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Brandon Sanderson / Forget sex. Let's talk romance.
« on: January 27, 2009, 09:36:25 PM »
Ryanjm points out the minimal role of sex/sexuality in the Mistborn series here: http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=6410.0.
Whether or not you like Mistborn that way, and whether or not you think characters are more realistic when their attractions are dwelt on more, I think you could make a case for the Vin/Elend romance as less successful than Raoden/Sarene or Susebron/Siri.
Maybe it's just me. But Raoden/Sarene--ah! the tension was great, that perfect romantic suspense of knowing two people are meant for each other, have to get together, but have impossible obstacles in front of them. Seriously great romance. And the Susebron/Siri romance was equally if not more compelling for me, particularly because I didn't expect it from the start. (Not Vasher/Vivenna though, at least not in the version I read. When they ended up together, I felt a let down and a huh? I needed more buildup to believe and be happy for them.)
But Vin/Elend? I don't know, something about it doesn't work as well for me as the other ones. [disclaimer: I loved the series, it kept me up late reading, I'm not dissing the books, just analyzing a bit.] Did anyone else feel that way? I'm trying to figure out why. For me, it's not the absence of sex; in fact, I think too many sexual references destroy the kind of romantic tension I'm referring to. Maybe it's the way their relationship is kind of strung between two novels; you think they end up together after the first one, but Vin's not really committed, but the "should I marry Elend or not" is not really the focus of Book 2, or at least not as much as I would have liked.
What do you think? Which romance do you find most successful, and why?
Whether or not you like Mistborn that way, and whether or not you think characters are more realistic when their attractions are dwelt on more, I think you could make a case for the Vin/Elend romance as less successful than Raoden/Sarene or Susebron/Siri.
Maybe it's just me. But Raoden/Sarene--ah! the tension was great, that perfect romantic suspense of knowing two people are meant for each other, have to get together, but have impossible obstacles in front of them. Seriously great romance. And the Susebron/Siri romance was equally if not more compelling for me, particularly because I didn't expect it from the start. (Not Vasher/Vivenna though, at least not in the version I read. When they ended up together, I felt a let down and a huh? I needed more buildup to believe and be happy for them.)
But Vin/Elend? I don't know, something about it doesn't work as well for me as the other ones. [disclaimer: I loved the series, it kept me up late reading, I'm not dissing the books, just analyzing a bit.] Did anyone else feel that way? I'm trying to figure out why. For me, it's not the absence of sex; in fact, I think too many sexual references destroy the kind of romantic tension I'm referring to. Maybe it's the way their relationship is kind of strung between two novels; you think they end up together after the first one, but Vin's not really committed, but the "should I marry Elend or not" is not really the focus of Book 2, or at least not as much as I would have liked.
What do you think? Which romance do you find most successful, and why?