Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novella (2016)
His majesty, God-Emperor Kairominas has ruled for over 300 years, defeating all foes, uniting the entire world and mastering the magical power called “lancing” centuries ago. Although Kai occasionally wars with an old nemesis who hacks into his world, and also thinks about learning to control the weather, he’s still bored. When a higher power presses the need to procreate, Kai agrees to go on a date with a woman who also happens to be the most powerful person in her own world.
Sanderson sure can create new and interesting worlds, and Perfect State is no exception. It’s grand and fun and imaginative and cute, even if the protagonist is only interesting when confronted with his nemesis or his date. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I will refrain further comment.
This short read is recommended for fans of meta fiction, scifi mashups, AI, robots, and noir!
“It does strange things to you to realize that the conservative establishment is forcing you to be a progressive liberal fighter for universal rights.”