Hi everyone! This is our discussion post for The Emperor's Soul. You should all feel proud of me for remembering to post this when I have this to distract me
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Ugh, so, I loved this book, but I'm not sure what to say about it! I thought the worldbuilding was simply fascinating. I wanted to know so much more about forger's magic and how specific it was (I loved the idea of changing history but keeping it plausible). I'd read 1000 pages of Hogwarts School For Forgers, basically. At the same time, I loved how the novella length gave us just a glimpse of it, enough so that we could invent our own idea of what the world was like. (I also really wanted a romance before I realized that the dude character was like a grandfather figure, haha.)
I never read Brandon Sanderson, but I want to! I think another one of his books is set in the same world but it barely shows, Elantris? I might read that. When the well of to-read books dries up, heh.
YES. THIS IS MY PROBLEM. I think it was really cool and there's probably a lot to discuss, but I don't know what to say!!!
Yeah, Elantris, but I couldn't see the connections at all (I am probably missing some, though, since I don't always have the greatest memory for detail . . . or, well, anything, haha). But YES! Now that you've said that about worldbuiliding, I want to urge you to read him even more because he just EXCELS at that. I think I'd recommend the Mistborn trilogy more than Elantris. Elantris is his first published novel and it sort of shows. (And I know I said The Way of Kings before and that's still my favorite, but if you want a finished story, go with Mistborn, haha.)
I was really fascinated by the discussions of what makes art have worth and what makes something authentic in this story. I really loved how Shai had no problems creating art for the sake of creating things, and creating things that were like the things she was forging, but different. The stained glass window, for example. She was able to create it because there had been something similar there before, but she didn't worry about replicating it, just making something that was new and hers. And I liked the argument they had that art needs to be viewed regardless of the artist's intentions, and the implication that in creating the Emperor's new soul that art can and does take on a life of its own entirely separate to its creator once it's finished.
Hahaha, I guess it kind of really is! Like the old dude whose name is totally escaping me right now even goes as far as to BURN THE CANON MATERIAL which I'm sure lots of fans want to do hahahahaha
And I liked the argument they had that art needs to be viewed regardless of the artist's intentionsBut also! Shai destroyed a piece of art when the creator asked her to . . . only. She replaced it. So that's almost the best of both worlds because people still think they're seeing the original work, but the creator is happy because they're NOT seeing his work
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I never read Brandon Sanderson, but I want to! I think another one of his books is set in the same world but it barely shows, Elantris? I might read that. When the well of to-read books dries up, heh.
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Yeah, Elantris, but I couldn't see the connections at all (I am probably missing some, though, since I don't always have the greatest memory for detail . . . or, well, anything, haha). But YES! Now that you've said that about worldbuiliding, I want to urge you to read him even more because he just EXCELS at that. I think I'd recommend the Mistborn trilogy more than Elantris. Elantris is his first published novel and it sort of shows. (And I know I said The Way of Kings before and that's still my favorite, but if you want a finished story, go with Mistborn, haha.)
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