Vanishing Tower

by Michael Moorcock

Book Overview

The swashbuckling and fantastic adventures of the moody albino prince -- Elric -- and his soul-drinking runesword, called Storm-bringer. The two are on a quest for The Vanishing Tower, which stands at... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425064069
• ISBN13: 9780425064061
• Release Date: November 1983
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Doom-driven albino and new hatred, love and mysticism

This fourth novel of the Elric saga is epic in every sense of the way. One reviewer claims that it was bad. He gave as example that it was unlogical that Theleb K'aarna didn't kill Elric when his sword was flying to him. But this was because Theleb K'aarna wants to torture Elric for months on end and does not want to grant a quick dead to the albino. In this fourth novel we follow the milkwhite albino on his quest to take revenge upon Theleb K'aarna, with Moonglum as his companion. Again driven by hatred he hunts down the Pang Tangian sorcerer Theleb K'aarna. But also driven by love, love for Myshella, Empress of the Dawn. And driven by the black runeblade, Stormbringer, by his side. Moorcock continues to write in his typical style, like only the master himself can do it. With beautiful discriptions luring around every verbal corner, and the action which is never far away. We find in "The Vanishing Tower" no seemingly endless discriptions like in the Tolkien books. With always new intrigue and hazards to overcome, which shows us that Moorcock's mind must've been full of incredible ideas. He guides us through the psychological maze of Elric's mind. Though the Prince of ruïned Meliniboné is an anti-hero, he is limitlessly fascinating too me, because his character is so paradoxally.Moorcock tells us how Elric sees the first pieces of the puzzle, which is his doomed destiny, being laid.

Deeper and deeper!

I have been rereading the Elric series in chronological order since I read The Dreamthief's Daughter this year. What is extraordinary is that there is no 'thinning' of the series over the years. In fact all the additional books serve to deepen and strengthen the saga, drawing it to its extraordinary, strongly mythic ending. It is the nearest thing to a mythological cycle that I know and makes almost all other fantasy series seem like children's fairy stories. Either Michael Moorcock himself or that other consummate fantasy writer M. John Harrison said that for readers who use fantasy fiction only as escapism Elric is a'failed escape plan' and it is worth warning those who like the usual crop of 'fat fantasy' sequences that Moorcock's imagination does not lead him or you away from reality. He has a habit of confronting you with it unexpectedly and that is most clearly seen in the latest Dreamthief's Daughter. But it is here, too. Those who expect Elric to behave like the average fantasy hero(all of whom owe something to Moorcock anyway, including McAffrey's dragons and bits of Star Wars, even -- this guy waspublishing before Lord of the Rings appeared!) will probably hate this stuff. Those of us who like to escape AND think -- to have the fun of the fantasy with the contemplative quality of literary fiction -- love it to death. And death is a subject Moorcock doesn't avoid. 'He uses fiction as the divining rod of his age's concerns' said Peter Ackroyd (I think). You get full strength fiction with Moorcock. If you like watery chainstore latte to a good honest cup of java, then you probably won't like Elric.

Wish they would print the entire series this way...

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Moorcock's work, this book details the exploits of Elric of Melnibone, the last emperor of a dying nation. He is portayed as a tragic character and often seems unable (or unwilling) to divest himself of his fate. This particular book contains three novellas in one volume, and each story can be read on its own, although more meaning can be derived through the reading of the entire series. I found the last story, "The Vanishing Tower" from which the book derives its title, particularly compelling, as it contains characters from some of his other series.On the whole, this entire series, and this volume in particular, is good old-fashioned swords and sorcery. What sets it apart from other such ilk is the nature of the protagonist: Elric is at once cruel and compassionate, reckless and restrained, loyal and traitorous. The warring sides of his persona are instantiated by Stormbringer, his runesword. He often remarks of his hellblade that he is unsure of who is master, and who servant, as the sword is as likely to cut down friend as it is to cut down foe. This heightened sense of inner struggle bring a level of angst to Elric that sets his character apart from other series in the genre.Regarding this particular edition, the volume is bound in collector-quality red leatherette (I am unsure if it is true leather, but I seriously doubt it) with gold print on the cover. One feel of the weight of the paper and the quality of construction had me wishing the entire series would be printed in this fashion. If you are an avid Moorcock or Elric fan, this is a must-have volume.

More slums and almost victories for Elric, but a great book!

In this book, Elric faces yet more challenges; He finds an almost victory when he almost destroys Theleb K'aarna, but evil triumphs still. Myshella and her partner are major roles in this book, making it a great and enjoyable novel to read. Keep on rooting for Elric and read the next Elric of Moonabone' novel (Is that how you spell it?) Feel free to email me at flappy_14@yahoo.com

The best Elric novel yet

The story line is strong as Elric almost kills his enemy, the sorcerer Theleb K'aarna. I love the way Corum makes his way into the story were he actually came from the book THE KING OF THE SWORDS