How Crazy Dude, how'd you get your power? 'Bout fiddy men died for me. I don't know why but the thought of this conversation happening just makes me giggle (though I know it didn't happen in the actual story).
I do agree that the setup was pretty slow, it definitely has the feel of 'first novel' rough edges on it that were even more noticeable since I read the Misborn trilogy right before reading this. Still, it had an engaging cast of characters...I particularly like Hrathen. You just don't see many characters use that kind of archetype
This was a great revisit to a book I read years ago and had partially forgotten. I've since read the entirety of the Cosmere, so it's cool to go back and see where it all started, so to speak.
Hoid gets mentioned, yes! The road begins The pool is indeed more than it appears, and parallels to it will show up elsewhere, but for now yes, he does go into it, and it is not fatal, though it does provide relief to the Hoed Elantrians. Hrathan's end is poignant, and a call back to his first thoughts. They would indeed see him as a saviour, a hero.
@@hariman7727 some, perhaps but to be spoiled you need to know a little more than "this character is cross-world from the get-go", rather than, for example, hypothetically, "this character kills a god" or "this character doesn't actually die". Knowing someone will eat fish might be a spoiler, but knowing a character likes fish isn't, if you follow. Telling people what to look ot for without giving clues isn't a spoiler telling them WHY and what it is, however, might be.
@@lukecox6317 you don't get the chance to see those connections on your own if people keep saying "OH THIS GUY IS FROM THIS OTHER BOOK!" So yes, those hints are spoilers. And in my case, finding out who one of those connected characters was REALLY killed a lot of my interest in The Cosmere. And other characters being involved in events means that the books I don't like cast a shadow on the ones I enjoy.
@@hariman7727 I'm sorry that it's affected you that way. I recognise that this affects some people negatively, not just you. For myself and others, however, this sort of thing is what makes the Cosmere interesting and keeps excitement up. Hoid specifically is a great example of a character designed to be mentioned or not in casual conversation because he is always involved tangentially to the main story (at least until the eventual Dragonsteel and Space Opera Mistborn). His involvement is never to spoil the main events, and you can completely describe who he is and what we know about him without it having a single affect on the plot of any of the stories he's involved in except possibly SA, and then it itself is heavily hinted at in the novel and much outright said but again in a way that doesn't spoil the meat, or even potatoes, of the plot. Again, hypothetically, saying what happened to or with him at the end of RoW could be a spoiler (or indeed, I will grant, even saying that something undefined DID happen to or with him then) would be a spoiler, but saying he isn't native to any of the planets his on isn't a spoiler. Saying Dragonsteel and Space Opera Mistborn will involve him heavily isn't a spoiler as knowing he is involved is in effect their selling point, and even saying Brandon plans to write a Dragonsteel and Space Opera Mistborn series could as a spoiler, but that doesn't mean it is one.
Chuck's Cosmere talk has me wondering how much of Sanderson's work they've read before making this vid, or if they're just taking it book by book and using wikis to fill in some knowledge gaps.
It's obvious he hasn't read a lot, or that this was one of his first books. Also, I'm wondering how much people are going to spoil by dropping hints in the comments here.
It is a fun book, though it's sort-of sidequel "The Emperor's Soul" is I feel Sanderson's best work. That short story displaced Asimov's "the Last Question" as my favourite piece of "short" fiction. If I may though, which flaws are you referring to?
@@lukecox6317 the interconnected nature of the Cosmere means that the recurring lovable characters who go beyond their books are often changed over time into someone loathed in their other appearances, and there's certain things about the Cosmere itself that just kill my interest. There's also a certain style that Sanderson writes in, and it starts to feel the same, if you read too many of his novels. Not being specific because spoilers.
On the prose style portion I fully get that, his writing is often very mechanical and functional rather than beautiful or subtle ("window pane" to use his parlance, though I disagree that the alternative is "stained glass" as that, ironically, sounds pejorative to me). Hmmm ... you don't have to worry about spoilers with me, so just add several lines of spacing so someone casually reading this thread won't get spoiled if they don't want to. Which examples are you thinking of specifically?
@@lukecox6317 what? What? Where did this "window pane" and "stained glass" thing come from?! I never even thought in terms of your "stained glass" or "window pane" thing. Take that assumption and throw it out. It's the fact that the Sanderson books follow a specific pattern and flow, making them blend together while being predictable. It's also that characters like the main character from The Emperor's Soul end up horrid bastards, and other characters become players who affect the other stuff in the Cosmere, and having to look up those connections is a pain. It's also certain aspects of the nature of the cosmere that are REALLY boring and overused, which yes is a personal thing, but it's a boring cliche. It has nothing to do with prose or window panes or stained glass. Also, YES, I will worry about spoilers, because schmuck bait is a thing.
@@lukecox6317 no, seriously, I cannot stress enough that your whole windowpane and stained glass thing is so wrongheaded and put so many assumptions of yours on me that it completely derailed anything I was trying to say distract everyone from everything I was trying to say. You don't know what I'm thinking. And your guess has made the world a worse place. Yes, I know that rhetoric is just a little bit hyperbolic, but it's not far off from what you just did. Edited for talk-to-text induced typos.
