 8 The Skrayling Tree

synopsis

“We here are on the wrong side of the tapestry,” Chesterton once wrote. “The things that happen here do not seem to mean anything; they mean something somewhere else.” So, too, in The Skrayling Tree, a novel about thought, action, and utterance; and the power of these alone to make or unmake many lives, many worlds.
       In this ambitious sequel to The Dreamthief's Daughter, Michael Moorcock, one of our greatest living fantasists, returns readers to the manifold planes of the Multiverse where agents of Law battle forces of Chaos, and existence itself hangs in the balance. Into this struggle come three heroes, three aspects of the Eternal Champion, the warrior fated to reincarnate across time and space whenever, wherever the cosmic balance is threatened.
       In 1951 AD, Oona von Bek, the dreamthief's daughter, follows the trail of her kidnapped husband, Ulric, from Nova Scotia to a 12th-century America that never was, one in which pygmy tribes hunt cryptids, wooly mammoths stride the earth, and Hiawatha — Longfellow’s mythical Ojibwe warrior — travels the untrammeled forests of present-day Michigan on a dream-quest of his own.
       Meanwhile, Elric — the albino antihero, emperor of doomed Melniboné — has fallen into the clutches of Jagreen Lern, an agent of Chaos. Lern has crucified Elric on the yardarm of his flagship, but Elric’s mind is yet his own. He sleeps in order to slip his earthly bonds, sending his dream-self on a thousand-year journey to recover Stormbringer, the soul-drinking demon blade. His quest finds him reluctantly allied to Gunnar the Doomed, a Viking who searches the known world for fabled Vinland, itself the gateway to a primeval land of ice and cold: Nifelheim.
       But Gunnar is not the man he seems, as Ulric von Bek discovers to his horror while searching for his wife and a way back to his own time. Ulric’s path ends in revelation, but begins with Lord Sepiriz, the Knight in Black and Yellow, a servant of the Cosmic Balance and the author of Ulric’s kidnapping. Sepiriz tasks Ulric with an errand on which all of consciousness depends: healing the poisoned roots of the Skrayling Tree, the nexus of reality from which the Multiverse spreads.
       Three heroes. Three lives. Three paths converging at the crossroads where the Skrayling Tree grows. Beneath the branes of its canopy, Oona, Elric, and Ulric will join forces in an epic contest for the fate of the world. To fail is to plunge the universe and its every atom into inchoate chaos, a starless black midnight without purchase or cease.
       Working patiently toward a design known only to himself, Michael Moorcock wields his pen as a weaver works a loom, interpolating the weft of history with the warp of myth, layering one thread atop another elusively, allusively; before resolving them in a composite image of lasting power and beauty — a spell not to be forgotten in our time, or in any other.

The titles, contents, and order of the works appear, for the first time, exactly as Michael Moorcock has long intended, making these the most definitive sets of these books ever made available. It also has an introduction by Rhys Hughes and new artwork by fantasy artist Grant Griffin.

Information on The Skrayling Tree

• Signed edition is limited to 300 copies, each signed by Michael Moorcock, Grant Griffin, and Rhys Hughes.
• Bound in full black cloth, stamped in three colors.
• Color illustrations hand-tipped into the book.
• Duotone printed endpapers.
• Over 8 interior illustrations.
• Introduction by Grant Griffin.
• Oversize at 6½ × 9½ inches with 376 pages.
• Gorgeous dustjacket.
• Head and tail bands, ribbon marker.
• Top-edge stain.
• Published January 2025.
• ISBN 978-1-61347-223-1.