Title: Isles of the Emberdark

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Series: Secret Projects #5

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: All his life, Sixth of the Dusk has been a traditional trapper of Aviar—the supernatural birds his people bond with—on the deadly island of Patji. Then one fateful night he propels his people into a race to modernize before they can be conquered by the Ones Above, invaders from the stars who want to exploit the Aviar. But it’s a race they’re losing, and Dusk fears his people will lose themselves in the effort. When a chance comes to sail into the expanse of the emberdark beyond a mystical portal, Dusk sets off to find his people’s salvation with only a canoe, his birds, and all the grit and canniness of a Patji trapper. Elsewhere in the emberdark is a young dragon chained in human Starling of the starship Dynamic. She and her ragtag crew of exiles are deep in debt and on the brink of losing their freedom. So when she finds an ancient map to a hidden portal between the emberdark and the physical realm, she seizes the chance at a lucrative discovery. These unlikely allies might just be the solution to each other’s crisis. In their search for independence, Dusk and Starling face perilous bargains, poisonous politics, and the destructive echo of a dead god. –Goodreads

The Review:

I wish I was about to give this a glowing review because I was SO excited for it… but even though I loved Sixth of Dusk, Emberdark didn’t quite land for me.

I think part of my problem may have been expectation. Based off of Sixth alone, I was expecting a story more akin to Tchaikovsky’s Cage of Souls (exotic jungle setting, amazing atmosphere, deadly encounters), but what I got instead was a story so out of left field, I wasn’t prepared for it. Another factor could have been the disjointed, gradual way I read this book. It was kind of my audiobook filler title for commutes and one I turned on to go to sleep to, which doesn’t really encourage a lot of engagement. But I have to wonder if I would’ve made it my main focus had I been enjoying it more in the first place.

It was really clever (and appreciated) how Sanderson incorporated the original short story into the novel. The creativity for all of the other components in the books was also off the charts. And for me even a Sanderson I’m not loving as much as his other books still gets a baseline good rating. But there are a few things I’d like to nitpick for a minute:

Pacing. Due to the inclusion of the short story, Sixth of Dusk, at the beginning of this novel as flashbacks (for which I just praised it) it took a long while for the story to get going. Then we had a decent clip for a while before it seemed to come to a crashing halt for a whole bunch of conversations and planning. And I swear the most drawn-out journey through a cave I’ve ever experienced (second only to Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon <-still loved). I’m being over-dramatic here, but it felt like 30% was at a standstill with no meaningful movement forward. Thank goodness the conversations were good (one scene of which was my favorite part of the entire book), else I may have started to get fed up with it. As it was, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have. I did a Buddy Read of this with my Patrons and it seemed unanimous they thought the end portion of the book was solid.

I can’t abide a cackling villain. This character didn’t work for me at all. He didn’t seem realistic or particularly effective as a villain, and I got tired of the endless talking and threats without any apparent action. He felt more like a plot device than a fully realized character.

Those were pretty much my main complaints. I loved the birds – I wish we’d gotten more there. I was intrigued by Stirling and really can’t wait to see what sorts of effects she’s going to have on some of my very favorite Sanderson series in the future. And I loved the cameo from one of the Cosmere’s most notorious world-hoppers. I’d say overall I’m really glad I read this one, even though it didn’t give me anything close to what I was expecting.

Recommendations: This can be easily read without any knowledge of the Cosmere works, as it’s so far removed that it’s not going to spoil anything. But what little of the tie-ins I was able to spot (probably a fraction of what was actually there) made it a book dedicated Cosmere fans might get a lot out of. I mean, I’m a huge Cosmere fan too… yet I thought the implications cool but the actual story just okay… but I seem to be in the minority.

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Karen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, Bee, Poochtee, Kinsey, Alysa, Derek, Kelly, Grace, and Carmen! <3

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