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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
June 2022: I almost don't have anything to say about this, because it just is. I'm taking away my former 4.5 star rating, and this is now just a straight five. It is a perfect fantasy novella.
This takes place in Sanderson's Cosmere (a shared universe for all his adult fantasy), but can be read completely on its own, and would also be a good introduction to both Sanderson's work, and to high fantasy in general.
Our main character is Shai, a Forger, who has just been captured by the Emperor's authorities for her crimes. But while Shai can do ordinary forging without magic, her true talents lie in the art of soul-stamping, a magic that can be used to rewrite an object, animal, plant, or person's history, and thus change who and what they are in the present. Shai makes a fool's bargain with the Emperor's advisor to do an almost impossible task in exchange for her freedom, which she knows is a trap. But she' can't resist the challenge of forging the soul of the Emperor, the ultimate showcase for her work.
There's so much in here about art and what makes people who they are, and Sanderson even manages in the short page count to pack an impressive amount of character growth not just for Shai, but for her counterpart, Gaotona, the Emperor's advisor.
Highly, highly recommend this one.
March 2014: So I bought a new bookmark right before I started this, but I never even used it once. Just read this sucker straight through. What is this guy's brain. Honestly, I'm trying to think of a reason NOT to give this five stars, and I can't? Help.
It really and truly does not compute in my head how Brandon Sanderson is able to keep inventing these really awesome, really well thought out magic systems, and on top of all that, still give us great characters, character arcs, and satisfying plot movement. Not that I’m complaining, because MORE PLEASE, but just, HOW!?
The Emperor’s Soul is a novella set in the same world as his first published novel, Elantris, although you don’t have to read that one in order to enjoy this one. It features a different magic system and different characters entirely. I just like to mention these things because I am a huge nerd, and knowing that Sel is also the home of a previous story I enjoyed makes me happy.
Our main character in The Emperor’s Soul is Shai, a forger, who has the ability to affect change on objects and people by essentially re-writing their history. This ability, particularly in relation to human souls, is considered a great sin by those in power, and yet it is precisely those people who come to Shai to strike a deal. Their Emperor has sustained a head injury in an assassination attempt that left him brain-dead, and they want her to create (or re-create) his soul/personality before their political enemies catch wind of it and oust them from power. She has 100 days (the period of mourning for the Emperor’s also-dead wife) to make the Emperor a new soul, a seemingly impossible task. Even for a forger of her caliber — and Shai is a true artist of the form — such a thing would normally take years. And she has to do it not only in a shortened time-frame, but with treacherous political advisers breathing down her neck and planning her demise.
It was a super fun read.
Shai also has a nice emotional arc that I won’t spoil, and she develops a relationship with one of the advisers that I really liked. I almost wished it was full length novel instead of a novella, but after thinking about it for a while, I think it was just the right size. Sanderson has proved he can do novels of pretty much any size at this point, and do them well, from 1000 plus page monstrosities to 100 plus novellas. I think it would make me angry if I didn’t like his writing so much.
My only regret at this point is I wish I had bought a copy instead of borrowing it from the library.
This takes place in Sanderson's Cosmere (a shared universe for all his adult fantasy), but can be read completely on its own, and would also be a good introduction to both Sanderson's work, and to high fantasy in general.
Our main character is Shai, a Forger, who has just been captured by the Emperor's authorities for her crimes. But while Shai can do ordinary forging without magic, her true talents lie in the art of soul-stamping, a magic that can be used to rewrite an object, animal, plant, or person's history, and thus change who and what they are in the present. Shai makes a fool's bargain with the Emperor's advisor to do an almost impossible task in exchange for her freedom, which she knows is a trap. But she' can't resist the challenge of forging the soul of the Emperor, the ultimate showcase for her work.
There's so much in here about art and what makes people who they are, and Sanderson even manages in the short page count to pack an impressive amount of character growth not just for Shai, but for her counterpart, Gaotona, the Emperor's advisor.
Highly, highly recommend this one.
March 2014: So I bought a new bookmark right before I started this, but I never even used it once. Just read this sucker straight through. What is this guy's brain. Honestly, I'm trying to think of a reason NOT to give this five stars, and I can't? Help.
