‘Stormbringer’

Stormbringer (novel)

(Click here for the Stormbringer omnibus)

London:  Herbert Jenkins, 1965 hardcover;
original price:  12/6;
192 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  none;
cover artist:  James Cawthorn.

Elric of Melniboné — proud prince of ruins, kinslayer — call him what you will. He remains, together with maybe Jerry Cornelius, Moorcock’s most enduring, if not always most endearing, character…

Stormbringer is — in terms of the overall saga’s internal narrative chronology — the final Elric book. It was first serialised in Science Fantasy (q.v.) as the last four (of nine) Elric novellas which originally appeared there between June 1961 and April 1964. It was first published in book form, abridged and revised, in 1965. (The abridgements basically condensed the first two novellas [plus part of the third] into one long section, ‘The Coming of Chaos’.) It was later restored to its original length and further revised, in 1977. In this restored form, it has been collected in The Elric Saga Part Two (1984), the Stormbringer omnibus (1993, retitled and re-revised as Elric: The Stealer Of Souls in 1998 [& 2008]*), Elric (2001), Elric: Stormbringer! (2014) and The Elric Saga Volume Two: Stormbringer (2022).

* In two variant omnibus editions both called Elric: The Stealer of Souls, as well as all subsequent appearances (bar Elric [2001]), the version of Stormbringer is presented in a definitive, re-revised form, retaining its full, four-novella length but also incorporating some of the pertinent changes from its 1965 abridgement which were lost during the 1977 restoration to full length.

First edition

London: Mayflower, 1968 (December) mass-sized paperback;
original price:  5/-;
189 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  none (code: 113435);
cover artist:  Bob Haberfield.

Reprinted 1969

St Albans:  Mayflower, 1974 (January 24th) mass paperback;
original price:  35p;
I.S.B.N.:  583-11343-5.

Reprinted 1974 (40p), 1975 (unseen [unverified]), 1976 (50p), 1979 (Mayflower/Granada [85p], 0-583-11343-5 [on copyright page]), 1981 (Granada [£1·25]), 1983 (£1·50).

First American edition: New York: Lancer, 1967 mass-sized paperback;
original price:  60¢;
190 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  none (code: 73-579);
cover artist:  Jack Gaughan.

First restored edition: New York: DAW Books, 1977 (November) mass-sized paperback;
original price:  $1·50;
220 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  0-87997-335-8;
cover artist:  Michael Whelan;
illustrated by James Cawthorn (title page [uncredited]) and John Collier & Walter Romanski (map).

Reprinted three times
DAW p/b ed., 5th printing, 0-87997-574-1 ($1·75).
DAW p/b ed., 6th printing, 0-87997-691-8 ($2·25).
DAW p/b ed., 7th printing, 0-87997-755-8 ($2·50).
DAW p/b ed., 8th printing, 0-87997-842-2 ($2·75) + later reprints?
New York: Berkley, 1984 (March) paperback;
original price:  $2·50;
220 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  0-425-06559-6;
cover artist:  Robert Gould;
no map.
(+ later reprints)

London: Granada paperback, 1985 (July);
restored text;
original price:  £1·95;
252 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  0-586-06310-2 (0-583-11343-5 on back cover);
cover artist:  Michael Whelan;
no interior artwork.

Reprinted 1987 (£2·50), 1989 (twice [£2·99]), 1990 (twice + later reprint[s] @ £3·99).
New York: Ace, 1987 (September) paperback;
original price:  $2·95;
220 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  0-441-78754-1;
cover artist:  Robert Gould;
no map;
+ later reprints…

... for example:-

Ace p/b, later reprint (@ $4·99).

Lakewood, CO: Centipede Press, 2022 (March 28th) hardcover;
dated “2021” on copyright page;
a limited edition of “300 [numbered] signed copies for sale, plus extras for contributors, and a special deluxe edition”;
edited by John Davey;
original price:  $200·00;
408 pages;
I.S.B.N.:  978-1-61347-221-7;
cover artist:  Rodney Matthews (also interior);
no map;
introduction by Eric Bloom (pp. 7–10);
signed by Moorcock, Matthews & Bloom.

Includes additional short fiction: ‘Kings in Darkness’ (with Cawthorn) (as ‘Kings in Darkness’ only, on contents page) (pp. 13–51), ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’ (The Flame Bringers) (as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’ only, on contents page) (pp. 53–92), ‘The Last Enchantment’ (Jesting With Chaos) (as ‘The Last Enchantment’ only, on contents page) (pp. 93–107) & ‘To Rescue Tanelorn…’ (pp. 109–143).

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(Click here for Foreign Editions)