'Elric: Revenge of the Rose' – Michael Moorcock (Gollancz)

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself with this one... :o) The number of times that I've tried to read this book and then crashed and burned... Well, lets just say it was more than a few times and leave it at that. Not this time though, 'Revenge of the Rose' has been well and truly read and not only that, I also did 'The Stealer of Souls', 'Kings in Darkness' and 'The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams' (also known as 'The Flame Bringers') for good measure. Go me :o) I didn't read 'The Last Enchantment' (because I've already reviewed it over Here) and 'To Rescue Tanelorn' will wait for another day as Elric doesn't make an appearance here. In the meantime, lets take a look at what I did manage to read...

Searching the world for a civilisation that will remind him of his lost home, Elric – last emperor of Melnibone, wielder of the black sword Stormbringer – decides that he must return to the ruined place of his birth.

There he will encounter the soul of his father, tortured and suffering. To free his father Elric must face the princes of hell and put all of his trust in one woman – the Rose.

I think it's safe to say that 'Revenge of the Rose' isn't your average 'Elric' tale... 'The Stealer of Souls', 'Kings in Darkness' and 'The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams' are very much your average sword and sorcery style 'Elric' tales, and that's cool from where I'm sat (they're good fun but more on that in a bit), but lets look at 'Revenge of the Rose' first.

'Revenge of the Rose' has it's fair share of moments of high adventure and beautiful women etc but stands out from it's fellow 'Elric' tales as a slightly more thoughtful affair where who Elric is, is perhaps more important than what he does. Don't get me wrong, all of the tales leading up to this point are in that vein, it's just that this one is a little more so. I mean, how much more introspective a tale can you get than one where Elric must confront a whole load of 'father issues' and work these out on more than one level of reality? Don't worry though, we're still talking Elric here and only Elric can decide that he needs to get back to his roots just after destroying all of them. Honestly, someone needs to teach him to prioritise...

There is a lot of other stuff going on though, apart from Elric's ability to look very cool while also coming across as a little bit dim (seriously, you go back to your roots before you burn Melnibone down, before!), and it all makes 'Revenge of the Rose' incredibly readable. So readable in fact that I can't see what originally put me off persevering with it in the first place. It really is a good mix of stuff happening and then people working out how they feel about that. And stuff isn't just happening to Elric either... I mean yes, there is the whole 'you have to go on this quest and there's nothing you can do about it' thing, at the beginning but after that, Elric has a lot more influence on his surroundings than I've seen before. It just makes for a more interesting read when Elric is ready to go out and seize the plot rather than the other way round. And all of that happens against a typical technicolour background of Moorcock landscapes that catch your eye and hold it until the next landscape comes along and does it all again. There's a real epic feel to it that you don't notice at first but when the three sisters get involved and Gaynor's plan is revealed, you realise that 'Revenge of the Rose' was epic the whole time and it's actually a hell of a ride.

And for someone who has a real habit of glossing over poetry in fantasy fiction, I can't quite believe how much I got into the character of Wheldrake. I think a few verses, here and there, is about what I can take and Wheldrake clearly has an ear for poetry that taps into what I like and how it makes me feel. It's a good combination and as a character, Wheldrake's ability to just acccept where fate throws him (and coin a verse off it) makes him very endearing. I hope to see him on his travels in the future.

Moving away from 'Revenge of the Rose'... The Stealer of Souls', 'Kings in Darkness' and 'The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams' are very much a return to the 'pure sword and sorcery Elric tales' that I've read so far; possibly because they were written a lot earlier (I don't know). There's not a lot to distinguish one from the other then, at least from where I'm sat, and that's not necessarily a bad thing as Moorcock already has form for writing gripping sword and sorcery tales and doesn't change the record here. These tales are a lot more straightforward then but it is still interesting to see the pieces being positioned for the endgame of the 'Stormbringer' arc that's on the horizon... A new love and what looks like a resolution with Stormbringer are the key points here. We'll go into that more in 'Stormbringer' (which I have read and am looking forward to reading again, definitely).

'Revenge of the Rose' then is very much one of those books where I look back and think, why on earth didn't I read this sooner? There is a lot going on and while Elric still isn't the sharpest tool in the shed (I really need to let it go but...), we get to see him in a light that's a little more positive than normal. 'Stormbringer' next...