Dawnshard (Stormlight Archive, #3.5) (Cosmere Universe)

by Brandon Sanderson

Ben McSweeney (Cover Designer) and Isaac Stewart (Cover Designer)

From Brandon Sanderson--author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive and its fourth massive installment, Rhythm of War--comes a new hefty novella, Dawnshard. Taking place between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War, this tale (like Edgedancer before it) gives often-overshadowed characters their own chance to shine.

When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akinah, 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.

• ISBN13: 9781938570254
• Publish Date: 2020 (first published 10 November 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Dragonsteel Entertainment
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 277
• Language: English

Reviews

[Metaphorosis Reviews]

4 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews

Summary
Rsyn is, thanks to a gift from a mentor, a newly-minted ship owner, but her crew doesn't really trust her. And her beloved animal companion, Chiri-Chiri, is sick. Happily, she turns up a trade voyage that might address both issues, but it's dangerous.

Review
I’ve enjoyed Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, but I’m frankly starting to lose track of all the pieces and players, despite reading the latest books fairly recently. I’m happy to say that these interstitial novellas work better.

There are undoubtedly connections and clues in Dawnshard that flew right past me. I had only a vague notion of who Loper (a key character is), and I don’t recall hearing of Rsyn (the protagonist) before. But maybe I did and forgot. The good thing is that none of that knowledge is essential. This book is perfectly readable as a self-contained adventure, and that’s how I took it. On that front, it works well. It itself may prove an important element of understanding later books, but previous books are not essential to this one.

Sanderson’s prose is smooth and quick-moving, as usual, the characters engaging, the situations intriguing. It does feel fairly limited in scope, but it works reasonably well overall. It’s a quick read and I enjoyed it.

Fantastic.

[ross91]

This was wonderful.

Is it too much to wish for a novella (short story? book? series?) set during the scouring of Aimia?