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The Emperor's Soul

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Shai is given an impossible task: to create—to Forge—a new soul for the emperor in less 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… Is a skillful forgery any less lovely and awe-inspiring simply because it isn’t an “original”? It requires just as much talent and even more attention to detail, along with research and study that the original artist never had to consider. King Solomon claimed that “there is nothing new under the sun,” so what constitutes originality? Art has always been incredibly important in my life. Should I not sing or write or play guitar unless I have something entirely new to say? The most we can hope for as artists is to say something that’s already been said countless times but in some new way. Because nothing is ever said quite the same way twice. There can be no perfect forgeries, not really. When you pour yourself into something, when you give your art everything you are, your blood and sweat and tears and heart and soul, there will be some originality there, in spite of what critics may say. There has to be, because you are an original. There has never been and never will be a copy of you, and thus everything you create bears the unique imprint of your fingertips, your soul, your self. My first official read of 2018, read this first cause I know I'll love it and I wanted to start the year with something I'll love. Whil Shai is an interesting protagonist, the true star of the show is found in the character of Arbiter Gaotona, an old, powerful man in the upper echelons of imperial society. While his colleagues are merely grabbing for retained power, the soul of Gaotona, the oldest of them, is much deeper than that.

Shai is given an impossible task: to create - to Forge - a new soul for the emperor in less than 100 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.Da die Frau des Imperators bei dem Attentat gestorben ist und ein solcher Fall von ihm verlangt 100 Tage von der Außenwelt isoliert zu trauern, hat Shai genau diese 100 Tage Zeit um seine Seele zu modellieren und das natürlich so genau, dass niemandem hinterher ein Unterschied auffällt. Die Seele eines Menschen zu verändern ist für gewöhnlich verboten, aber auch ein äußerst schwieriger Prozess, da man die winzigsten Details über diese Person wissen muss damit der Körper den Wandel überhaupt annimmt. Die Berater versprechen ihr das Leben und die Freiheit wenn ihr diese Aufgabe gelingt. Da Shai allerdings skeptisch ist, ob ihr dies wirklich gewährt wird, plant sie geheim ihren Fluchtversuch...

The characters, other than Shai, the one kinder Grand, and the Emperor, were not exactly well-developed, and these three were not given a ton of development either. Of course, given the brevity of this story, that is not surprising, and it is certainly not the negative it would be for a longer work. They received sufficient attention for the needs of the story. The world feels real, the characters feel real, and they do things for very real motivations. The forgery magic system, and the religion of the Empire that teaches that it is an abomination are both very interesting, and allow for some very interesting discussions on morality and points of view. I would actually compare Sanderson's impact on modern epic fantasy in terms of how he handles magic to Isaac Asimov's impact on science-fiction in how he handled robots. I'll be the first to say that the man has faults, and to roll my eyes at some of the more extreme Sanderson fanboys that apparently think he is some sort of god of fantasy literature, but he does deserve his due as a prolific, talented, and creative author. *The Emperor's Soul* makes this abundantly clear. An audiobook version of the book was released on November 2, 2012 by Audible.com, read by narrator Angela Lin. [2] Reception [ edit ] One of my favorite quotes was this one. It shows that you can't really see when something goes wrong/right in life, as it's more of a fluid process than we assume;

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I know this quote is so over-used however it is my favorite quote from this book and quite possibly one of my favorite book quotes ever.

The Good? This book is short and sweet. It doesn't waste any time getting into the story and the characters. Sanderson has done a very good job of developing Shai as a person through her studies of the Emperor's life, and her philosophical discussions with those who hold her captive. The book is also has a very clever and well hidden message that I believe is a very important one. I'll allow you to find it on your own, if you are able to. There were so many other deep questions that vied for my attention as I read. What makes us who were are? Are we just the sum of our experiences, or are we more? Is a person’s personality and soul quantifiable? How well do you know those around you? Do you pay attention only to what benefits you, or do you observe people for their own sake? Do you admire art for what it is, or simply because it’s popular at this moment? Sanderson crafted a beautiful addition to his Cosmere with Shai’s story. And, though this is set in the same world as Elantris and not The Way of Kings, it helped me understand Soulcasting much better, even if it’s not quite the same magic system. There’s a lot to love in this novella, whether you’re already a hardcore Sanderson fan or if you’ve never read a word he’s written. Give this a try, and let Shai’s story leave her stamp your soul. It was all fantastic: the characters, the complex motivations, the layered storytelling, the intricate magical system built on Chinese-type stamps. 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 without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his 100-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos. Shai runs into a priest in "red armor" during her escape from the palace. While not explicitly stated, this is likely a Gyorn of Shu-Dereth and the empire of Fjorden.Stephen Leeds, AKA 'Legion', is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal characteristics and a vast array of highly specialized skills. As the story begins, Leeds and his 'aspects' are drawn into the search for the missing Balubal Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our understanding of human history and change the very structure of society. The action ranges from the familiar environs of America to the ancient, divided city of Jerusalem. Along the way, Sanderson touches on a formidable assortment of complex questions: the nature of time, the mysteries of the human mind, the potential uses of technology, and the volatile connection between politics and faith. The Emperor's Soul takes place in an Asian setting. The Emperor Ashravan's wife, the Empress, was murdered. This led to a period of mourning for the Emperor, but one he didn't/couldn't get out of. This has an impact on his psyche, his mental health. The regular healers were found neither worthy nor skilled enough to heal the Emperor. That's where Shai, a Forger, comes in. She was previously captured for stealing and forging the Moon Scepter, a very important and expensive painting. She's offered freedom if she can manage to create (forge) a new soul for the grieving Emperor. The population is kept at bay with excuses, so as not to cause chaos. But the arbiters, whom you could consider the real leaders, like the government, have their own reasons for helping the Emperor through a forger. They want to influence him. So Shai is provided an offer, but not the proper amount of time for this project. All has to be done in three months; a normal period is at least one year, if not two. Shai is a forger, a person able to create exact copies of anything through magic and an understanding of its history and its pieces. Imprisoned for the theft of priceless artifacts, leaving fakes in their place, Shai awaits the day of her execution. When the Arbiters, those who rule in the Emperor's name, come to her with a proposition, she has little choice to accept. The Emperor’s Soul is Brandon Sanderson’s Hugo Award-winning novella inspired by his visit to the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. Sanderson was duly impressed by the hundreds of thousands of artifacts on display, covering eight thousand years of Chinese history, and he was particularly drawn to the red stamps used by Chinese artists, scholars, and nobility. Sanderson developed a magic system based on these red stamps, giving them the ability to alter an object’s history, thereby recasting its future. With this, the central idea for The Emperor’s Soul was born.

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