Book Review: Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson

Isles of the Emberdark is a Cosmere novel by Brandon Sanderson. This was offered as part of a Kickstarter I backed and I've heard it referred to as the 5th of the Secret Projects, a series of books he wrote during the COVID lockdown years. Here is the Goodreads blurb:

The Ones Above are starting to grow impatient and want to build an installation to breed and collect Aviar on one of First of the Sun's islands. Vathi and Dusk are trying to figure out how to delay their progress and are also dealing with people from another world, likely Roshar. Dusk realizes that the people of First of the Sun are hopelessly outmatched and decides to go through Patji's Eye, the perpendicularity on the island Patji, to try to enlist help.

Read on for my mostly spoiler-free review.

Overall Impression

This was an excellent short novel in the Cosmere. It has a fascinating setting combining some Polynesian influences with the mysterious Shadesmar he has introduced in other books, while at the same time juxtaposing magic and futuristic technology. Add to that a breakneck plot and some good characters and you have a good story to tell.

Plot

This book takes place 5 years after the events of the novella Sixth of the Dusk. However, in a clever design, Sanderson decided to incorporate that into flashbacks during the first part. This is useful for any that hadn't read it, or for those that need a refresher. It works well and makes the first part go quite fast. That said, the story really picks up when our two main characters meet and from there onwards I could not put the book down.

Characters

This book focuses heavily on two main characters, Sixth of the Dusk, the trapper from First of the Sun; and Starling, the dragon Illistandrista from the planet Yolen. They're both fairly straightforward, if in opposite senses, and I felt that maybe Dusk had more growth, but the story does revolve heavily around him and his people so it makes sense. We do also see some additional characters in the story, like Vathi, ZeetZi, Nazh, and more. While they are all interesting, the story is fairly short so we really only focus on Dusk and Starling.

Setting / World Building

I used to think The Sunlit Man was the most Cosmere of Sanderson's Cosmere books, but that has been surpassed by this one. To be fair, a lot of the Secret Projects series, because they tend to be more far-future than his regular series, are heavy in Cosmere lore. Here we get to see glimpses of how the future shapes up with Scadrian spaceships, Rosharan shard-rifles, regular travel through Shadesmar, and much more.

I sometimes worry that this will limit or pin down events in his other stories, but it's probably not as much as I fear. For example, he avoids directly referencing some of the specific events in Roshar and Scadrial that we are aware of from The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn, instead being vague or introducing completely new things. Sanderson has already revealed shades from Threnody, aether spores, and hinted at dragons, but we get to learn a bit more here. We also see things he has never (to my knowledge) revealed, like teasers of the Grand Apparatus in a world touched by the Shard of Invention.

If you are a fan of the Cosmere you will certainly get a lot out of it, but even if you aren't, you'll see a fascinating setting with Polynesian influences for the people of the planet First of the Sun and how it intersects magic and high-technology from futuristic societies.

Final Thoughts

This was a fascinating story. There's some undertones of colonialism and I legitimately did not know how the people of First of the Sun could come out from the situation they find themselves in. It felt rewarding to read this, especially if like me you are familiar with some of the Cosmere- there are lots of little Easter eggs all throughout the story. Even without that, the story is enjoyable with a fast-paced plot and some cool characters. I can't wait to read another Cosmere novel!