The Emperor's Soul

The Emperor's Soul
Cover showing artwork by Alexander Nanitchkov.
Author	Brandon Sanderson
Audio read by	Angela Lin
Cover artist	Alexander Nanitchkov
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Cosmere
Genre	Fantasy
Set in	Sel (same world as Elantris)
Published	2012 (Tachyon Publications)
Media type	Trade paperback
Pages	175
Awards	Hugo Award for Best Novella (2013)
ISBN	978-1-61696-092-6
OCLC	793575540
Website	The Emperor's Soul

The Emperor's Soul is a fantasy novella written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was first published in November 2012 by Tachyon Publications. It won the 2013 Hugo Award for best novella.^[1]

Plot summary

The Emperor's Soul tells the story of Shai, a Forger imprisoned by the Empire who can re-create objects by rewriting their history. Originally sentenced to death, Shai is given the chance to save her life by completing an impossible task: creating a new soul for the Emperor Ashravan, who was rendered brain-dead by a failed assassination. While she initially plans to escape as soon as possible, as she works on rebuilding the emperor's soul, Shai becomes fascinated with Ashravan's life and determined to discover exactly how he became who he was.

Setting

The Emperor's Soul is set in the Rose Empire, a nation on the shardworld of Sel. This is the same world in which Elantris was set, though few connections are made to that book within The Emperor's Soul. In the postscript, Sanderson explains that he was inspired to write this story after visiting the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and also by memories from the two years he spent in Korea as an LDS missionary.

Audiobook

An audiobook version of the book was released on November 2, 2012 by Audible.com, read by narrator Angela Lin.^[2]

Reception

The Emperor's Soul was well received by reviewers, winning the Hugo Award for best novella in 2013.^[1] One reviewer commented, "Sanderson delivers a thoughtful yet exciting read that is difficult to put down and save for later."^[3]

References

1 2 "2013 Hugo Winners". The Hugo Awards. 2 September 2013.
↑ "The Emperor's Soul [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition]". Amazon.com. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
↑ Moser, A.O. (9 August 2013). "Review: The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson". Strange Horizons.

Hugo Award for Best Novella

Retro Hugos	Animal Farm by George Orwell (1946) The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein (1951) A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1954)

1968–1980	Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip José Farmer and Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey (1968) Nightwings by Robert Silverberg (1969) Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber (1970) Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber (1971) The Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Anderson (1972) The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin (1973) The Girl Who Was Plugged In by James Tiptree, Jr. (1974) A Song for Lya by George R. R. Martin (1975) Home Is the Hangman by Roger Zelazny (1976) By Any Other Name by Spider Robinson and Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree, Jr. (1977) Stardance by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson (1978) The Persistence of Vision by John Varley (1979) Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear (1980)

1981–1990	Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson (1981) The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson (1982) Souls by Joanna Russ (1983) Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn (1984) Press Enter by John Varley (1985) 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai by Roger Zelazny (1986) Gilgamesh in the Outback by Robert Silverberg (1987) Eye for Eye by Orson Scott Card (1988) The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis (1989) The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold (1990)

1991–2000	The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman (1991) Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress (1992) Barnacle Bill the Spacer by Lucius Shepard (1993) Down in the Bottomlands by Harry Turtledove (1994) Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick (1995) The Death of Captain Future by Allen Steele (1996) Blood of the Dragon by George R. R. Martin (1997) ...Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen Steele (1998) Oceanic by Greg Egan (1999) The Winds of Marble Arch by Connie Willis (2000)

2001–2010	The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson (2001) Fast Times at Fairmont High by Vernor Vinge (2002) Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2003) The Cookie Monster by Vernor Vinge (2004) The Concrete Jungle by Charles Stross (2005) Inside Job by Connie Willis (2006) A Billion Eves by Robert Reed (2007) All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis (2008) The Erdmann Nexus by Nancy Kress (2009) Palimpsest by Charles Stross (2010)

2011–present	The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (2011) The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson (2012) The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson (2013) Equoid by Charles Stross (2014)

Works by Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz series

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007)
Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones (2008)
Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia (2009)
Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (2010)
The Dark Talent (forthcoming 2016)

Infinity Blade novellas

Infinity Blade: Awakening (2011)
Infinity Blade: Redemption (2013)

Legion series

Legion (novella, 2012)
Legion: Skin Deep (2014)

Mistborn series

Original trilogy	Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006) Mistborn: The Well of Ascension (2007) Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (2008)

Wax and Wayne books	Mistborn: The Alloy of Law (2011) Mistborn: Shadows of Self (2015) Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning (2016) Mistborn: The Lost Metal (forthcoming 2017)

Novellas	Mistborn: Secret History (2016)

Games	Mistborn Adventure Game (2012) Mistborn: Birthright (2015)

The Wheel of Time

The Reckoners

Steelheart (2013)
Mitosis (novella, 2013)
Firefight (2015)
Calamity (2016)

Rithmatist series

The Rithmatist (2013)
The Aztlanian (TBA)

Elantris series

Elantris (2005)
The Hope of Elantris (short story 2006)
The Emperor's Soul (novella 2012)

Warbreaker series

Warbreaker (2009)
Nightblood (TBA)

Stand-alone short works

Firstborn (2008)
Defending Elysium (2008)
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (2013)
Sixth of the Dusk (2014)

The Stormlight Archive

The Way of Kings (2010)
Words of Radiance (2014)
Oathbringer (forthcoming 2017)

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