Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Elric of Melnibone is the 1st book in the Elric Saga. There are different versions but the one I have was published by DAW in 1977. It tells the story of how Elric acquired his sword Stormbringer.
I read this book about 32 or 33 years ago but I honestly did not remember any of the story other than Elric being an albino and an emperor. It was great to sit down and read it again.
Elric is the emperor of Melnibone. His cousin Yyrkoon covets the throne and plots against him. Yyrkoon's sister, Cymoril, is Elric's lover.
Not far into the story, spies are captured in the city of Imyrryr. The spies are taken to Elric's inquisitor, Doctor Jest, and it is discovered that a barbarian fleet is planning to attack the city. With this information in hand, Elric orders Melnibonean ships to sit in waiting in the sea maze leading to the city.
The Melnibonean ships hide in the maze until all of the barbarian ships enter and then attack. During the battle, Elric is wounded and Yyrkoon uses this and the confusion of the battle to dump Elric overboard. As Elric is sinking, he summons Straasha, Lord of the Water Elementals. Straasha saves Elric and takes him back to Imrryr to deal with Yyrkoon (who has now claimed the throne).
Rather than executing Yyrkoon on the spot, Elric decides to imprison him until later. During this time, Yyrkoon is able to escape and kidnap Cymoril using his own sorcerous abilities. The remainder of the book is the story of Elric searching for Yyrkoon and Cymoril.
During the story, we meet Arioch (one of the Dukes of Hell) and find out how Elric acquires Stormbringer. This is such a great story and one that I highly recommend.
Now that I've written a bit about the story itself, let's discuss a few other things. First, the pronunciation of Melnibone. My whole life I think I've only heard it pronounced Mel-ni-bone (with a long o and silent e) but if you look at it on the cover of this book, there is an accent on the e. I started poking around the internet and found two different pronunciations. One is Mel-ni-bo-nay and the other is Mel-nib-o-nay. I have no clue which is correct but I prefer the latter...so that's what I'm going to use.
The second thing I want to discuss is the chronological order of the stories. With some of the reprints, etc. it can be tough to figure out what order the Elric Saga stories/books should be read in. Over at the Multiverse, I found this FAQ post. It was written by a Multiverse member named Whiskers and was really helpful to me. Just in case something ever happens to that site (although I'm sure it will be around forever), here is the post in its entirety (not the exact same formatting - having trouble with that - sorry):

As Mike himself says:

There isn't any particular order you HAVE to read the books in, because I didn't write them in chronological order. They've been published in chronological order most recently, but you wouldn't have read them like that when they were originally appearing. It's best to begin with Elric of Melniboné (or even the [Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer] comic, which predates Elric of Melniboné) and end with Stormbringer, but what you do in between is entirely a matter of taste or circumstance.

That said, there are a number of ways in which the Elric Saga can be 'correctly' read:

The 'Core' Saga*:

1. Elric of Melniboné (1972)
2. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
3. The Weird of the White Wolf (1977)
4. The Vanishing Tower (1971) (aka The Sleeping Sorceress)
5. The Bane of the Black Sword (1977)
6. Stormbringer (rev. 1978)

*Presents the stories in the revised sequence published by DAW Books.

The 'Expanded' Saga*:

1. Elric of Melniboné (1972)
2. The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
3. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
4. The Weird of the White Wolf (1977)
5. The Vanishing Tower (1971)
6. The Revenge of the Rose (1991)
7. The Bane of the Black Sword (1977)
8. Stormbringer (rev. 1978)

*Presents the stories in the omnibus sequences published by Orion (Millennium)/White Wolf.

The 'Enhanced Expanded' Saga*:

1. Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer (2007)
2. Elric of Melniboné (1972)
3. The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
4. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
5. The Weird of the White Wolf (1977)
6. The Vanishing Tower (1971)
7. The Revenge of the Rose (1991)
8. The Bane of the Black Sword (1977)
9. Stormbringer (rev. 1978)

*As the 'Expanded' Series above but with the graphic novel Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer added as a 'prologue'.

