7 h 4 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 4 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if ancient evil never vanishes, but hides until the modern world is ready for its return?
In The Slayer of Souls, Robert W. Chambers brings ancient powers into a world shaken by war. Secret societies and occult menace turn fear of hidden enemies into an adventure of action and danger. At its center stands a battle between good and evil, fought on spiritual ground as well as physical.
Chambers mixes the strange atmosphere of his weird fiction with the romance of his popular stories. Old powers hide, wait and return in new forms. Evil is not simply a dark mood or a human weakness here: it is an active force. The result is a tale where hidden threats give the modern world a darker shadow.
What you’ll discover
- Ancient powers still waiting Enter a world where old forces survive, concealed beneath the surface of modern life.
- A battle beyond flesh Follow a contest in which spiritual danger matters as much as physical survival.
- Secrets behind the chaos Encounter secret societies and the unsettling possibility of hidden enemies at work.
- Action with an eerie edge Find fast action, strange detail and occult menace woven into a supernatural adventure.
- Another side of Chambers Discover how his taste for weird fiction meets his gift for popular romance.
Who will love it
This book will please readers who enjoy spy adventures mixed with ghost stories, anyone drawn to secret sects and Eastern magic, and fans of thrillers with a fearless heroine.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Tressa sails home and sees a dragon
- A sorcerer dies and a young agent finds her
- Eight Towers, one map, and a marriage of duty
- A sleepless night, a wedding, and Yian on the river
- The hunt in the swamp under a west wind
- Yulun comes to the Ritz and two minds are trapped
- The Place of Prayer and the wilderness garden
- What is a soul, and who can kill one
- A war on minds, and a love that grows by accident
- How the story is told, from songs to snow
Who’s who
- Tressa NorneAn American girl who learned sorcery as a temple girl in Yian and now uses it to fight the Assassins, while believing her own soul is lost.
- Victor ClevesA young Secret Service volunteer and former ornithology professor who marries Tressa to protect her and insists that no soul can be destroyed.
- John RecklowThe calm, silver haired chief of the agents, who distrusts talk of devils but trusts Tressa's skill and guides her work.
- SanangA polished Mongol prince and Sheik of the Assassins, called the Slayer of Souls, who once loved Tressa and now hunts her.
- YulunA temple girl from Black China and Tressa's closest friend, who falls in love with James Benton and fights beside her in spirit.
- SansaA cheerful temple girl turned wealthy mulberry farmer in China, who helps Tressa from afar and finds love with Alek Selden.
- Alek SeldenA banker turned agent who finds the secret garden at Fool's Acre and shoots one of the Assassins.
- James BentonA New York architect and agent who is uneasy about psychic things but is loved by Yulun.
Formats and delivery
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Slayer of Souls
by Robert W. Chambers · 1920
A girl trained in a devil's temple hunts eight Mongol sorcerers across America while her new husband guards her.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What if the evil that hunted you for four years followed you across the ocean as a dragon made of fire? Tressa Norne, an American girl, sails home from China after the Great War, sure she has escaped a sect of Mongol devil worshippers.
The Slayer of Souls at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 5 min3 h 15 min fast, 4 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 58,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1920by Robert W. Chambers
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Tressa sails home and sees a dragon
Tressa Norne stands at the stern of the steamer Nan-yang Maru as the coast of Korea sinks into the dark. For four years she has felt a huge evil pressing on her, and now, at sea, the feeling begins to fade. She sleeps, sits in the sun, and plays her moon lute.
Then one morning a fountain of golden fire rises above a fog bank and takes the shape of a dragon. A Japanese officer laughs and calls it fireworks. Tressa knows better, and she understands that a message has crossed the ocean ahead of her.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Chambers, Robert W. The Slayer of Souls. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-slayer-of-souls.
Chambers, R. W. (2026). The slayer of souls. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-slayer-of-souls (Original work published 1920)
Chambers, Robert W. The Slayer of Souls. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-slayer-of-souls.
@book{chambers2026slayer,
author = {Chambers, Robert W.},
title = {The Slayer of Souls},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-slayer-of-souls},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is The Slayer of Souls about?
It follows Tressa Norne, an American girl who escapes a Mongol devil-worshipping sect in China and then helps the United States Secret Service hunt the eight sorcerers sent to America to control people's minds.
Who is Sanang in The Slayer of Souls?
Sanang is a polished Mongol prince and chief of the Assassins, a sect of Yezidee sorcerers. He once loved Tressa in the temple of Erlik and now leads the plot against her and America.
What does the Slayer of Souls mean in the book?
It is the title of the head of the Assassins, the Old Man of Mount Alamout. His aim is to capture and destroy human souls and minds, and Tressa believes Sanang now holds that role.
The author
Robert W. Chambers
1865–1933 · American novelist and illustrator
Robert W. Chambers was an American writer whose 1895 collection The King in Yellow became a cornerstone of weird fiction, casting its influence over H.P. Lovecraft and generations of horror writers since. He was a successful popular novelist in his day, but this early work is what endures.
More by Robert W. Chambers
See all their booksMore like this
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