From Publishers Weekly
In this engrossing sequel to The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001), Moorcock weaves history, myth and alternate realities into a seamless whole. In 1951, Oona, the Dreamthief's daughter, and her albino husband, Ulrik von Bek, are enjoying a much needed vacation in Nova Scotia when Indian warriors kidnap Ulrik and drag him into the sea. Oona's search for Ulrik leads her through a maelstrom and into an America nearly 1,000 years in the past. At the same time, Oona's father, the albino Elrik of Melnibon‚, who is soul bonded to Ulrik, faces disaster. In a desperate attempt to save himself, Elrik dreams himself into the same mythic past in search of the beings who forged his black sword. Ulrik, meanwhile, learns that he was not so much kidnapped as recruited to save the multiverse. The tale's power stems largely from the astounding lyricism of the author's prose, the only flaw being the sometimes stilted and overly expository dialogue about the nature of the multiverse. Yet without these explanations, the complexity and mechanics of Moorcock's creation would confuse many readers, particularly those new to the series. An epilogue promises another installment, which should make fans of well-written and highly original fantasy extremely happy.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In the sequel to The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001), Oona, protagonist of the earlier book, has married Ulrich von Bek, last of his line of Grail Defenders. On vacation in Canada, Ulrich is abducted, allegedly to fight a wind demon leading an army bent on destroying a golden city that possesses the Skrayling Tree, a key support of the Multiverse of Moorcock's Eternal Champion yarns. Meanwhile, Oona is in a Native American universe, enlisted by the shaman White Crow to fight pygmies who threaten a golden city. In another universe, Oona's father, Elric, seeking those who forged his black sword, ends up in Vinland's City of Gold, asked to help pygmies there, whose gold has been stolen by an evil giant named . . .White Crow. Law, chaos, and balance all contend vigorously, aided by Moorcock's knowledge of folklore, poetry, and storytelling. Too embedded in the magnificently convoluted history of the Multiverse to be a good entree for newcomers, this tale will, however, be eagerly embraced by serious followers of Moorcock's fictive cosmos. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
In 1972, Michael Moorcock wrote: "It is the colour of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders is milk-white." Thus begins one of the most popular fantasy sagas of the last century, featuring one of the most memorable and groundbreaking fantasy characters of all time: Elric, the albino sorcerer, the last emperor of Melnibon￯﾿ﾽ. At a time when musclebound heroes like Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, and John Carter of Mars proliferated in popular fantasy, Moorcock's Elric was the antithesis of the archetype -- a weak, treacherous albino aristocrat concerned more with his conscience than the hundreds of unlucky souls he has killed with his demon blade.

Nearly four decades and more than a dozen novels, anthologies, and graphic novels later, the Elric sequence is still going strong and still continuing to redefine the genre. The Skrayling Tree, the second of three proposed novels in a new Elric subseries (the first was The Dreamthief's Daughter), focuses on Elric's daughter Oona and her husband Count Ulric von Bek. While vacationing in early-20th-century Nova Scotia, Ulric is kidnapped by a band of mysterious Native American warriors who transport him to the realm of the Kakatanawa, the guardians of the Skrayling Oak, a gigantic tree that holds the entire Multiverse in its branches. Oona follows the moonbeam path through the realms in a desperate attempt to relocate her lost husband.

The novel is actually three different stories told from the points of view of Oona, Elric, and Ulric. While all the narratives chronicle a unique adventure, they all eventually lead to the center of the Multiverse and the Skrayling Oak. Add to the plot Gaynor, Elric and Ulric's archnemesis; a shaman riding a woolly mammoth; the legendary Mohawk leader Hiawatha; a towering city of gold; and a healthy dose of Native American mythology, and you've got yourself a great novel that succeeds in breathing new life into the much-fabled Elric mythos.

There's nothing more that I can say about this classic fantasy series except, "Read it!" Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"In 1951, U.N. diplomats Ulric and Oona von Bek are vacationing in Nova Scotia. Suddenly, the albino Ulric is kidnapped by Spectral Indians, thus triggering three incredible, converging quests across space and time." "Seeking her husband, Oona, the Dreamthief's Daughter, braves whirlwinds and tsunamis to land in an America of myth. Aided by the mammoth-riding shaman White Crow, Oona can find von Bek only if she first saves a legendary golden city from fierce pygmies." "In another universe, Oona's father, the albino Elric of Melnibone, searches for the mythic beings who forged his black sword. To reach his goal, Elric must join an expedition to Vinland's mythic City of Gold and ally himself with pygmies who claim their mystic treasurers have been stolen by an evil giant named White Crow." "And the captured Ulric von Bek, his soul linked to Elric's, finds his abductors need his help in no less a task than saving all of existence. For a wind demon is leading an army of berserkers to destroy a golden city and, within it, the Skrayling Tree that contains all realities." Now three heroes must follow their own paths of fate that twist and tangle through space and time - only to meet in a moment of terrible tragedy that may destroy Elric, Ulric, Oona...and the Multiverse itself.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this engrossing sequel to The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001), Moorcock weaves history, myth and alternate realities into a seamless whole. In 1951, Oona, the Dreamthief's daughter, and her albino husband, Ulrik von Bek, are enjoying a much needed vacation in Nova Scotia when Indian warriors kidnap Ulrik and drag him into the sea. Oona's search for Ulrik leads her through a maelstrom and into an America nearly 1,000 years in the past. At the same time, Oona's father, the albino Elrik of Melnibon , who is soul bonded to Ulrik, faces disaster. In a desperate attempt to save himself, Elrik dreams himself into the same mythic past in search of the beings who forged his black sword. Ulrik, meanwhile, learns that he was not so much kidnapped as recruited to save the multiverse. The tale's power stems largely from the astounding lyricism of the author's prose, the only flaw being the sometimes stilted and overly expository dialogue about the nature of the multiverse. Yet without these explanations, the complexity and mechanics of Moorcock's creation would confuse many readers, particularly those new to the series. An epilogue promises another installment, which should make fans of well-written and highly original fantasy extremely happy. (Feb. 19) FYI: Moorcock has won World Fantasy and Nebula awards. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

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