Its still early to empathize or even understand Elric given his eccentricity and actions that seems to stem from impluse. His adventure will make you breathless and the swashbuckling fun. 
 And then there are brother swords. 
 As I read this, I see its influence on many modern fantasy writers. The moment I read the sword has a "brother", I immediately thought of Voldemort and HP. There is a mirror that shows memories. It goes on. 
 The story may seem very bleak and superficial as Moorcock keeps the flow simple and even characters quite simple just so the world could be understood easily. 
 This book as such may not be great but the series most definitely is. At least I hope so!