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The Emperor’s Soul: 10th Anniversary Special Edition
Brandon Sanderson
“The Emperor’s Soul is one of those rare high fantasies that feels fresh and is filled with a sense of wonder.” —Charles de Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for an emperor in fewer than one hundred days. This special edition of the Hugo-Award winning novella The Emperor’s Soul features the deleted prologue “The Imperial Fool”; commentary from an award-winning podcast; and an original introduction.
The Emperor’s Soul: 10th Anniversary Special Edition
by Brandon Sanderson
ISBN: Print: 978-1-61696-402-3
Published: Octorber 18th, 2022
Available Format(s): Trade paperback
2013 Hugo Award winner
New content:
Deleted prologue “The Imperial Fool” by Brandon Sanderson (alludes to Sanderson’s bestselling Mistborn series)
Prologue commentary from the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses
An original introduction from the publisher about the origins of the book
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 comatose, 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 fewer 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…
“The forgery was a masterpiece, an almost perfect replica of a priceless work of art. The minor inconsistencies were all but impossible for even an expert to detect. However, Shai had been betrayed. Now awaiting execution, Shai would be reprieved if she could do the impossible. As a Forger, Shai is a skillful artist who can apply complex magical glyphs to rewrite the history of the item to change it completely. Although Forgers are despised, the Empire needs Shai to accomplish the unthinkable: to Forge a new soul for the Emperor. Verdict: Sanderson, the best-selling author of the Mistborn Trilogy and The Way of Kings, has set this novella in the same world as Elantris, one of his earlier novels, but it is totally independent. Fantasy fans will love both the compelling story and the creative magical setting.”
—Library Journal
“Sanderson proves to be an exceptionally talented writer in the pages of this book. . . . The Emperor’s Soul is one of those rare high fantasies that feels fresh and is filled with a sense of wonder.”
—Charles de Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction
5/5 stars. “The Emperor’s Soul ranks among the best work by Brandon Sanderson over his incredibly prolific career.”
—Grimdark Magazine
“With a fascinating study of clashing beliefs, another inventive magic system, and highly entertaining action sequence, The Emperor’s Soul is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants to find out for the first time what Sanderson is all about.”
—Fantasy Book Review
“This story had such a wonderful balance with the world, characters, and magic building, that I truly hope the author will explore it more. . . .”
—Open Book Society
“The Emperor’s Soul is fast-paced, clever, and fun. ”
—Fantasy Book Critic
“This is a fantastic novella set in the Elantris world. Despite it’s short length this story was complex, intriguing, and just absolutely magical and engaging.”
—Hidden in Pages
“An excellent fast read, highly recommended for readers looking for unique story worlds and magic systems. It won the 2013 Hugo Award for a Novella, and that really says it all.”
—Flight of the Dragon
“It truly is a work of art.”
—Pendemon
“If you’re going to pick up one book by Brandon Sanderson, this should be it.”
—The Illustrated Page
“In the tapestry of Sanderson’s body of work, this novella shines as a gem, showcasing the enduring magic of storytelling.”
—10 Books and More
Brandon Sanderson (Ceridwen via Wikimedia Commons)
Brandon Sanderson was born in December 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child, Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested for him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This all changed in eighth grade, when an astute teacher, Mrs. Reeder, gave Brandon Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. Brandon thoroughly enjoyed this book and went in search of anything similar. He discovered such authors as Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card. Brandon continued to be an avid reader through junior high and high school. He liked epic fantasy so much that he even tried his hand at writing some. His first attempts, he says, were dreadful.
Brandon was working on his thirteenth novel when Moshe Feder at Tor Books bought the sixth he had written, Elantris, which came out in May 2005. Since then, Brandon has hit the New York Times Bestseller List more than fifteen times, most recently at #1 with Rhythm of War, book four of the Stormlight Archive. Brandon has written bestsellers in epic fantasy, science fiction, children’s and young adult fiction, graphic novels, gaming adaptations, and more. His series works include Misborn, Infinity Blade, Legion, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, the Reckoners, Skyward, and more. He has sold more than twenty-one million books internationally, and his books have been published in more than thirty-five languages.
