Brandon Sanderson is one of the few living fantasy authors who can actually come up with new, unique magical systems. 
 And his novella "The Emperor's Soul" introduces a fasincating new kind of magic -- Forging, in which a person can overwrite reality with what might have been. It's only a novella, but Sanderson proves that he doesn't need a 400-page tome to write a powerful, action-packed story with a well-developed heroine. 
 The expert Forger Shai is in prison, awaiting execution by the Rose Empire, when she's offered a chance to earn her freedom. The Emperor has been assassinated, and while they were able to fix his body, his mind is now gone. His advisors have bought some time by claiming that he's grieving for his wife, but that will only last ninety days. 
 They need Shai to do something terrible: Forge a new soul for the Emperor. Not only is it considered an abomination, but it's incredibly difficult. 
 Shai has no choice, so she begins learning everything she can in order to create a soulstamp for the Emperor -- which is no easy task, since she has to know what kind of person he truly was. But the hardest task may be planning her escape, especially since she's now enmeshed in a deadly political scheme. 
 Brandon Sanderson is a master of the doorstopper fantasy epic, but "The Emperor's Soul" proves that he's just as good in shorter works. And while the action rarely even moves outside of Shai's room, he manages to give the feeling that we've dropped into a rich, well-developed world that is just begging for exploration. 
 He also creates a really fascinating magic system -- it can turn any item/person into what it MIGHT have been. For instance, a broken window can be turned into the stained-glass masterpiece it once was, by suggesting to it that it was repaired by a skilled artisan. 
 But as he sketches that out, Sanderson weaves around lots of political intrigue and scheming, so that Shai has to constantly be two steps ahead of people who want to harm her. Not only does she have to grapple with the malevolent Frava, who wants Shai dead and the Emperor as a puppet, but a bone-and-blood-sorcerer who can track her down if she escapes. 
 And as the ninety-day period twists down to its end, Sanderson ramps up the tension. The climax is an eruption of action-packed martial arts, traps and grotesque sorcery, in which we see Shai using her skills on herself. 
 Shai is a truly likable heroine -- she's clever, tricky and knows plenty about human psychology, but she also has a kind heart. Her appreciation for the art of Forgery, and in making things better through it, has some intriguing implication for the new Emperor. And Gaotona is a fascinating foil for Shai -- an elderly, rather fussy man who sees Forgery as an abomination, but is clear-sighted and honest enough to learn about it from Shai. 
 "The Emperor's Soul" is a beautiful, rich little piece that shows Brandon Sanderson's skill, and introduces us to a new world that I hope he will revisit. Definitely a must read.