Knowing  you  all  to be complete illiterates, I have decided to improve
your  reading  through the force-feeding of certain volumes which I deem
to  be true classics of the literary world.  This issue, I have chosen a
novel  which  spawned  a whole saga which is generally accepted as being
one of the finest in the entire realm of fantasy literature.  This first
volume is entitled;

|1-Elric of Melnibone



                          By Michael Moorcock

I shall be serialising this novel, starting next issue...

It  was written at a time when British fantasy had become very staid and
jaded.   Fantasy  novels  at  that  time  were  invariably  about strong
muscle-bound  barbarians,  fighting  the  forces  of evil and eventually
gaining themselves a throne, thanks to their superior swordsmanship.

The stories of Elric, however threw all this onto his head.  Elric was a
weak and feeble albino who relied upon drugs to give him the strength to
perform  even the most simple tasks.  Far from being a barbarian seeking
a  throne,  he  was  a  super-civilised  prince who actually gave up his
throne in order to go adventuring.  Rather than fighting evil, Elric was
a  worshipper  of  Chaos,  the  ultimate  embodiment  of  darkness,  who
delighted  in  suffering  and torture, the very evil sorceror that other
heroes  were  trying  to banish.  Instead of relying on incredible sword
skills,  Elric  has a sentient sword which, eventually begins to control
HIM!

Not  including  titles  which have been removed from the saga, their are
currently  eight novels in the Chronicles of Elric, these are; (in order
of the saga`s chronology, but not in the order they were written)

                         Elric of Melnibone
                         The Fortress of the Pearl
                         Sailor on the Seas of Fate
                         The Wierd of the White Wolf
                         The Vanishing Tower
                         The Bane of the Black Sword
                         The Revenge of the Rose
                         Stormbringer

Originally,  Elric was killed off after only two novels, but this caused
so  much  outcry  that  Moorcock  decided  to re-write the saga.  Elric,
possibly the most tragic figure in fantasy or SF, for reasons which will
become  clear should you read all the books listed above, is probably my
favourite  character  in  fantasy literature and I am sure you will find
his story to be one you will enjoy reading.  SO GET ON WITH IT!

Please  note:   Melnibone  is pronounced MEL-NI-BOW-NAY, it has an acute
                accent  at the end but its a bit of a bugger to put that
                in an ASCII file!

Yours,

Aladdin Sane
(1974 - 199?)