Skip to content

The Emperor's Soul

The Emperor's Soul

NovellaFantasyEpic Fantasy
Pages
118
Published
2012
Language
English

Synopsis

Shai is a Forger — a criminal who creates magical seals that can rewrite the history of objects, making a wooden door appear as ancient mahogany or a new sword read as a finely crafted antique. Captured and facing execution for her attempt to steal the Moon Scepter, she is given an impossible offer: spend one hundred days in a locked room and create a new soul for the Emperor, whose soul was destroyed in an assassination attempt that left him breathing but empty. If she succeeds, she goes free. If she fails, she dies. What follows is a tightly constructed novella about art, identity, and the ethics of creation, told through Shai's conversations with her reluctant minder as she builds a human life from historical fragments. It won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella at LoneStarCon 3.

Prose complexity
4/10

Collected in

Book cover of Arcanum Unbounded
Arcanum Unbounded

Vibe

TenseMysteriousHopeful
HeistTime Loop

Genres

Fantasy Epic Fantasy High Fantasy Adventure

About the author

B
Brandon Sanderson

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1975, Brandon Sanderson spent his early twenties working graveyard shifts at a hotel — writing novels at the front desk between guest check-ins. By the time his debut, Elantris, was published by Tor Books in 2005, he had completed thirteen novels in the drawer. His subsequent Mistborn trilogy and the ongoing Stormlight Archive series established him as the primary architect of the Cosmere, an interconnected fictional universe in which most of his fantasy series share...

Characters

ShaiProtagonist

A brilliant Forger who creates stamps that rewrite an object's spiritual history; captured and forced to attempt an impossible commission to save her own life.

FravaAntagonist

Seniormost arbiter and leader of the Heritage Faction, the second most powerful person in the empire; skeptical of and obstructive toward Shai's commission.

GaotonaSupporting

An elderly imperial administrator and unwilling minder of Shai who develops a genuine appreciation for her art and philosophy as the hundred days pass.

AshravanSupporting

The Emperor of the Rose Empire, left brain-dead by an assassination attempt; Shai must Forge him a new soul.

All characters in The Emperor's Soul

Frequently asked questions

  • What award did The Emperor's Soul win?

    It won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella at LoneStarCon 3, the first Hugo Award won by Sanderson.

  • Is it connected to Elantris?

    Both are set on the planet Sel in the Cosmere, but on different continents with different cultures and different magic systems. They can be read in either order with no dependency on each other.

  • How long is it?

    The Emperor's Soul runs approximately 175 pages — a novella that can be read in a single sitting, making it one of the most accessible entry points to the Cosmere.

  • Where was it first published?

    It was originally published in November 2012 by Tachyon Publications, and is also collected in Sanderson's Cosmere anthology Arcanum Unbounded.

  • What is a Forger and how does the magic work?

    A Forger creates seals — physical stamps — that rewrite the spiritual history of an object or person. The stamp only holds if the rewritten history is plausible given what the object actually is. The magic is deeply tied to the idea that objects have a soul shaped by their history.

  • Is The Emperor's Soul a good starting point for the Cosmere?

    Yes. It is short, self-contained, and introduces the Cosmere's tone and world-building depth without requiring any prior knowledge. It is widely recommended as a first Sanderson read alongside Elantris.

Read all 8 reviews