Which is better to read first, Elantris or the Emperor's Soul?

[Kaponkie]

I want to start exploring the world of Sel and I was wondering which is the best to start with. Thanks in advance for all the help you lovely people provide.

[Eternal Khol he/him]

I would start with Elantris and then move on to Emperors soul after.

There are a couple of minor Easter eggs in Emperors soul that you wouldnt pick up on until after reading Elantris. nothing really relevent, but cool nonetheless.

its up to you though. 
 

     Elantris is definitely of way lower quality(not to say that its not a great book, but it is of lower quality)than Emperors soul, and much longer. Because brandon wrote Elantris before the cosmere was even really fully formed, It does have cosmere elements, but you can kind of tell that Brandon wrote them into the book not knowing exactly what or how they would work or how he would use them later on. They were really just plot devices to be developed and used later on.
     Emperors soul, on the other hand, is definitely of higher qualtity than Elantris(brandon's writing got a lot better) and a lot shorter in length. The Cosmere elements used are more fleshed out and developed(you can tell it has its place in the cosmere) than what was in Elantris.

Indeed, its not just the cosmere elements that are more fleshed out, but everything. Brandons writing style has evolved considerably since Elantris.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Eternal Khol
Typo

[Quantus he/him]

I agree with the above.  Elantris first would be my recommendation because that would put them in increasing quality order. But either way you wont miss anything but the most obscure easter egg style connections between the two, despite being on the same planet.

[Kaponkie]

17 hours ago, Eternal Khol said:

I would start with Elantris and then move on to Emperors soul after.

There are a couple of minor Easter eggs in Emperors soul that you wouldnt pick up on until after reading Elantris. nothing really relevent, but cool nonetheless.

its up to you though. 
 

     Elantris is definitely of way lower quality(not to say that its not a great book, but it is of lower quality)than Emperors soul, and much longer. Because brandon wrote Elantris before the cosmere was even really fully formed, It does have cosmere elements, but you can kind of tell that Brandon wrote them into the book not knowing exactly what or how they would work or how he would use them later on. They were really just plot devices to be developed and used later on.
     Emperors soul, on the other hand, is definitely of higher qualtity than Elantris(brandon's writing got a lot better) and a lot shorter in length. The Cosmere elements used are more fleshed out and developed(you can tell it has its place in the cosmere) than what was in Elantris.

Indeed, its not just the cosmere elements that are more fleshed out, but everything. Brandons writing style has evolved considerably since Elantris.

 

17 hours ago, Quantus said:

I agree with the above.  Elantris first would be my recommendation because that would put them in increasing quality order. But either way you wont miss anything but the most obscure easter egg style connections between the two, despite being on the same planet.

Thanks a lot, I think I'll be leading with Elantris

[GoWibble he/him]

If you need a good short story, I'd go with The Emperor's soul first. The plotlines are more tangentially related than anything, and Elantris starts out a little slow in my opinion. If you have plenty of time and you want more of an epic fantasy, I'd definitely go for Elantris.