A perfect little bundle, Brandon Sanderson’s Hugo Award-winning THE EMPEROR’S SOUL is thrilling and poignant

Cover art by Alexander Nanitchkov
Design by Elizabeth Story

Rachael Koppendrayer gives Brandon Sanderson’s THE EMPEROR’S SOUL 5 stars.

It’s rare that I give a novella 5 stars–they’re so short, and so often the story would be better served to be longer and more developed. But while I would love to have more time with Shai, this story is beautifully balanced. It’s thrilling. It’s poignant. It’s a countdown to an execution, a heist story, and an essay on art. It’s both character-driven and plot-driven. Though it has ties to a specific novel and is part of a broad collection of related series, it stands completely on its own. Everything is packed perfectly into one small space.

A 5-star fantasy novella!

With similar sentiments, STUCK IN THE STACKS includes the novella atop their Top Ten Tuesday– Short Books Edition.

I just love this perfect little bundle of a book. It’s an excellent introduction to those who have been wanting to read some Sanderson but can’t bring themselves to start a massive series or tome right now. It’s the perfect little summary of how wonderful he is at magic systems and character development and making you think deeply about yourself. Somehow, he accomplished more in these 175 pages than many authors do in much longer books. I love it and it’s perfect, now go read it!

Words of Radiance cover art by Michael Whelan; Photos by Deana Whitney

For TOR.COM, Deana Whitney shares Cosmere Cuisine: Meals Inspired by The Stormlight Archive (Part 1) (Part 2).

Welcome as the Cosmere Cuisine tour arrives on Roshar, land of Brandon Sanderson’s ambitious epic, The Stormlight Archive. Roshar is a land of highstorms, glowing stormlight, shattered plains, and trees called “drop-deads.”

Throughout the series, readers are rewarded with a plethora of details and descriptions about the land, the various cultures, and—most importantly to me—the foods. The cuisine in Alethkar is not the same as in Azir or Emul; this article will focus on food in the Vorin Kingdoms, specifically Alethkar and Jah Keved. Part 2 will explore other lands on Roshar.

The plants and animals from Shinovar are those of Earth. The twist in designing Rosharan menus is that the plants from the rest of the planet do not act or grow like Earth flora. Many elements are going to be different. For some flavors, we have to accept “X is equal to Y” on Roshar, until we learn otherwise.