I finished reading Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock. This is the fifth book in the Elric saga and was first published in this form in 1977, though some of the work had previously been published in other formats. It consists of four stories (The Stealer of Souls, Kings in Darkness, The Flamebringers, and To Rescue Tanelorn…). The plot focuses on Elric and his companion Moonglum in the first three stories, while the final story references Elric but tells a story involving Rackhir the Red Archer.

I enjoyed this very much. The black sword alluded to in the title is Elric’s hellspawned Stormbringer, drinker of souls. That has to be one of the best names for a sword ever! The narrative is well told and briskly paced and the tone is slightly detached and impersonal. However, the reader does get to see more of the humanity of Elric’s character, and that was refreshing.

“Incredibly, he sensed that he was suddenly standing on one of Fate’s roads, but where the road would take him, he did not know.”