Several nice ideas, scattered here and there. But scarcely developed, and written in a boring style.
Perhaps because it is a collection of stories - but I find it repetitive and often bland.

Dead God's Homecoming, page 273... it is enough for me. ( )

An excellent collection of stories of the last sorcerer-king of Melniboné, Elric, the rock-star-thin albino, who has an unholy symbiosis with his soul-drinking sword, Stormbringer. ( )

I love Elric. I love everything about this series.

So, having an opportunity to not only revisit the series, but also to read some earlier works, and understand more about how Moorcock views his most famous creation, and where it all came from, I was quite excited.

And honestly, I was not disappointed. His earlier work was just as bad as he suggested it was, and kudos to Moorcock to allow its inclusion. The various notes, letters, and interviews and art were also illuminating.

And, of course, there's also the stories of the brooding albino king himself. Elric and his black blade.

I would, however, suggest this series for more of the Elric completist than I would the casual reader. ( )

I only got about halfway, before it was due back (interlibrary loan), and I can't say I was too broken-up about it. I'll seek out whichever is supposedly the best volume, and give it a read in the future, but this collection of stories didn't impress too much.

A) Elric is supposedly this wonderfully atypical protagonist, who is forced to kill against his will by his sentient sword (or so I was given to understand). Instead, he's pretty ruthless, apparently destroying what was left of his entire nation (men murdered, women enslaved, buildings destroyed) because he was mad at his cousin. He continues in a mostly amoral fashion throughout.

B) He's (again, my understanding of him) apparently weak, and hooked on either his sword's power or drugs to give him strength. Well, sure, but since he always has his sword and/or drugs, he's basically no different from anyone else.

C) The writing is flowerly, the characterization is slim-to-none, and the plots no advance over 1930s pulp. My comparison, I'm reading the complete Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series, and they feel fresh as the day, enjoyable, lively, with wonderful evocative place settings and nifty plot turns, I'm loving them, and poor Elric pales in comparison.

I gather these are early works, which is why I'm willing to find the best, and give it a whirl.

Oh, and I was particularly excited for this edition because it's illustrated ... but the illustrator seems to have no eye for fantasy whatsoever. He mostly likes drawing people's faces. It's dispiriting to see the Rachel haircut from friends, or an apparently hideous creature (Elric's sidekick, Moonglum) look like a normal teenager. When I think of the great fantasy illustrators of the past, Sidney Sime, Arthur Rackham, or more current artists like Thomas Canty, or Ashe Samuels, and what they could have done with this, it's disspiriting.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve! ( )

Elric Serisinin ilk kitabı olan Ruh Hırsızı bitti. Elric tam olarak okumak istediğim karakter yapısına sahip bir kişiydi bir anti-kahramandı. Gerektiğinde bazen gerekmese de elini kana bulamaktan çekinmeyecek, iyilik diye gereksiz maceralara atılmayacak, şartlar oluşunca ihanet etmekten bile geri durmayacak bir karaktere sahip Elric. Kitaptaki daha ilk hikayeyi okurken aradığım kişiyi bulduğumu anladım. Konusundan bahsetmek istemiyorum ilginizi çektiyse kitabın arka kapağını okuyabilirsiniz.
Gelelim diğer konulara, kitap iki ana başlığa ayrılmış 9 hikayenin bir araya gelmesiyle oluşmuş. İlk başlık olan Ruh Hırsızı'nda 5 hikaye yer alıyor ve bu hikayelerde Elric'i ve diğer önemli karakterleri yakından tanıyoruz. İkinci başlık olan Fırtınayaratan da ise birbirinin devamı olan bir olay zincirinden meydana gelen 4 hikaye yer alıyor.

Kitapta birbirinden güzel çizimler ve yazarın bolca açıklamaları yer alıyor, bu yönüyle başarılı bir edisyon olmuş. Kitabı Barış Tanyeri çevirmiş, Elric'in konuşmalarındaki asilliği başarılı bir şekilde yansıtmasıyla çevirmenlikteki yetkinliğini kanıtladı bana çevirdiği kitapları okumaktan çekinmeyeceğim. Yalnız kitap çevirideki kaliteye yakışmayan bir redaksiyon sürecine uğramış 30'dan fazla yazım yanlışı vardı, İthaki kitaplarında son zamanlarda neden bu kadar hata yer alıyor bilmiyorum.
Bu ay fazla kitap aldım ama bir dahaki ay serinin çıkan diğer iki kitabını da alıp okuyacağım. Serinin ülkemizde gerektiği değeri gördüğünü düşünmüyorum ilk kitap çıkalı iki yıl oldu ama kitap hala 1. baskıda, İlknokta'da serinin her bir kitabı 9.90 TL'ye satılıyor siz de alın ki seri satılsın ve seri kısa sürede tamamlansın. ( )