The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is the Elric book that’s been cited to me as “coming from left field” or “the weird one,” which considering it’s Elric is saying something (the next book is actually called The Weird of the White Wolf, for an amusing bit of trivia, although Weird in that context is used archaically to mean “fate”). It’s not that The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is bad necessarily, but as in the first novel, caution doesn’t really seem to be on Moorcock’s radar. An author with a touch more consideration for the casual portion of his audience would probably have given the premise of the multiverse time to develop before careening from traditional sword and sorcery straight into… whatever in fact The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is. There are good points and not-so-good points about this novel — which I’ll cover below — but first I probably have to give you some idea of the premise.
Since his departure from Melniboné in the previous installment, Elric has been wandering amongst the Young Kingdoms and their inhabitants (humanity) in the hopes of learning something about life or himself or just being accepted. His efforts have been such a resounding success that the story picks up with Elric on the lam with a gang of murderous hunters in pursuit. Elric arrives at the seashore, where the instrument of his salvation appears in the guise of an unearthly ship… (and this is where it gets a little odd)… that is carrying a bunch of men who are apparently Elric’s reincarnated selves. The Alterna-Elrics are off to fight transdimensional world-eating sludge monsters and need Elric’s help to defeat the threat by combining his life force with theirs and becoming an eight-armed, eight-legged uber-warrior. Not making this up.
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is actually made up of three shorter stories. In each, Elric sails to some sort of alternate world and faces a supernatural threat. The first of these, Sailing to the Future, is probably the oddest and has even occasionally been accused of being an advertisement for Moorcock’s lesser-known characters. Hawkmoon, for instance, had his own set of adventures, but he appears here in Elric’s saga for the first of a couple cameo appearances. It feels a bit like we’ve moved from THE ELRIC SAGA into ELRIC & HIS SUPERFRIENDS at least during the portion of the novel in which they appear. I will say, though, that Moorcock did write this meeting from Hawkmoon’s point of view as well, and I’d hesitate to call the appearances of the Alterna-Elrics some sort of commercial. Moorcock simply likes the idea of a large-scale crossover, I think, and whether he indulges himself too far with what he does here is really a matter of individual taste.
As I said above, this novel has some problems but it also has some good points. As always, Moorcock’s prose is great and Elric never fails to feel interesting as protagonist. The eerie, strange tone of the proceedings actually gives the novel a kind of dreamy allure: it’s not what readers of traditional sword and sorcery might expect, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a very well-done novel in many ways, especially going into it directly after Elric of Melnibone so that one has become acclimated to Moorcock’s “style over structure” method in a comparatively gentler text. On the other hand, it’s hard to deny that for casual readers who really couldn’t be bothered about the multiverse or what-have-you and expect instead to see some sort of motion in the world Moorcock constructed in the first novel, this sequel may be a baffling disappointment. None of the other Melnibonéans we were introduced to in Elric of Melniboné have anything to do with The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, and indeed Elric’s meeting with Count Smiorgan is about the only impact Sailor has on the overarching plot of the series.
It may really have been a bit early to bring in the Eternal Champion idea, in all honesty: had Moorcock built to it over time a bit more, it probably wouldn’t have seemed so jarring here. Asking the reader to grow used to one world and one set of circumstances for the protagonist only to turn that on its head by dragging him out of that world entirely is probably a little demanding — and thus risky — in the second book. Still, Moorcock has never been one to take it easy on his readers, and if the stories in The Sailor on the Seas of Fate can’t fail to seem a little peripheral and oddball contextually, they’re also quite good in and of themselves. This has the feel of a strong novel, but following that vague impression, it’s hard to say what that strength might be. There’s fighting, but Elric usually wins by sorcerously summoning some monster-of-the-week. There’s emotion, but no real character change. There’s also an expansion of the world…but then the world contracts and we never see the expanded portions again. I have to say, though, that for all its faults (and all its blatant disregard for convention) The Sailor on the Seas of Fate is ultimately a success. Moorcock tells the stories he wants to, and while they’re often bizarre, it’s difficult not to get wrapped up over time in the sheer inimitable flavor of an Elric story told well.
