Book description
From the bestselling author of the Mistborn Trilogy and co-author of the final three books of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series comes the tale of a heretic thief who may be an Empire's only hope for survival.
Shai is a Forger: a foreigner who can flawlessly re-create any item…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Emperor's Soul as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
If you haven’t read anything by Brian Sanderson, this novella is a great place to start.
It is a fast read with a hopeful tone and satisfying ending. In this story, Shai is caught forging a priceless artifact. As punishment, she must forge a soul for the emperor who is in a coma. If her forgery doesn’t work, the empire will fall into chaos.
The magic of Shai’s forging is very cool; she creates stamps that can rewrite the nature of an object’s existence. The Emperor’s Soul spoke to me on a personal level. My stepmother is a Japanese artist,…
From Jami's list on fantasy featuring art-based magic.
The Emperor’s Soul is technically a novella, but a Sanderson-length novella rivals many writer’s novels in length. Sanderson is a master of world-building, and many of his books have fascinated me, but The Emperor’s Soul has so much mystery and beauty that it tops his other books when it comes to sheer wonder. It features a forger who is a true artist, and like many artists, her process is at the edge of her control and her creations truly exist apart from herself when they are done. If you love the thrill of creating something outside yourself, the high…
From Edith's list on fantasy if you want to be truly wonderstruck.
If you love The Emperor's Soul...
Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander
When seventeen-year-old Lily Starling is found in San Francisco with no memory of who she is, her search for answers pulls her into a future she never imagined. Taken aboard the Union starship Salamander, she becomes entangled in a mission that will test the limits of identity, loyalty, and courage.
…
Want books like The Emperor's Soul?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 64 books like The Emperor's Soul.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,366
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Emperor's Soul, you might also like...
Child of Vanris
At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…
Rise of the Veilbreaker
Thomas never imagined wielding the ancient, sentient weapon, Nightshard. Facing betrayals, haunting memories, and divine adversaries as he races against time to thwart the chaos unleashed by the Lord of Tempests.
Nightshard unlocks incredible power, but with it comes dark whispers. Is he using the sword or is it using…
