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The Citadel of Forgotten Myths

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At its best, the plot is fun. I wish the worldbuilding had been pruned a little because certain elements were interesting. The descriptions of exotic locations were lush and compelling when they weren't littered with exclamation points or overly long. I love worldbuilding, but the adage "too much of a good thing" definitely applies to this book. Authors become very attached to their worldbuilding. But in my opinion, worldbuilding should serve the plot - not the other way around. Infodumps abound in this book. We get excruciating details on things that do not ever become relevant. This combined with the extremely long sentences makes certain passages incomprehensible. Long rambling worldbuilding feels self-indulgent. I ended up skimming, especially towards the end.

For Elric fans this is an exciting return to the world and the character(s). As per usual, there are plenty of references to other works, which I'm sure other readers, like me, will enjoy greatly. This is a truly special edition of The Citadel of Forgotten Myths , unmissable for any fantasy collection. With a green sprayed edge, patterned endpapers, marker ribbon as well as head and tail bands... this limited-run slipcased edition well befits this legendary figure of fantasy literature.As a (perhaps) final farewell to the character from a grandmaster, I felt oddly unfulfilled by this story, when even the motivations of the villains seemed pat and one-dimensional. None of them approached the villainy of Yrkoon or even Jagreen Lern. I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Also evident in this iteration is a welcome deepening of the character of Moonglum, who was always a source of comic relief, Sancho Panza to a dark Quixote, but is now somehow much more savvy and wise, as well as being a scholar and writer, a Doctor Watson in fact. We follow this quest to Nassea-Tiki. Elric obtains the Eyes, but also finds that the quest is really nothing more but a family squabble. This is the shortest part of the novel and feels like a traditional Elric adventure story.

This may also be because there have been comics, games and even music that have used Mike’s ideas and world. Authors such as Alan Moore, Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman and Tad Williams have all said how important Mike’s writing and his characters have been to the world of sword and sorcery writing, not to mention themselves, as well as others. Aye. It’s as well so few believe the ovoid truth, for the reality would surely confuse them.” He spoke a little abstractedly, his mind on other matters. “And one’s magic becomes more fluid…”

Wishing them both good night, Elric entered his own quarters. From outside came a series of heavy thumps, creaking and the sound of rattling chains as the ship was tightened against the water. Additionally, Elric's craving for souls verges on psychopathic. More on that (and the stupid sword) in a moment.

A restless Elric has, with the encouragement of his fiancée, traveled to the “World Below” in search of the secrets of his ancestry. As so often before, Elric is accompanied by his best friend, the swordsman Moonglum. As always, the pale swordsman and sorcerer bears Stormbringer, the vampiric sword that both preserves his life and destroys his soul. Elric and the few remaining Melnibonéans are not human; their ancestors include a race of dragons called the Phoorn. How did humans and dragons come together? What does this mean for their descendants? And might Elric find a cure for the debility that leaves him dependent on Stormbringer? The quest for answers will lead the companions across the ocean, through the bloody depths of a slaver’s castle, into the depths of an abandoned city in a treacherous jungle, on to an apparently utopian city, and, finally, to the interior of a volcanic mountain that hides an abominable secret. In other words, The Citadel of Forgotten Myths promises a classic Elric adventure. Wherever the specific chronological position, briefly what has gone before (for those who don’t know) is that Elric has betrayed his people, the Melnibonéans, caused the destruction of his kingdom of Melniboné and its city Imrryr, killed his cousin Yyrkoon, who attempted to overthrow him but in doing so also murdered his young lover Cymoril. The biggest criticism arises from the actual third part of the book, it's just way too long! It's very much in the style of the later Elric novels like "The Revenge of the Rose" and "The Fortress of the Pearl" - written years after the saga concluded and serve as a "prequel sequel" sorta thing so their writing style and vibe are quite different. I wanted to like this more than I did. In every possible way, this reads like a classic Elric tale - which is both good and bad. It is a novel of the 21st century, but one that is rooted in the middle of the twentieth. It is sword-and-sorcery to be sure, but it feels at times too ethereal and dreamlike. The quest to gain the flower seeds is unsuccessful, but leads to the third story, the longest part of the book. Continuing their journey two years after the events at Soom, Elric and Moonglum rescue Empress Melaré, another Melnibonéan-like albino, captured by bandits.Sentences are often way too long and rambling. Sometimes, once I reached the end of a sentence, I couldn't remember what the sentence was even about.

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