Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
From back cover of Daw paperback August 1977: High in the wintry sky climbed the dragons as Elric urged this charges westwards. Thoughts of love, of peace, of vengeance even were lost in that reckless sweeping across the glowering skies which hung over that ancient Age of the Young Kingdoms. Elric, proud and disdainful in his knowledge that even his deficient blood was the blood of the Sorcerer Kinds of Melnibone, became detached. He had no loyalties then, no friends, and if evil possessed him, then it was a pure brilliant evil, untainted by human drivings. High soared the dragons until below them was the heaving black mass, marring the landscape, the fear-driven horde of barbarians who, in their ignorance, had sought to conquer the lands beloved to Elric of Melniborne. "Ho, dragon brothers -- loose your venom -- burn, burn! And in your burning cleanse the world!"
The Bane of the Black Sword: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This classic dark fantasy contains graphic mass violence including dragon-borne destruction of armies and morally ambiguous themes. The protagonist is a detached antihero from an ancient sorcerer bloodline who commits mass killing without remorse.
What to know going in
This book has graphic violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include genocide, graphic violence, and mass death (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Older fantasy readers will be drawn to Elric's dragon-riding battles and his complex nature as a powerful sorcerer struggling with identity and bloodline.