A Thinker in Space

The world of Roshar continues to expand in the novella Edgedancer. At first, I thought this was going to be a short story. I was soon proved incorrect – it is instead a short novel ~250 pages long. It was published both independently and in the collection Arcanum Unbound, and takes place after Words of Radiance. It was the next stop along my journey into the Cosmere, and had some fascinating revelations tied to it. This article will be much shorter than my other Stormlight articles, as those are reviewing 1000+ page novels, and this one is much, much shorter.

Spoiler-Free Review

This section will once again be short, but I always like to include a bit of a non-spoilerly overview for interested parties. Some of what I review here, I review with the knowledge of what is coming next. These Cosmere novels, however, I am reading for the first time, so I am not influenced by future story when I review them. I predict that once you understand what is going on behind the scenes in these novels, they are very difficult to look at without that context in mind. Because of this, when I eventually return to this series and reread these novels (likely a few years from now), I may go back to these stories and review them with full Cosmere context. So when I answer this question, I answer it on the merit of the story without knowing how it impacts Oathbringer and beyond: is this novella worth reading?

The answer is unequivocally yes. Not only does this story have an entertaining protagonist and an enjoyable storyline, but it also builds on the lore way more than I expected for a novella. I find it likely that things referenced in this story will be important to the plotline later on, and that characters will reappear in later novels. But other than that, I’ll let the story speak for itself. Minor spoiler – the main character of this story is Lift, and it follows her exploits after her Interlude in Words of Radiance. So if you enjoyed that story, you are sure to enjoy this!

Spoiler-Filled Review

I wasn’t blown away by Lift’s story in Words of Radiance, if I’m being honest. I thought it was fascinating, and the story and worldbuilding developed in the interlude was interesting, but I felt that Lift’s narrative voice was a bit more clunky than other sections. However, during Edgedancer, Lift grew on me significantly. Diving a bit deeper into who she was made her character shine brightly, giving us more context and significant development.

Lift is a street urchin turned friend-of-the-Emperor who has run away from her cozy position to chase after “Darkness,” a being who is killing Surgebinders across Roshar, and who has chased Lift on more than one occasion. Lift’s powers are interesting – she is the first Edgedancer we have met, and she is able to use Stormlight to make surfaces (and herself) slick, and slide across them. She calls this her “awesomeness,” and she uses it to get out of tight spaces. She also has some other powers that she begins to develop, including healing others (as we saw in Words of Radiance) and making plantlife grow. The thing that makes her most unique is that she is able to convert food into Stormlight. It is not clear where this ability came from, but I will be fascinated to see if Sanderson ever answers this question.

There is a lot to break down in this story, but one of the most significant highlights was Wyndle, Lift’s spren. He is an excellent foil for Lift’s chaotic nature, as he seems very down-to-earth and dislikes Lift greatly (at least, so it seems at first). His genuine affection for her that develops later on tied with his unending frustration with her antics is a ton of fun to read, and their relationship shines through the entire story from beginning to end.

The antagonist of this story is a man that Lift names Darkness, who is revealed to be one of the Heralds. Throughout the novella, the “storm that blows the wrong way” from Words of Radiance is on the horizon, and is referenced multiple times. The climax of the novel, which was another Sanderson winner, has a ton of great content including Lift’s interaction with a strange philosopher that appeared multiple times throughout the novel. It turns out that he is a creature presumably like Wit or the Almighty (I am not sure what the distinction is here), and this is revealed in quite a horrifying way. He is a fascinating character and I hope he appears again during the series!

The ending of this novel was really what made it shine. We learn that Darkness kills Surgebinders in an attempt to keep the Desolation from coming. His legal reasons are to punish them for crimes, as we saw in Words of Radiance, when he kills a benevolent shoemaker for crimes committed many, many years ago (and in his pursuit of Lift in the first place). Lift’s final interaction with Darkness, when she shows him that the Desolation has already come, devastates him, because as with most of the villains in the Stormlight Archive, he truly believes he is doing the right thing. His emotionless façade breaks down, and he cries. Lift gives him a hug, and he leaves, presumably to reevaluate his life. This was a powerful moment, showing Lift’s childlike innocence even in her crass and chaotic nature (as a bizarre aside, there is a bit of a strange connection here to Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside).

There are a couple interesting lore pieces here – confirmation that the Heralds still exist, first of all, which means that the madman from the main story likely is a Herald. You also learn that there are villains with spren – it makes you wonder what the requirements for bonding with a spren are. There are also references to the Knights Radiant, with Lift declaring herself one. It brings up an interesting question – does anyone who bonds with a spren count as a Knight? Or is it only those who have said the Words? It raises questions as to what the orders of the Knights Radiant actually will be, and how they will grow and change as the series continues.

Final Thoughts

Lift ended up being a thoroughly enjoyable character to follow, and her oath to remember those who have been forgotten is powerful and beautiful. There are many questions that haven’t yet been answered (how did she manage to interact with the Old Magic? What was her curse, and did she truly get her boon? Where did she come from? Why can she digest food into Stormlight?), which implies that she will return, and Sanderson alludes to her potentially becoming a main character in future novels. Edgedancer was an excellent interlude, showing that the other characters throughout Roshar have just as much potential as the main ones we have been following to star in excellent and engaging stories. I am so excited to dig into Oathbringer, and see Sanderson’s next chapter in what has developed into an incredibly good saga.

Related Reading