(a.k.a. ‘The Flamebringers’ and ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’)
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…
‘The Flame Bringers’ was the fifth of nine Elric novellas (the last four serialisating the novel Stormbringer) which originally appeared in Science Fantasy (q.v.) between June 1961 and April 1964. It was first collected in The Stealer Of Souls (1963), then later (as ‘The Flamebringers’) in The Bane Of The Black Sword (1977) which was a chronological arrangement of selected contents from The Stealer Of Souls and The Singing Citadel (1970), compiled in order to bring them in line with the developing Elric series. In more recent years, The Stealer Of Souls or The Bane Of The Black Sword (or their component parts [with ‘The Flame Bringers’ often retitled as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’]) have each been collected in various omnibuses (see below).
First appearance: Science Fantasy Vol. 19 No. 55
London: Nova Publications digest, October 1962;
edited by John Carnell;
price: 2/6;
112 pages;
I.S.S.N.: none;
cover artist: James Cawthorn.
Subsequently collected in…
‘The Flame Bringers’: pp. 178–215.
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Flamebringers’): pp. 89–123.
Anthologised appearances (of ‘The Flame Bringers’)…
New York: Lancer, 1970 (December) mass-sized paperback;
edited by Hans Stefan Santesson;
original price: 75¢;
256 pages;
I.S.B.N.: none (code: 74707);
cover artist: Jim Steranko;
‘The Flame Bringers’: pp. 149–186.
San Francisco: Tachyon, 2012 (June) trade-sized paperback;
edited by David G. Hartwell & Jacob Weisman;
original price: $15·95;
480 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-1-61696-069-8;
cover artist: Jean-Sébastien Rossbach;
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’): pp. 117–147.
The Bane Of The Black Sword subsequently collected in…
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Flamebringers’): pp. 213–242.
‘The Flame Bringers’: pp. 519–554.
The Stealer Of Souls subsequently collected in…
contents differ from 1998 edition (below);
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams [Originally Titled The Flame Bringers]’) (illustrated by John Picacio): pp. 161–194.
Other collected appearances (of ‘The Flame Bringers’)…
a.k.a. Elric: The Stealer Of Souls, White Wolf, 1998 hardcover (q.v.; contents differ from 2008 edition [above]);
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’) (illustrated by Jim Cawthorn): pp. 420–450.
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’ [The Flame Bringers] [as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’ only, on contents page]) (illustrated by James Cawthorn): pp. 337–373.
‘The Flame Bringers’ (as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’ [The Flame Bringers] [as ‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’ only, on contents page]): pp. 53–92.
(Click here for Graphic Adaptation of The Bane Of The Black Sword)
(Click here for Foreign [i.e. non-English language] Edition of The Stealer Of Souls)
(Click here for Foreign [i.e. non-English language] Editions of The Bane of The Black Sword)
Other foreign-language appearances of ‘The Flame Bringers’/‘The Caravan Of Forgotten Dreams’:-
Stormbringer (omnibus)/Elric: The Stealer Of Souls (1998) as Элрик – Похититель Душ, Russia (2008).
Also in Elric Le Necromancien, France (1969); Повелители Воздуха, Russia (1992); Повелитель Бурь, Russia (1994); Элрик Из Мелнибонэ, Russia (2005); Похититель Душ, Russia (2006); Проклятие Черного Меча, Russia (2019).
Other foreign-language appearances of The Stealer Of Souls:-
Elric: The Stealer Of Souls (2008) as Elric: Ruh Hırsızı, Turkey (2015).
Also in Повелитель Марса, Russia (1992); Повелитель Бурь, Russia (1992); Похититель Душ, Russia (1992).
Other foreign-language appearances of The Bane Of The Black Sword:-
The Elric Saga Part Two as Elric Il Negromante, Italy (1979); Der Bleiche Lord, Germany (2002).
Also in Elric Von Melniboné: Die Sage Vom Ende Der Zeit, Germany (1984); La Saga Di Elric Di Melnibonè (sic), Italy (1997); Le Cycle D’Elric, France (2006); ストームブリンガー, Japan (2006); Elric Intégrale 3, France (2015); Elric: La Saga, Italy (2019); Elric: Die Illustrierte Gesamtausgabe, Germany (2023).
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