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Nov 07, 2017isaachar rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
While this was an amazing novella anthology taking place on several worlds in Sanderson's Cosmere universe, if you haven't read through Elantris, the first 2 Stormlight books and the first 3 Mistborn books, I would hold off before reading. While I don't mind being spoiled and wasn't particularly bothered by it, there are definite spoilers for a few series that might warrant caution. I had already read Secret History, but I can't recommend it enough to fans of the mistborn series. You don't 'have' to read it to get the main story, but it adds a great amount to it. Among my favorites were 'The Emperors Soul', 'Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell', and '6th of Dusk'. 'Edgedancer' takes place in the Stormlight Archive setting world of Roshar, and is about a street urchin who helps determine the ruler of a bureaucratic country. 'Emperor's Soul' takes place in a world where magic allows one to change the shape, history and even 'soul' of any thing or person with elaborate stamps. The main character is a master 'forger' who is imprisoned and awaiting death for illegal magics, commissioned to forge an artificial soul for an Emperor suffering from brain death. 'Shadows for Silence' takes place on the hellish world of Threnody, where people live alongside the violent ghosts of their deceased. The ghost's are only fully visible at night, and will brutally kill anyone they see that lights a fire, moves too quickly, or sheds the blood of another. 6th of Dusk, my favorite story in the book, takes place on world of islands covered in deadly plants and animals. The story revolves around Dusk, one of the last of a solitary culture of island rangers...those taught to survive the murderous plants and monsters of each island in order to forage and trade with the more habitable mainlands. Think of a blend of 'The Witcher' series (novels and games), The 'Avatar' movie and 'Last of the Mohicans'. The main plot revolves around Dusk surviving and helping another to survive the traps of the island, but the overall story is about the effects of technology and change on society. If you are caught up on the Mistborn hexology and the Elantris novel, Arcanum Unbounded is a must read.