In December 2007, Brandon was chosen by Harriet McDougal Rigney to complete Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series after his untimely passing. 2009’s The Gathering Storm and 2010’s Towers of Midnight were followed by the final volume in the series, A Memory of Light, in January 2013. All three volumes were #1 New York Times bestsellers. In 2021, the first season of the television series for the Wheel of Time was released; Brandon is a consulting producer for the show, which was renewed before its first season premiered. Additionally, his Stormlight Archive and Mistborn series were optioned by DMG; Legion was optioned by Cineflix; Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians was optioned by DreamWorks Animation; Steelheart was optioned by Fox; Snapshot was optioned by MGM; and Dark One was optioned by Fremantle.
In 2011, Brandon won the David Gemmell Legend Award for The Way of Kings. He has also twice won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice award for Best Epic Fantasy and has been nominated three other times. His novella The Emperor’s Soul won the Hugo Award in 2013. Brandon has also received Spain’s UPC Science Fiction Award for the novelette “Defending Elysium.”
Brandon launched a Kickstarter in March 2022 for five secret projects, three of which are new Cosmere universe novels. The record-breaking Kickstarter ultimately raised more than $40 million. As a gesture of thanks, Sanderson then backed every other publishing project on Kickstarter at that time, totaling 316 projects.
Brandon lives in Utah with his wife and children. In 2004, he was asked to teach the class at Brigham Young University that he had taken as an undergraduate student from his professor and mentor, David Farland. Despite his busy schedule, Brandon continues to teach this one section of creative writing focused on science fiction and fantasy because he enjoys helping aspiring writers. Along with Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Dan Wells, he also hosts the Hugo and Parsec Award–winning writing advice podcast Writing Excuses.
Gaotona ran his fingers across the thick canvas, inspecting one of the greatest works of art he had ever seen. Unfortunately, it was a lie.
“The woman is a danger.” Hissed voices came from behind him. “What she does is an abomination.”
Gaotona tipped the canvas toward the hearth’s orange-red light, squinting. In his old age, his eyes weren’t what they had once been. Such precision, he thought, inspecting the brush strokes, feeling the layers of thick oils. Exactly like those in the original.
He would never have spotted the mistakes on his own. A blossom slightly out of position. A moon that was just a sliver too low in the sky. It had taken their experts days of detailed inspection to find the errors.
“She is one of the best Forgers alive.” The voices belonged to Gaotona’s fellow arbiters, the empire’s most important bureaucrats. “She has a reputation as wide as the empire. We need to execute her as an example.”
“No.” Frava, leader of the arbiters, had a sharp, nasal voice. “She is a valuable tool. This woman can save us. We must use her.”
Why? Gaotona thought again. Why would someone capable of this artistry, this majesty, turn to forgery? Why not create original paintings? Why not be a true artist? I must understand.
“Yes,” Frava continued, “the woman is a thief, and she practices a horrid art. But I can control her, and with her talents we can fix this mess we have found ourselves in.”
The others murmured worried objections. The woman they spoke of, Wan ShaiLu, was more than a simple con artist. So much more. She could change the nature of reality itself. That raised another question.
Why would she bother learning to paint? Wasn’t ordinary art mundane compared to her mystical talents?
So many questions. Gaotona looked up from his seat beside the hearth. The others stood in a conspiratorial clump around Frava’s desk, their long, colorful robes shimmering in the firelight. “I agree with Frava,” Gaotona said.
The others glanced at him. Their scowls indicated they cared little for what he said, but their postures told a different tale. Their respect for him was buried deep, but it was remembered.
“Send for the Forger,” Gaotona said, rising. “I would hear what she has to say. I suspect she will be more difficult to control than Frava claims, but we have no choice. We either use this woman’s skill, or we give up control of the empire.”
The murmurs ceased. How many years had it been since Frava and Gaotona had agreed on anything at all, let alone on something so divisive as making use of the Forger?
