Book Review: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

I've been on a bit of a Sanderson binge lately, trying to re-read the Stormlight Archive books in time for Wind and Truth. Turns out, I had originally missed this novella, set between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War. I'm glad I got the chance to read it, since it offers some very interesting hints about the Cosmere. Here's the official blurb:

When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akina, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. Knights Radiant who fly too near find their Stormlight suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.

Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.

As a novella, I'll only give some brief thoughts after the jump.

Book Review: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

Book 2 of Sanderson's Kickstarter is here and it's an interesting deviation from this usual style. Here's the blurb:

A man awakens in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?

As a novella, I'll forgo my usual format and just write out some impressions. More after the jump.

Book Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red is the first of The Murderbot Diaries, a series long recommended by a good friend of mine. I finally got the chance to check it out and after the last book it was a palette cleanser in terms of being a very short, self-contained story. 

As for other novellas, I'll forgo my usual setup and just write out some of the highlights. More after the jump.

Book Review: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

I've had Binti by Nnedi Okorafor on my to-read list for about a year or so after hearing about how well received it was- it was the winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2016 for Best Novella. I recently watched Black Panther the other weekend and saw first hand how cool Afrofuturism can be and was later reminded on twitter about how Binti is an excellent afrofuturist read. This brought it back to the forefront of my list and I finally gave it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

After the jump, you can find my spoiler-free review. Since this is a novella, I'll not use my typical breakdown and just go over the main things that stuck out for me.

Book Review: Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

In preparation for the imminent release of Oathbringer, the third book in Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series, I've been re-reading the prior books. I had first read The Way of Kings before staring my blog, so I don't have a full review of the first book, but you can read my review of Words of Radiance here. I've been a huge fan of Sanderson since Mistborn and consider The Stormlight Archive series to be some of his best work. While reading the second book, I heard that there was a short novella as well- Edgedancer, featuring one of the characters in the interludes. Here I review that novella.

Minor spoilers for Words of Radiance follow.