A review by jlemaster11
The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

5.0

This was such a delight. This is exactly how you write a compelling story about vivid characters. The fantastical elements were discussed for a massive amount of the book, but they weren’t fantasy for its own sake. This was an introspection on what art is and what defines the self. Despite being mostly contained in Shai’s head while she’s imprisoned, the story was perfectly paced. The contemplation of all the different ideas and themes had time to breathe without meandering, and the dialogue was layered, efficient, and engaging. There was more substance in this relatively short story than most full length novels.

I love the idea of attempting to forge someone’s soul from reading diligently about them, entirely without meeting them. The obvious parallel being that Sanderson was writing from the reader’s perspective, piecing together who he is from all the various stories he writes - pieces of his soul.