It really and truly does not compute in my head how Brandon Sanderson is able to keep inventing these really awesome, really well thought out magic systems, and on top of all that, still give us great characters, character arcs, and satisfying plot movement. Not that I’m complaining, because MORE PLEASE, but just, HOW!?
The Emperor’s Soul is a novella set in the same world as his first published novel, Elantris, although you don’t have to read that one in order to enjoy this one. It features a different magic system and different characters entirely. I just like to mention these things because I am a huge nerd, and knowing that Sel is also the home of a previous story I enjoyed makes me happy.
Our main character in The Emperor’s Soul is Shai, a forger, who has the ability to affect change on objects and people by essentially re-writing their history. This ability, particularly in relation to human souls, is considered a great sin by those in power, and yet it is precisely those people who come to Shai to strike a deal. Their Emperor has sustained a head injury in an assassination attempt that left him brain-dead, and they want her to create (or re-create) his soul/personality before their political enemies catch wind of it and oust them from power. She has 100 days (the period of mourning for the Emperor’s also-dead wife) to make the Emperor a new soul, a seemingly impossible task. Even for a forger of her caliber — and Shai is a true artist of the form — such a thing would normally take years. And she has to do it not only in a shortened time-frame, but with treacherous political advisers breathing down her neck and planning her demise.
It was a super fun read.
Shai also has a nice emotional arc that I won’t spoil, and she develops a relationship with one of the advisers that I really liked. I almost wished it was full length novel instead of a novella, but after thinking about it for a while, I think it was just the right size. Sanderson has proved he can do novels of pretty much any size at this point, and do them well, from 1000 plus page monstrosities to 100 plus novellas. I think it would make me angry if I didn’t like his writing so much.
My only regret at this point is I wish I had bought a copy instead of borrowing it from the library.
( I read this in the Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection)
Most amazing magic system so far!!! I could read 10000 pages of this.
Guys, I'm getting so deep into this Sanderson hole, I was emailing my local bookstore at 3am, ordering more Cosmere books😭
Most amazing magic system so far!!! I could read 10000 pages of this.
Guys, I'm getting so deep into this Sanderson hole, I was emailing my local bookstore at 3am, ordering more Cosmere books😭
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Brandon Sanderson may be my favorite author tbh
““Recordaría a su pueblo, no a sus citas para cenar. Por fin impulsaría a las facciones para que llevaran a cabo los cambios que él, y muchos antes que él, habían advertido que eran necesarios.
En resumen, se convertiría en un luchador. Daría ese único paso, tan difícil, para cruzar la frontera entre el soñador y el hacedor. Gaotona podía verlo en esas páginas.
Descubrió que estaba llorando.
No por el futuro ni por el emperador. Eran las lágrimas de un hombre que se veía ante una obra maestra. El arte verdadero era más que belleza, era más que técnica. No se trataba solo de imitación.
Era arrojo, era contraste, era sutileza. En ese cuaderno, Gaotona encontró una rara obra que rivalizaba con la de los más grandes pintores, escultores y poetas de cualquier época.
Era la mayor obra de arte que jamás había visto.”
Este hombre no escribe nada mal. De verdad, qué arte.
En resumen, se convertiría en un luchador. Daría ese único paso, tan difícil, para cruzar la frontera entre el soñador y el hacedor. Gaotona podía verlo en esas páginas.
Descubrió que estaba llorando.
No por el futuro ni por el emperador. Eran las lágrimas de un hombre que se veía ante una obra maestra. El arte verdadero era más que belleza, era más que técnica. No se trataba solo de imitación.
Era arrojo, era contraste, era sutileza. En ese cuaderno, Gaotona encontró una rara obra que rivalizaba con la de los más grandes pintores, escultores y poetas de cualquier época.
Era la mayor obra de arte que jamás había visto.”
Este hombre no escribe nada mal. De verdad, qué arte.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was surprised how enjoyable this novella was to read, a fast-paced introspective read about what makes a person. It taking place on the same planet as Elantris is an added bonus to add to a deeper understand of the Sel system and Cosmere.