The Emperor’s Soul: 10th Anniversary Special Edition
Brandon Sanderson
“The Emperor’s Soul is one of those rare high fantasies that feels fresh and is filled with a sense of wonder.”
—Charles de Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for an emperor in fewer than one hundred days. This special edition of the Hugo-Award winning novella The Emperor’s Soul features the deleted prologue “The Imperial Fool”; commentary from an award-winning podcast; and an original introduction.
$16.95
The Emperor’s Soul: 10th Anniversary Special Edition
by Brandon Sanderson
ISBN: Print: 978-1-61696-402-3
Published: Octorber 18th, 2022
Available Format(s): Trade paperback
2013 Hugo Award winner
New content:
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 comatose, 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 fewer 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…
“The forgery was a masterpiece, an almost perfect replica of a priceless work of art. The minor inconsistencies were all but impossible for even an expert to detect. However, Shai had been betrayed. Now awaiting execution, Shai would be reprieved if she could do the impossible. As a Forger, Shai is a skillful artist who can apply complex magical glyphs to rewrite the history of the item to change it completely. Although Forgers are despised, the Empire needs Shai to accomplish the unthinkable: to Forge a new soul for the Emperor. Verdict: Sanderson, the best-selling author of the Mistborn Trilogy and The Way of Kings, has set this novella in the same world as Elantris, one of his earlier novels, but it is totally independent. Fantasy fans will love both the compelling story and the creative magical setting.”
—Library Journal
“Sanderson proves to be an exceptionally talented writer in the pages of this book. . . . The Emperor’s Soul is one of those rare high fantasies that feels fresh and is filled with a sense of wonder.”
—Charles de Lint, Fantasy & Science Fiction
5/5 stars. “The Emperor’s Soul ranks among the best work by Brandon Sanderson over his incredibly prolific career.”
—Grimdark Magazine
“With a fascinating study of clashing beliefs, another inventive magic system, and highly entertaining action sequence, The Emperor’s Soul is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants to find out for the first time what Sanderson is all about.”
—Fantasy Book Review
“This story had such a wonderful balance with the world, characters, and magic building, that I truly hope the author will explore it more. . . .”
—Open Book Society
“The Emperor’s Soul is fast-paced, clever, and fun. ”
—Fantasy Book Critic
“This is a fantastic novella set in the Elantris world. Despite it’s short length this story was complex, intriguing, and just absolutely magical and engaging.”
—Hidden in Pages
“An excellent fast read, highly recommended for readers looking for unique story worlds and magic systems. It won the 2013 Hugo Award for a Novella, and that really says it all.”
—Flight of the Dragon
“It truly is a work of art.”
—Pendemon
“If you’re going to pick up one book by Brandon Sanderson, this should be it.”
—The Illustrated Page
“In the tapestry of Sanderson’s body of work, this novella shines as a gem, showcasing the enduring magic of storytelling.”
—10 Books and More
Brandon Sanderson was born in December 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child, Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested for him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This all changed in eighth grade, when an astute teacher, Mrs. Reeder, gave Brandon Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. Brandon thoroughly enjoyed this book and went in search of anything similar. He discovered such authors as Robert Jordan, Melanie Rawn, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card. Brandon continued to be an avid reader through junior high and high school. He liked epic fantasy so much that he even tried his hand at writing some. His first attempts, he says, were dreadful.
Brandon was working on his thirteenth novel when Moshe Feder at Tor Books bought the sixth he had written, Elantris, which came out in May 2005. Since then, Brandon has hit the New York Times Bestseller List more than fifteen times, most recently at #1 with Rhythm of War, book four of the Stormlight Archive. Brandon has written bestsellers in epic fantasy, science fiction, children’s and young adult fiction, graphic novels, gaming adaptations, and more. His series works include Misborn, Infinity Blade, Legion, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, the Reckoners, Skyward, and more. He has sold more than twenty-one million books internationally, and his books have been published in more than thirty-five languages.
