How does a man
known for his 400,000 word behemoths contain himself to a mere novella? How
does he condense his runaway mind into a fraction of the size? In this dual
review I’ll take a look at his two novellas to try and figure out how he
managed it, and if he was successful.
Shai is a Forger, a
foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its
history with skillful magic. Though condemned to death after trying to steal
the emperor's sceptre, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Despite
the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her
captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost
dead from the attack of assassins.
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, Shai needs a perfect plan to escape. The fate of the empire lies in one impossible task. Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?
Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, Shai needs a perfect plan to escape. The fate of the empire lies in one impossible task. Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?
Well, if the Hugo
nominations are anything to go by, then The
Emperor’s Soul certainly was. I know this will come as a shock, but it had
a very cool, new magic system. It had all the laws and boundaries that we’ve
come to expect from Sanderson, and as cool and interesting as it is this was my
main problem with the story. At times it read like an instruction manual in
Forgery with little practical application of the magic. The story wouldn’t have
suffered, indeed it may have benefited, if some of the details of the magic
were omitted and the reader was left to fill in the blanks. I realise that
anyone who’s read any of Sanderson’s novels will be chortling to themselves
thinking “Silly reviewer type person, that isn’t possible for our Brandon,” but
that is exactly what he did with Legion. Sure, he explains it well, but
he doesn’t go into his normal amount of detail and there is enough grey around
the edges for you to imagine what else could be possible. This may be because
there isn’t a magic system which he has created, but a mental illness that
cannot be as rigid or rule-bound as he would like.
Stephen Leeds, AKA
'Legion', is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a
multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal
characteristics and a vast array of highly specialised skills. As the story
begins, Leeds and his 'aspects' are drawn into the search for the missing Balubal
Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our
understanding of human history and change the very structure of society.
I found Legion to
be a much tighter, more enjoyable read. It was quite funny in some places, and
the idea of the various aspects (the hallucinations, if you will) was really
good. The pace is spot on, going from witty introduction, establishing the plot
to the culmination. There wasn’t any wasted effort and the different segments
each had the right amount or time spent on them. In The Emperor’s Soul, the introduction is over fairly quickly and
then the main character is just in one room for the majority of the story. All
the tension and danger comes from her thoughts and introspection and she is
never really at risk until the end, which is rather abrupt and overly happy.
So, what does this
tell us (me)? Well, I think it shows that Sanderson is epic fantasy through and
through. To do his version of magic, to follow his magic system rules, needs
much more space and time, and above all, a higher word count. The story of The Emperor's Soul relied on the magic system for its
motivation and its theme and, for me, it got bound up on that. Legion, without a magic system, had time
to concentrate on the story and humour and was stronger for it. I don’t think
it a coincidence that The Emperor's Soul is the
longer of the two novellas. For the record, I am a massive fan of Sanderson’s
magic systems, particularly Allomancy (Mistborn), and I love the detail that he gives us.
I just think you need time to drip feed it in.
Fans of Sanderson
will gobble both of these up, and rightly so. Both are very enjoyable and
obviously quick reads. There are Easter eggs in The Emperor's Soul which relate to his Cosmere so and it is set in the same world
as Elantris, which I enjoyed very
much.
I would really like
to read more of Legion, and I think
it is in Sanderson’s plans to write more of them so I am eagerly anticipating
their release. If this was the last we read of Shai and the Forgers I wouldn’t
overly miss them. Please, tell us what you think!
1 comment:
Sanderson loves creating little projects for himself, doesn't he? I love that about him!
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