~Tim Scheidler
Michael Moorcock’s The Sailor on the Seas of Fate continues the adventures of Elric the albino emperor of Melniboné. While his ambitious cousin Yyrkoon sits as regent, and his consort Cymoril doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive, Elric is in self-exile, exploring other lands so that he can better understand his subjects. He hopes to become a more worthy emperor and, perhaps, to discover why his own race has lost what he calls its “humanity.” For his ancestors are said to have been noble people, but that nobility has been lost and modern Melnibonéans are greedy, selfish, and decadent, lording it over the humans they rule.
At the beginning of The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Elric has just escaped prison and is being pursued by his captors. Just as all looks lost, a strange ship appears and rescues him. This is a spooky ship — shrouded in mist and mystery — and aboard its ancient timbers are three of the Eternal Champions who travel between the universes and appear at different times and places to fight the forces of Chaos: Hawkmoon, Corum, and Erekosë. They have fought side-by-side many times before, but since time flows differently in the different worlds, their memories are not all the same. Elric doesn’t even realize he’s one of them, but the captain of the ship has brought them together and leads them into battle against an enemy that threatens to take over the Multiverse.
After that episode, Elric meets an adventurer and treasure-hunter who wants to sail to the fabled island of R’lin K’ren A’a, the original homeland of the Melnibonéans. Elric accompanies him, hoping to discover more about his race and the events that occurred to change his peoples’ proclivities and drive them a bit mad.
The Elric stories are fun for readers looking for short, fast-paced, episodic sword & sorcery adventures with fantastic scenery, but they go deeper than that. Elric is not only brave, he’s complex and introspective. He likes to think of himself as a humanist, yet he also has the cold and selfish tendencies evident in other Melnibonéans. For example, he carries a sentient sword named Stormbringer who gives him the strength to overcome his frailties, but demands souls in return. Elric’s remorse about this is not quite convincing. Does he truly care about people? Or is he more concerned with feeling good about himself by satisfying his own self-concept of nobility?
I listened to Audio Realms’ production of The Sailor on the Seas of Fate which is beautifully narrated by Jeff West and introduced by Michael Moorcock’s dreamy and languorous voice. The music and sound effects in this Audio Realms production were less bothersome to me this time. I’m not sure if they were toned down, or if I was just prepared to accept them.
~Kat Hooper
Elric of Melniboné — (1963-1991) Publisher: It is the colour of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair that flows below his shoulders is milk-white. From the tapering, beautiful head stare two slanting eyes, crimson and moody, and from the loose sleeves of his yellow gown emerge two slender hands, also the colour of bone. He is Elric, Emperor of Melniboné, cursed with a keen and cynical intelligence, schooled in the art of sorcery — the hero of Michael Moorcock’s remarkable epic of conflict and adventure at the dawn of human history.
There are other collections of Elric stories available, including graphic novels.
I read this so long ago I had entirely forgotten what it was about – so thanks for the update. And yes, one for the hardcore fans. Good review, thanks!
“Lack of consideration for the casual reader…” “blatant disregard for convention…” I think you’ve captured Moorcock’s work perfectly! Great review, Tim.
Indeed, good summation.
One thing to keep in mind: The Elric stories were not originally written in chronological order; Sailor on the Seas of Fate was first published in 1976, so was written fairly late in terms of the original series, and a lot of the Eternal Champion infrastructure was already in place.
Having said that, yes, I can see how it could be jarring if you’re just sitting down and starting with the books that have the big 1 and 2 on the cover.
Good point Joe, I actually read the last Elric book first, in the late 1960’s and remember that Moorcock started adding all sorts of stories and tie-ins to other of his series characters during the 70’s and 80’s. I think it can be confusing to the casual fan, especially one who likes things orderly.
The other thing that would be interesting to know is when the different POV’s of the crossover tales were written relative to each other — one (is it Sailor? I don’t remember) appears in both an Elric book and a Hawkmoon book, and the other appears in both an Elric book and a Corum book. I wonder whether they were first created as Elric cameos in the other characters’ series, or whether they first appeared as Elric stories and were later written into their respective series.
Good review! I’m actually more of a fan of the Hawkmoon stories than I am Elric, which is not to say that I don’t like the Elric stories, just preferred the original Hawkmoon and then the later Count Brass stories set in the same part of the multi-verse as Hawkmoon. I’ve never read this one, so I’ll have to seek it out.