In December 2007, Brandon was chosen by Harriet McDougal Rigney to complete Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series after his untimely passing. 2009’s The Gathering Storm and 2010’s Towers of Midnight were followed by the final volume in the series, A Memory of Light, in January 2013. All three volumes were #1 New York Times bestsellers. In 2021, the first season of the television series for the Wheel of Time was released; Brandon is a consulting producer for the show, which was renewed before its first season premiered. Additionally, his Stormlight Archive and Mistborn series were optioned by DMG; Legion was optioned by Cineflix; Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians was optioned by DreamWorks Animation; Steelheart was optioned by Fox; Snapshot was optioned by MGM; and Dark One was optioned by Fremantle.
In 2011, Brandon won the David Gemmell Legend Award for The Way of Kings. He has also twice won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice award for Best Epic Fantasy and has been nominated three other times. His novella The Emperor’s Soul won the Hugo Award in 2013. Brandon has also received Spain’s UPC Science Fiction Award for the novelette “Defending Elysium.”
Brandon launched a Kickstarter in March 2022 for five secret projects, three of which are new Cosmere universe novels. The record-breaking Kickstarter ultimately raised more than $40 million. As a gesture of thanks, Sanderson then backed every other publishing project on Kickstarter at that time, totaling 316 projects.
Brandon lives in Utah with his wife and children. In 2004, he was asked to teach the class at Brigham Young University that he had taken as an undergraduate student from his professor and mentor, David Farland. Despite his busy schedule, Brandon continues to teach this one section of creative writing focused on science fiction and fantasy because he enjoys helping aspiring writers. Along with Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Dan Wells, he also hosts the Hugo and Parsec Award–winning writing advice podcast Writing Excuses.
Visit the Brandon Sanderson website.
Gaotona ran his fingers across the thick canvas, inspecting one of the greatest works of art he had ever seen. Unfortunately, it was a lie.
“The woman is a danger.” Hissed voices came from behind him. “What she does is an abomination.”
Gaotona tipped the canvas toward the hearth’s orange-red light, squinting. In his old age, his eyes weren’t what they had once been. Such precision, he thought, inspecting the brush strokes, feeling the layers of thick oils. Exactly like those in the original.
He would never have spotted the mistakes on his own. A blossom slightly out of position. A moon that was just a sliver too low in the sky. It had taken their experts days of detailed inspection to find the errors.
“She is one of the best Forgers alive.” The voices belonged to Gaotona’s fellow arbiters, the empire’s most important bureaucrats. “She has a reputation as wide as the empire. We need to execute her as an example.”
“No.” Frava, leader of the arbiters, had a sharp, nasal voice. “She is a valuable tool. This woman can save us. We must use her.”
Why? Gaotona thought again. Why would someone capable of this artistry, this majesty, turn to forgery? Why not create original paintings? Why not be a true artist? I must understand.
“Yes,” Frava continued, “the woman is a thief, and she practices a horrid art. But I can control her, and with her talents we can fix this mess we have found ourselves in.”
The others murmured worried objections. The woman they spoke of, Wan ShaiLu, was more than a simple con artist. So much more. She could change the nature of reality itself. That raised another question.
Why would she bother learning to paint? Wasn’t ordinary art mundane compared to her mystical talents?
So many questions. Gaotona looked up from his seat beside the hearth. The others stood in a conspiratorial clump around Frava’s desk, their long, colorful robes shimmering in the firelight. “I agree with Frava,” Gaotona said.
The others glanced at him. Their scowls indicated they cared little for what he said, but their postures told a different tale. Their respect for him was buried deep, but it was remembered.
“Send for the Forger,” Gaotona said, rising. “I would hear what she has to say. I suspect she will be more difficult to control than Frava claims, but we have no choice. We either use this woman’s skill, or we give up control of the empire.”
The murmurs ceased. How many years had it been since Frava and Gaotona had agreed on anything at all, let alone on something so divisive as making use of the Forger?
One by one, the other three arbiters nodded.
“Let it be done,” Frava said softly.
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