This month’s review is yet another by our favorite fantasy author, and someone whose works we have recommended here, and indeed, elsewhere, time and again. We hope you enjoy this latest offering.

The Fortress of the Pearl
by
Michael Moorcock

In the midst of his first journey across the Young Kingdoms, Elric, sorcerer Emperor of Melniboné, finds himself bereft of energy to the point of death. Unwilling to rely on his sorcerous sword Stormbringer’s unsavory brand of assistance, he accepts a meeting, set for him by his little street urchin of an assistant, who has his own intentions in rescuing Elric from death in the Sighing desert. He takes Elric to a Quarzhasaati noble, Gho Faazhi, who thinking Elric to be something called a Dreamthief, offers him refreshment, while telling him a strange story of Quarzhasaat’s political history and structure, and of a mythic Pearl which would help him, if he could find it, ascend to the ruling Council, of which Gho Faazhi so dreams. Though Elric has no idea what the nobleman is talking about, and considers his story and his motives absolutely absurd, he is rather blinded to the fact that the refreshing drink Gho Faazhi has offered him will actually be his undoing.

The nobleman gives Elric an ultimatum: Either he will find the mythic Pearl at the Heart of the World, and bring it back to Gho Faazhi, or both he and his young street urchin assistant will die, for the noble will slaughter the boy, and further, only he holds the antidote to the poison Elric has just unknowingly ingested. Elric has no choice, and further, feels responsible for his assistant’s predicament, and so reluctantly agrees to the quest, setting off in search of some place called the Silver Flower Oasis, encountering several threatening situations along the path, from everything from strange mythic animals to bands of Sorcerer Assassins, to demons. Finally gaining a new companion, one Alnac Kreb, who proclaims himself a Dreamthief who is doomed to an early death, but claims he will cross paths with Elric in a future life. Elric finds Alnac odd, but intriguing, and accepts his companionship on his journey, and his assistance as Alnac introduces him to the tribes at the Oasis, who beg Alec to save their Holy Girl; Elric then watches as the Dreamthief’s skills are demonstrated, to Alnac’s detriment. Yet Alnac’s demise sets Elric off on the strangest road of his journey as he agrees to accompany Alnac’s replacement, the lovely Oone, as she takes up the attempt to save the Holy Girl; in return, she promises to help Elric find the antidote to the poison he now needs to survive.

As long time visitors know, I adore Michael Moorcock’s work, but I always have a bit of a problem with prequels of this sort. The question of “will the main character of a series live or die”, when a reader knows there are other books starring that character, set down in the timeline after said prequel, always seems a little moot to me. But the intriguing thing here is that Moorcock weaves so many worlds throughout his Multiverse that one never can tell quite where some story falls in the actual timeline, even when he seems to tell you where the story lies. Why? Because time, in his Multiverse, has so many twist and turns, of course; so where this story lies in Elric’s life—or should I say, mind?—versus the collective memory of his fellow Melniboneans’ is the question, and where that is, ;) I can’t say without spoiling it. Despite what I’ve heard others say about the simplicity of the tale, I think The Fortress of the Pearl to be yet another good example of the master’s trade. If I had one criticism of the novel, I’d have to say it was in the way Elric was so easily duped by the scenery of the journey; it’s not something that, even though he was rather inexperienced in this story, I would have expected from Elric. But in a way, it was quite refreshing. The various allies he meets are endearing, and in some cases, such as Alnac, very familiar (no I won’t tell you who I suspect he is); Oone particularly is definitely one of the coolest heroines Moorcock’s ever written. Do give The Fortress of the Pearl a try. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

~Webmistress

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