The Dreaming City
"The Dreaming City" is a novella written by Michael Moorcock, which first appeared in Science Fantasy issue 47, in June 1961.[1] It was the first story to feature the character Elric of Melniboné.[2]
| Author | Michael Moorcock |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Published | 1961 |
"The Dreaming City" has been reprinted in several collections of Moorcock's Elric stories, including The Stealer of Souls (Spearman, 1963), The Stealer of Souls and Other Stories (Lancer / Mayflower, 1967), The Weird of the White Wolf (DAW, 1977), Elric of Melniboné (Millennium / Orion, 1993), Elric: Song of the Black Sword (White Wolf, 1995), Elric (Gollancz / Orion, 2001), Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Del Rey, 2008), and Elric: Sailor on the Seas of Fate (Gollancz, 2013).[3]
The novella was adapted into a 1982 graphic novel by Marvel Comics.[4][5][6]
This novella should not be confused with the 1972 novel Elric of Melniboné, which has occasionally been published under the title The Dreaming City by Lancer Books (1972) and Magnum Books (1975), but is actually a distinct story from the 1961 novella of this name.
Plot
Elric, emperor of Melniboné, returns to the dreaming city of Imrryr where he plans to slay his cousin, Yyrkoon, and reclaim his love Cymoril with a fleet of mercenary ships, the black magic passed down to him by his ancestors, and his soul-devouring, rune-forged sword Stormbringer.