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Brandon Sanderson: The Emperor's Soul

As Elantris is probably my favorite Sanderson book of all time, I was excited to see this novella that takes place in the same world. I listened to this on Audible, and it went really quickly (I think it's about 3 hours total).

The Emperor's Soul follows the story of Shei, a Forger, who has been arrested for Forging a copy of a painting in the Emperor's palace. Unbeknownst to Shei, the Emperor was injured in an assassination attempt, and his mind was broken. Knowing her great skill, the bureaucrats in charge of the Empire offer her a trade: her life, for a forgery of the Emperor's soul. This feat is nearly impossible, and Shei knows this, but she accepts the chance at freedom. Will Shei actually be able to recreate the Emperor?

This novella was beautifully written. I loved Shei's personality, and the conflicts she had with the Empire. I found it fascinating to learn more about her, and her attempts to thwart being manipulated. I thought her story was fascinating in the way it played out.

The magic system in this novella was interesting as well. I wish that Sanderson had taken a little more time to explain it. I felt that I never fully grasped what Forging was or how it worked, and that drew away from the story. The magic system is central to the plot of this story, so it made it difficult to really grasp the full potential of this story.

I picked this book up because it takes place in the same world as Elantris. I was a little disappointed that I didn't recognize anything in this book with that being the case. I was a little frustrated that there's a new magic system, and that it doesn't mention the city of Elantris at all. It almost didn't seem to fit, and felt unfair to me to label it as part of Elantris. I've always really wanted more to that story! This was probably the biggest issue that I had with it. Maybe it's just been too long since I read Elantris?

Overall, I rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐
PG - a little bit of creepy violence (Blood seals)


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