The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

Chakeira Gilbert -

A fantasy novella that follows the story of a young woman named Shai who is a skilled forger, able to manipulate the essence of objects to change their history and appearance. After being caught and imprisoned, she is given an impossible task: to create a new soul for the emperor within 100 days or face execution. As she works on the task, she uncovers secrets about the emperor, his empire, and herself, leading to a captivating and thought-provoking story about identity, art, and the nature of power.

Where to Find Reviews

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My Full Review

🥰 Who Would Like It? 

Anyone who enjoys fast-paced fantasy with mysterious elements. I think it is a good way to start reading Sanderson.

Highlights and Notes

"Resealing repairs a body and makes it anew. That, however, is much like rebinding a book with fresh paper following a fire. Yes, it may look exactly the same, and it may be whole all the way through. The words, though.. the words are gone. We have given the emperor a new brain. It is merely empty." (Page 34)
"I value truth, young woman. Not Forgery." He regarded her with the expression of a disappointed grandfather. "I have seen the work of your hands. That copied painting you did ... it was remarkable. Yet it was accomplished in the name of lies. What great works could you create if you focused on industry and beauty instead of wealth and deception?" "What I do is great art." "No. You copy other people's great art. What you do is technically marvelous, yet completely lacking in spirit." (Page 46)
"All things exist in three Realms, Gaotona. Physical, Cognitive, Spiritual. The Physical is what we feel, what is before us. The Cognitive is how an object is viewed and how it views itself. The Spiritual Realm contains an object's soul—its essence—as well as the ways it is connected to the things and people around it." (Page 59)
A person was like a dense forest thicket, overgrown with a twisting mess of vines, weeds, shrubs, saplings, and flowers. No person was one single emotion; no person had only one desire. They had many, and usually those desires conflicted with one another like two rosebushes fighting for the same patch of ground. (Page 89)
The Forger's way was to create something enduring. (Page 91)
Challenging that took effort, and effort was sometimes hard to muster. He had lived a life of leisure. Ashravan hadn't been lazy, but it didn't require laziness to be swept up in the workings of imperial bureau-cracy—to tell yourself that next month you'd go and demand that your changes be made. Over time, it had become easier and easier to float along the course of the great river that was the Rose Empire. (Page 103)
There was rarely an obvious branching point in a person's life. People changed slowly, over time. You didn't take one step, then find yourself in a completely new location. You first took a little step off a path to avoid some rocks. For a while, you walked alongside the path, but then you wandered out a little way to step on softer soil. Then you stopped paying attention as you drifted farther and farther away. Finally, you found yourself in the wrong city, wondering why the signs on the roadway hadn't led you better. (Page 104)
"Not any longer," Gaotona said. "It belonged te everyone who saw it. You should not have agreed to this. Destroying a work of art like that is never right." He hesitated. "But still, I think I can understand. (Page 126)
"I wish that I could know you. Not your soul, but you. I've read about you; I've seen into your heart. I've rebuilt your soul, as best I could. But that isn't the same. It isn't knowing someone, is it? That's knowing about someone." (Page 145)
"If I escape, l will change my final Essence Mark. The one I never intend to use ..I will add to it, and to my memories, a kindly grandfather who saved my life. A man of wisdom and compassion whom I respected very much." (Page 153)
"Satisfied with having placed one of her creations on the throne. Once, she dared to try to fool thousands-but now she has a chance to fool millions. An entire empire. Exposing what she has done would ruin the majesty of it, in her eyes." (Page 167)
Copy an image over and over on a stack of paper, Shai thought, and eventually the lower sheets will bear the same image, pressed down. Deep within. (Page 170)
These were the tears of a man who saw before himself a masterpiece. True art was more than beauty; it was more than technique. It was not just imitation. It was boldness, it was contrast, it was subtlety. In this book, Gaotona found a rare work to rival that of the greatest painters, sculptors, and poets of any era. It was the greatest work of art he had ever witnessed. (Page 173)
Then he dropped it into the flames. (Page 173)

🧠 Thoughts

Initial Thoughts

  • This novella pulled me in right away. The prologue set up some initial questions, such as why this woman is a danger and why the forgers were killed. I went into this book with no prior knowledge, so trying to understand what is going on based on current knowledge can always be jarring in a fantasy world. 

Last Thought

  • I think this may be one of the best Sanderson books I've read so far. 

Characters

  • Shai
    • A talented forger
    • She starts the story in jail, attempting to catalog the different stones. 
    • Has a temper but is highly intelligent and stubborn. 
    • Favorite character that I've read from Sanderson. She isn't irritating like some of his characters. She has an inner strength that allows her to keep surviving. 
    • I became invested in both her challenge and if she would escape. While I wasn't surprised by her decisions, I was intrigued by the steps she took. 
  • Gaotona 
    • A high-ranking government official
    • He is a grandfather type who cares about his king but has been slowly pushed out of favor. 
    • Early on, he seems comparable to Frava, as they both want to hold on to their power, but as the story goes on, it is clear to see his difference. 
  • Frava 
    • A high-ranking government official
    • She is the antagonist in the story in a lot of ways
    • She wants Shai to succeed but she wants more power as well
  • Bloodsealer 
    • A mysterious and dangerous individual
    • His pets sounded terrifying
    • Would like to learn more about this individual 
  • Ashravan
    • The emperor who was injured greatly and will need a new soul 
    • He is important in the story bt we learn about him through the eyes of Shai and Gaotona

Conflict 

  • The conflict is pretty straightforward: Shai has 100 days to forge a new soul for the emperor or be executed for her crimes. As the story goes on, this conflict does not seem as cut and dry. 
  • Shai's internal conflict is whether to finish Forging a Soul for the Emperor. She views herself as an artist, and the thought of not finishing her project is painful. At the same time, she truly believes that she will not live after she finishes the stamp. There is a fascinating progression of Shai's view of the emperor from project to knowing about him. 
  • Gaotona's internal conflict, and for the most part that of the other officials, is that while they think forging is an abomination, they must utilize Shai to keep power. That internal strife for Gaotona is different, as is his relationship with the emperor. We also watch his horror of Shai's artistry to his understanding. 
  • Frava embodies the external conflict. She stands between Shai and her freedom. 

Context

  • The magic system in this world is fascinating. It is performed using specialized stamps and inks, and the effectiveness depends on the skill and knowledge of the user. Although it is explained through exposition, I also saw it in practice throughout the book. I thought the limitations of the magic system were believable. While Shai's Forger magic was explained, there was some mystery about whether the Bloodsealer's magic worked similarly. The power dynamics are fascinating as well. There seem to be different factions of the government. The unity of the ruling class seems to be in flux, so I did wonder about the effects on the people. 

Craft

  • One of the issues I have with Sanderson's books is his tendency to overwrite and wait until the end to pick up on the action. This novella is paced well, does not overwrite, and lacks his usual humor. While the end has a flurry of action, it does not seem rushed or forced like in some other books I've read. 

Interesting Thoughts

This book made me think about a few higher-level questions:

      • Who owns art, the artist or the people who view the art? 
      • What makes up a soul? Does nature or nurture matter more?