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Topics - Emmaleem

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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?

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Brandon Sanderson / Religion in Mistborn and Elantris --AML do-over (SPOILERS)
« on: January 23, 2009, 04:54:19 AM »
Greetings, everyone--I'm new here. I just finished the last Mistborn book, and I am kicking myself for not reading the whole series much sooner.  Specifically, I really wish I'd read them before the AML (Association for Mormon Letters) meeting last fall.  Brandon Sanderson and Daniel Wells together hosted a session on religion in science fiction and fantasy.  It was sparsely attended, but very very interesting.  Based on what I heard there, and on a friend's fervent recommendation, I read and loved Elantris.  And I just now treated myself to reading the last two Mistborn books (because I broke my leg, and I have a lot of down time). I have to say that the treatment of religion in Brandon's books is so very interesting to me.

So: if I were in that session again, here are some things I would comment or ask (and, as a newbie, I ask forgiveness if these are issues that have already been discussed here to death):

Are the Sazed/Joseph Smith parallels deliberate, as in something you planned, or did they just evolve? (Sazed as a searcher for the true religion, has a mystical experience, discovers that he is the restorer of the true religion in its original, ideal state... Joseph Smith as a seeker of the true religion, has a mystical experience, discovers that he is a restorer of Christianity in its original state.)

Ditto with the writing on steel/Book of Mormon golden plates references.

I loved the way that Sazed recreated the world based on truths from other religions.  In what way do other religious worldviews influence your work (I read here on the forum that you've borrowed the dark/light balance from Buddhism, for example)

I'm fascinated by all the different characters' responses to religion.  Kelsier creates his own, through his own martyrdom, so that he can inspire his followers even after he dies (hmmm... another Joseph Smith parallel?)  Then Vin resents being turned into an object of belief, while Elend converts from duty, rather than from a true conversion experience.  Spook has to learn to distinguish between the voice of Ruin, and his own internal compass of truth. 

Based on the martyrdom=create a religion idea, the deaths of Vin and Elend could lead to a new religion.  They lend themselves to an Adam/Eve creation myth sort of thing.

On Elantris...
I just loved Hrathen's character.  So devout, and so blind, and then redeemed in the end.  I love what that says about the whole picture of a person, that you have to take their entire life into account before judging. 

I think it's nice to have all those shades of good and evil in here--you've got extreme good in Raoden, and extreme evil in Dilaf, and then that nuanced character Hrathen. 

***
I could go on.  But mostly, I wish I had read your books in time to have already had this discussion.  Thanks for writing such great books.

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