I have heard this series equated to Lord of the Rings and have even heard that if things were slightly different, this series, and not LotR, could have been the pivotal series to change the fantasy genre forever.
If the series is anything like this first book I feel this high praise does not reach high enough!
I love this book and it is instantly placed on my favorites list.
Let's start with my only two quibbles, in order to get it out of the way and move on to full out fanboying.
First, it has a bit of a slow start, but no more so than most epics.
Secondly, the main character occasionally gets on my nerves. Let's pretend for a minute that the reasons for this are what I will go on to say, instead of the real reason, which is that he reminds me of the parts of myself that I don't like.
Elric is a nice guy and a deep thinker, I get it, but the worrying as to whether he was doing the ethical thing or the constant self-loathing was put on a bit thick at times. You want to grab him by the shoulders and just shake him and tell him to get over himself and just do the thing. Thankfully it happened less and less as the book went on and I feel like these insights into his thought process will pay big dividends as the series progresses.
Okay! Now on to why I love this book!
Some of the lines in this book are written with such simplicity, but yet such ferocity as to feel that they are deep truths normally only found in poetry. Sentences whir in my brain and continue to spring to life long after I have moved on from the page.
The world feels familiar, primal and filled with unadulterated power. This world is not A fantasy world, this world is THE fantasy world. All others should bow and grovel in its presence.
The world building is simple in the sense that concepts require only a few simple words to explain, but instantly feels right and from these simple primordial ideas unbidden complexity spirals out to infinity.
The world is alive. Factions fight for dominance at every level. From small squabbling barbarians fighting to rid the world of what they see as evil, to great powers, alien and unknowable, grappling to control fate.
The line between good and evil is not clear cut, but it never feels grimdark. Flirting with the darkness, yes definitely, but not once engulfed by it.
The sense of alieness and of the other is intoxicating. This is not earth, but with elves. No! This is a world that uses fictional structures that are known to us, but twists them without remorse into something completely new, and yet, this new thing feels like it should have been this way from the very beginning. As if the stories we have heard passed down through the generations by way of folklore and legends have been contaminated and warped, but this story comes and strips all that tepid waste away and shows us for the first time the beautiful secrets hidden within.
I cannot possibly do this work justice without spoiling it. Instead I urge you to stop whatever you are wasting your time with and instead sit down and read this book. Now, I must get back and start reading the next book in the series.
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