Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson (Bingo Review 10/25)

“So the question, in your mind, is not whether or not my people can be free. Our decision is never for freedom. It is to whom we should become slaves.”

A continuation of the novella Sixth of the Dusk (indeed, the novella is reprinted and interwoven throughout the first portion of the book), Isles tells the story of Dusk, once a trapper who ventured into dangerous jungles to supply his people with Aviar, birds capable of bestowing magical gifts. Now he is a man without purpose as his society modernizes, tames the wilds, and transforms into something unrecognizable.

Dusk’s people, the Eelakin, are a pre-spaceflight civilization on the planet First of the Sun, inspired by Polynesian culture. They have recently been visited by the Ones Above (>!the Malwish Empire from the planet Scadrial, of Mistborn fame!<), who are extremely interested in the Aviar, as well as the strategic possibilities of a suspected portal into Shadesmar, a realm that facilitates interstellar communication and travel by circumventing the challenges of physical FTL travel.

As the Ones Above grow more impatient and forceful in their demands, Dusk and his friend Vathi (the Eelakin’s elected leader) fear that giving in would mean giving up their freedom, culture, and sovereignty in exchange for promises of technological marvels. To complicate matters further, other space-faring cultures have begun to take an interest in First of the Sun (>!such as the Rosharans!<). Caught between a rock and a hard place, Dusk urges Vathi to stall and resist the aliens’ demands as he sets out into the unnavigable Emberdark (a region of Shadesmar) accompanied by his two Aviar companions, retracing the steps of his ancestors and searching for leverage that will let his people slip the noose.

Meanwhile, out in Shadesmar, we are introduced to Starling (a dragon trapped in her human form for some unspecified transgression) and first mate on a starship and cargo hauler. Starling comes into possession of an ancient map that might lead the way to a fabled portal linking Shadesmar to a new region of the physical realm. Hoping to leverage this astonishing find to free her ragtag crew from a lifetime of debt and servitude, she sets off into the unknown.

Set within Sanderson’s Cosmere, Isles takes place farther into the future than any previous entry. Many of the peoples and civilizations readers are familiar with from previous books have long since taken to the stars. As such, this book strongly benefits from having read some previous entries in setting. Cameos and references to >!Mistborn (especially Era 2), the Stormlight Archive, Threnody, etc.!< abound. Honestly, I find it hard to judge how this book would land as a standalone with no previous knowledge of the Cosmere.

It also has a definite space opera vibe to it reminiscent of the more cosmically oriented elements of the Marvel movies, with starfighters, weird technology, interstellar politics, fascist military pricks, etc. Although I generally enjoy this kind of setting, especially the crew-of-misfits-on-a-starship trope, it didn’t quite come together for me. A large part of this is that Starling’s crew (and to a lesser extent, Starling herself) never felt like fully fleshed out characters. Each one has 1-2 Key Character Traits™ that are hammered home in every single scene they’re in, whether that be Starling’s optimism, ZeetZi’s sesquipedalian proclivities, or Aditil’s homesickness. As such, a lot of their scenes fell flat.

I felt that Dusk, on the other hand, was much more richly drawn. His struggle to find a new place for himself in a changing world—and not simply accept the roles others assign to him—was compelling and resonated with our own uncertain times. Throughout the novel, Dusk learns new skills he never would have previously imagined, finds creative uses for his own tried-and-true knowledge, and is generally underestimated by everyone in Shadesmar as simply an ignorant, backwater primitive (making it quite satisfying when he repeatedly upends their expectations).

Sanderson’s authorial voice and particular brand of humor are very present here. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on a reader’s personal taste. Personally, I find it much more tolerable in a relatively “trim” 500-page book than in certain bloated, 1000-page tomes. Also, I’ve now learned that the phrase “That sucks” yanks me right out of a fantasy novel (at least one not set in our world). Although most of the humor fell pretty flat for me, I did love the scene where >!Starling and Colonel Dajer, after having just discussed the impossibility of navigating in the Emberdark via starship, turn around and stand slack-jawed as Dusk calmly paddles out of the seemingly infinite darkness in his little canoe!<.

As an aside, why is everyone so freaked out by the Sleepless anyway? We’ve got bird-people, dragons, psychic birds, magmatic rock people, shades, sentient personifications of mathematics, etc., but apparently a sentient collective of beetles is near-universally abhorrent and revolting. Huh?

Despite some quibbles, I had fun with Isles overall and enjoyed getting a glimpse into the Cosmere’s future.

Bingo Squares: Explorers and Rangers (HM); Politics and Court Intrigue; Unusual Transportation (>!HM; I’d say Dusk harpooning eldritch sea serpents and using them to pull his canoe like some waterborne chariot during the novel’s climax would count!<)