It's been decades since I read Moorcock. The only things I remember are: Elric had a sentient soul-sucking sword (who could talk), and it was super tragic, and everyone died.

I often approach reading from a writer’s perspective, and I've been rereading (or familiarizing myself with) other authors/publications from that era (1970s-1980s), such as Tanith Lee, Ursula LeGuin, and Patricia McKillip… How much do you think these works reflect their time?

Despite being ridiculed in some historiography circles nowadays, "Zeitgeist" is an interesting concept. I'm not talking only about what was predominantly interesting at the time and what kind of social commentary artists did with their work, but also about the narrative approaches and techniques.

I'd be interested to see how some older classics fare against something more modern narratively, thematically, and prose-wise. (I’d argue that world-building is part of the craft of writing.)

If the older books falter, is that because we assess them from our perspectives, or are they simply not as strong “craft-wise”?