The Emperor's Soul
2012
- forgery
- forgers
- fiction
- fiction, fantasy, general
- fiction, fantasy, action & adventure
- fiction, fantasy, epic
- series:elantris
The story
WINNER, 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella! Nominee, 2013 World Fantasy Award for Novella! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Emperor's Soul showcases a fascinating magic system as the clock ticks down for a condemned criminal. When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos. Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for the emperor in less than one hundred days. But her soul-Forgery is considered an abomination by her captors. She is confined to a tiny, dirty chamber, guarded by a man who hates her, spied upon by politicians, and trapped behind a door sealed in her own blood. Shai's only possible ally is the emperor's most loyal councillor, Gaotona, who struggles to understand her true talent. Time is running out for Shai. Forging, while deducing the motivations of her captors, she needs a perfect plan to escape…
What it’s like
Tight, precise prose with a clever, slightly wry voice, the kind that lays out a magic system step by step and lets the reader feel its rules click into place. Confined scenes in a cramped, grimy chamber sit beside sweeping imperial ceremony: lacquered halls, heavy mourning white, incense and palace bustle rendered in clean, economical sentences rather than lush description. The mood is brisk and cerebral, a puzzle unfolding under a ticking clock, with a dry humour that keeps the tension from curdling. Pacing is quick and chapter-driven, and the emotional register stays warm and low-key: a prickly, gifted woman who has spent her life being underestimated slowly finds respect and grudging alliance with the people guarding her, while a mystery about who wronged the emperor gathers momentum. Violence is minimal and off the page, with the occasional sharp threat or brief scuffle; nothing graphic, no sexual content, and fear stays in the mind rather than the body. A good fit for readers who want a clever, tidy fantasy to read in one or two sittings, especially on a commute or a quiet evening, and for anyone who enjoys problem-solving plots where wit does the heavy lifting.
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