The Fortress Of The Pearl
London: Gollancz, 1989 (June 8th) hardcover;
sub-titled “An Elric Tale” on title page;
alternatively sub-titled “an Elric novel” on front cover;
original price: £11·95;
248 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 0-575-04515-9;
cover artist: Geoff Taylor;
illustrated by James Cawthorn (“Chapter decorations”).
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 Fortress Of The Pearl slots — in terms of the overall saga’s internal narrative chronology — between Elric Of Melniboné (1972) and The Sailor On The Seas Of Fate (1976). It was collected in the Elric Of Melniboné omnibus (1993, retitled and revised as Elric: Song Of The Black Sword in 1995), The Elric Saga Part Three (2003), Elric In The Dream Realms (2009), Elric: The Fortress Of The Pearl (2013) and The Elric Saga Volume One: Elric Of Melniboné (2022).
First paperback edition: London: Grafton, 1990 (March 29th) trade-sized paperback;
original price: £7·99;
248 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 0-586-20883-6.
original price: £3·50;
269 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 0-586-20884-4.
First American edition: New York: Ace, 1989 (October) hardcover;
sub-titled “An All-New Novel of Elric”
original price: $16·95;
231 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 0-441-19123-1;
cover artist: Vince Natale.
original price: $4·50;
231 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 0-441-24866-7;
cover artist: Dawn Wilson.
Lakewood, CO: Centipede Press, 2019 (January 17th) hardcover;
dated “2018” 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: $150·00;
302 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-1-61347-217-0;
cover artist: Tom Kidd (also interior);
introduction by Neil Gaiman (pp. 7–9 [7 & 8 in deluxe ed.]);
signed by Moorcock, Kidd & Gaiman.
original price: $750·00;
254 pages;
I.S.B.N.: none;
signed by Moorcock, Kidd & Gaiman.