The 'Del Rey' Series*:

1. Elric: The Stealer of Souls
2. Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn...
3. Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress
4. Elric: Duke Elric
5. Elric in the Dream Realms
6. Elric: Swords and Roses

*Presents the Elric stories in 'roughly' order of publication, together with other supplementary material.

The 'Chronological' Sequence:

• 'The Dream of Earl Aubec' aka 'Master of Chaos'
• The Skrayling Tree dreamquest assumed to occur here
• Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer
• Elric's first Dream of a Thousand Years assumed to occur here - see The Metatemporal Detective collection
• The Black Blade of the Barbary Coast dreamquest assumed to take place here
• Elric of Melniboné
• The Fortress of the Pearl
• Elric: The Return to Melniboné assumed to take place here
• 'The Black Blade's Song' aka 'The Black Blade’s Summoning' aka 'The White Wolf's Song'
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
• 'Elric at the End of Time'
• 'The Dreaming City'
• 'A Portrait in Ivory'
• 'While the Gods Laugh'
• 'Black Petals'
• 'Red Pearls'
• The Singing Citadel'
• The Sleeping Sorceress aka The Vanishing Tower
• The Revenge of the Rose
• 'The Stealer of Souls'
• 'Kings in Darkness'
• 'The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams' aka The Flame Bringers'
• The Dreamthief's Daughter dreamquest assumed to occur here
• 'The Last Enchantment'
• 'Dead God's Homecoming' - Stormbringer Book One
• 'To Rescue Tanelorn...' - A Rackhir story that takes place concurrently with 'Dead God's Homecoming' occurs here
• 'Black Blade's Brothers' - Stormbringer Book Two - Elric's second Dream of a Thousand Years occurs during this story
• Dreamquests described in Duke Elric, The Skrayling Tree, and The White Wolf's Son assumed to occur here
• 'Sad Giant's Shield' - Stormbringer Book Three
• 'Doomed Lord's Passing' - Stormbringer Book Four

The 'Publication Order' Sequence:

• 'The Dreaming City' (Jun. 1961)
• 'While the Gods Laugh' (Oct. 1961)
• 'The Last Enchantment' (c.1962) aka Jesting with Chaos
• 'The Stealer of Souls' (Feb. 1962)
• 'Kings in Darkness' (Aug 1962)
• 'The Flame Bringers' (Oct 1962) aka The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams
• 'To Rescue Tanelorn...' (Dec 1962)
• 'Dead God's Homecoming' (Jun 1963)
• 'Black Sword’s Brothers' (Oct 1963)
• 'Sad Giant's Shield' (Feb 1964)
• 'Doomed Lord's Passing' (Apr 1964)
• 'Master of Chaos' (May 1964) aka The Dream of Earl Aubec
• 'The Singing Citadel' (1967)
• The Sleeping Sorceress (1971)
• A Sword Called Stormbringer (Mar 1972) in Conan the Barbarian #14
• The Green Empress of Melniboné (May 1972) in Conan the Barbarian #15
• Elric of Melniboné (1972)
• The Jade Man's Eyes (1973)
• Elric: The Return to Melniboné (1973)
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
• 'Dream of a Doomed Lord' (Spring 1980)
• 'Elric at the End of Time' (1981)
• The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
• The Revenge of the Rose (1991)
• 'The White Wolf's Song' (1994) aka The Black Blade's Summoning aka The Black Blade's Song
• Duke Elric (1999)
• The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001)
• The Skrayling Tree (2003)
• The White Wolf's Son (2005)
• Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer (2007)
• 'The Roaming Forest' (2007)
• 'A Portrait in Ivory' (2007)
• 'Black Petals' (March/April 2008)
• 'Red Pearls' (2010) in Swords and Dark Magic (ed. Lou Anders)
• 'White Steel' (in preparation)

Now if I could only find my Sailor on the Seas of Fate book...