Review: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
Blurb:
When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island of Akinah, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn’t fallen into enemy hands. Knights who fly too near find their magic suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.
Years ago, shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a stormlight-ingesting 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.
Review:
I’m making my way through the Cosmere novels so I’m all set to read Stormlight 5 once it’s out. With Dawnshard, I’ve finally crossed into the zone where—to use Sanderson’s words—the gloves are coming off. Like Edgedancer, I expected this novella to be a character-driven story that expands the world, reveals lore, and sets up a major character arc. I got exactly what I expected, and still had my mind blown!
We start with Rysn, who has been my favourite Interlude character so far. I know Sanderson loves Lift, but Rysn’s arc has taken us to some of the most striking corners of Roshar, each giving us a glimpse into how expansive Roshar—and to an extent, the Cosmere—is. Continuing with that trend, Dawnshard takes us on a voyage to a part of Roshar that holds a strategic position with Cosmere-wide importance.
If you’ve read Oathbringer, you might remember visiting Aimia in one of the interludes; Dawnshard continues that arc. But it isn’t just a “Hey, let’s explore Aimia” plot. Chiri-Chiri, Rysn’s pet Larkin, has been ill for a while. Rysn’s motivations to explore Aimia are equal parts emotional—potentially heal Chiri-Chiri—and practical—investigate Aimia. This brilliant interweaving of the internal and external is something I absolutely love about Sanderson novels. This holds true even for the b-plot with the Lopen. Without going into spoilers, I’ll just say that both of these characters settle into their positions and flourish in ways that are characteristic of who they are.
Speaking of characters, Nikli’s lone POV scene blew my mind. SPOILER: This is the first time we get a direct POV of a Sleepless, and having read this one scene has built up my hype to see more of these fascinating creatures. But they aren’t the only ones who piqued my interest, we also get some lore about the Larkins, which hints at where Rysn and Chiri-Chiri’s arc is headed. If my suspicions are correct, Rysn might be playing a role even beyond the Stormlight Archive.
Coming to what I mentioned in my opening lines—the gloves are off. At the time of its release, Dawnshard was probably the most Cosmere-aware novel. It might not seem like the case after the Lost Metal and the Sunlit Man (I have not read these novels yet, I’m just going by what I’ve read online), but for me this Cosmere-awareness was like a surprise bonus. By itself, Dawnshard is a brilliant story. As part of the Stormlight Archive, it is a stellar addition that shows off some of Sanderson’s best work. As part of the Cosmere, Dawnshard is like an amuse-bouche.
To put it bluntly, I loved everything about this novella. Not only did everything feel perfectly placed, it’s piqued my interest for Rhythm of War and Knights of Wind and Truth beyond what I thought was possible.
