I’m quite certain I read this back in the 70’s (buying it just as much for Michael Whelan’s beautiful cover as for the story within) but I didn’t remember most of the specifics. This was a really strong collection, and everything we’ve liked about Elric and Stormbringer and Moonglum are present along with some moments we’ve seen before that are quite moving (the inability to save a loved one and having Elric’s precious sword being the cause of their death). But as Fate would have it, Elric is completely exhausted and drained and is unable to muster the strength to blow the horn three times and there no one near enough for him to kill in order for Stormbringer to give him energy … except for Moonglum.

And blowing three times will end the world. Blowing it twice will bring the White Lords. To put a stop to Chaos, Elric will need to blow the Horn of Fate. Distraught, she kills herself on Elric’s sword.Īnd finally, a strange end with “Doomed Lord’s Passing.” Elric and his band of friends and fighters head back to Melnibone. They get the shield, go off to battle and Elric is ready to confront his foes when he discovers Zarozinia who has been transformed into a giant worm. Along the way, while aboard a ship, a storm nearly has them drown when tossed from the ship, but they are saved by Straasha, Lord of the Sea. They learn of a giant who own s a Chaos Shield, which would come in real handy in the battle against Jagreen Lern so they go to get it. He succeeds in getting Stormbringer once again, and he heads off to rescue Moonglum.Įlric and Moonglum head off to fight Jagreen Lern, who is amassing an army to take control of large swaths of land. Elric learns the secrets to make this happen, sending some of his opponents to an eternal death, but Elric loses his sword in the process and he’ll need to get it back as the sword feeds Elric, providing him with the sustenance he needs to survive. In “Black Sword’s Brothers” Elric learns that Stormbringer has the power to call upon its brothers (like Mournblade) to fight for it. Elric, his companion Moonglum, and Mournblade’s owner, Dyvim Slorm, deliver the swords to Darnizhaan … but they have a little trick up their sleeves. Not Elric’s Stormbringer, but its twin, Mournblade. Darnizhaan wants both swords so that he doesn’t have to fear being killed again, and so that he can begin taking over the world. In the first story, Elric’s wife, Zarozinia, is kidnapped by some beings out of chaos, on the behest of a resurrected god named Darnizhaan. Darnizhaan was killed by a soul-drinking Black Sword. In this collection of Elric novellas we have “Dead God’s Homecoming,” “Black Sword’s Brothers,” “Sad Giant’s Shield,” and “Doomed Lord’s Passing.”

Moorcock stormbringer