Arcanum Unbounded collects all
of fantasy author Brandon Sanderson’s short fiction set within the Cosmere, a
cosmos encompassing numerous planets on which operate diverse cultures and
distinctive forms of magic, some of which are also host to power-bestowing Shards
of a shattered god.
Each section is prefaced by a brief overview of
the solar system in which the subsequent stories take place, with the only
missing setting being the world of Warbreaker
(as there are no other tales set there), while each tale is postscripted by
Sanderson’s thoughts on its content and the inspiration behind writing it.
Beginning things strong is award-winning novella The Emperor’s Soul, in which a forger
expert in magically altering the nature of objects must, under threat of
execution, create an artificial soul to revive the empire’s recently
assassinated ruler, who is only mostly dead. Although set on the same planet as
Elantris it takes place in a
different part of the world and so functions perfectly well as a standalone
tale, and a pretty damn good one at that.
The Hope of Elantris, meanwhile, retells
part of the novel’s climax from a different perspective. The weakest of the
collection, it’s a somewhat melodramatic exercise, which the postscript freely admits.
The Eleventh Metal is a prequel
short featuring Mistborn antihero Kelsier early in his training, revealing a
man far more at the mercy of his rage than the accomplished warrior, thief and
con man we meet in The Final Empire,
and slightly expanding on the brief flashes of his backstory we became privy to,
along with the subtlety by which unseen forces were already influencing him.
Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania is a fantastically entertaining comedic outing, relaying an excerpt
from the self-aggrandised autobiographical exploits of the eponymous
adventurer, with regular sardonic footnotes (at least one per page) from his
long-suffering companion pointing out grammatical errors and narrative
inconsistencies. Imagine ‘60s TV series Batman as magical steampunk told in a
first-person narrative with running commentary by Animated Series Alfred and you’re
most of the way there.
Another novella, Mistborn: Secret History retells the surprise death of a
significant character towards the climax of The
Final Empire and continues on to relate their time as a spirit, confirming the
subtle hints throughout the rest of the trilogy that their influence could
still be felt, while also revealing the behind-the-scenes war of divine powers.
White Sand is a graphic
novel series set on a desert world, partly focusing on the lowest member of an
order whose members are stratified by their ability to control the magic of the
planet’s sand. While the included excerpt is an engaging introduction, the
colour comic is reprinted in black and white for obvious financial reasons, but
in doing so is robbed of its true realisation. Added for contrast is the opening
of the unpublished novel on which the comic was based, highlighting just how
much better the story works in a visual medium.
Although laboriously titled, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is another highlight,
telling of an innkeeper and her daughter who moonlight as bounty hunters, using
the reward money to maintain the silver barriers around their remote tavern that
hold at bay the malevolent shades haunting the vast forest in which they live.
More a horror tale than fantasy, even in its short length it presents its
wonderfully eerie setting fully formed and utterly compelling.
Like Shadows,
Sixth of the Dusk takes place on a
world not seen in any novel, featuring a tracker sailing around an uninhabited
archipelago whose stock in trade is the islands’ bird species which bestow various
psychic abilities, and whose way of life is in danger of being infringed upon
by advancing civilisation. Although an interesting deconstruction of the ‘noble
savage’ pulp archetype, the scope of the story feels too limited, despite
including the frustratingly unelaborated revelation that at least one
civilisation somewhere in the Cosmere has developed space flight.
Finishing things is the previously unpublished
novella Edgedancer, featuring the
teenage thief Lift from an interlude chapter in Words of Radiance being driven by a sense of obligation she doesn’t
yet understand to attempt to prevent a murder. While Lift is one of the more
interesting (and certainly less annoying) characters from the novel, the story
still feels as incidental as her previous appearance, ultimately adding little
to the sprawling narrative planned for the ongoing Stormlight Archive series.
Overall, Arcanum
Unbounded is a lengthy and mostly engaging collection; certainly one for
completists who are determined to learn all they can about the Cosmere and its
hidden secrets, and also people who just love well-crafted fantasy tales.
ARCANUM
UNBOUNDED / AUTHOR: BRANDON SANDERSON / PUBLISHER: GOLLANCZ / RELEASE DATE: OUT
NOW
