A Thinker in Space

Dawnshard is another short novel set in the universe of The Stormlight Archive, chronologically taking place directly after the events of Oathbringer. This will once again be a shorter review, as the novel is roughly 300 pages long. This one is not available in Arcanum Unbound, as it was published after this collection was released, and is instead available in stand-alone form. I actually listened to Dawnshard entirely in audiobook form – my commute to work is until recently not super long, but I still have listened to audiobooks to and from work. Recently, my commute has increased significantly on some days, and a good audiobook passes the time wonderfully.  Kate Reading and Michael Kramer have been narrating this series since the beginning and they do an excellent job making the story immersive and engaging. I highly recommend the audiobooks for the entire Stormlight Archive, as every book (so far) has this duo of excellent narrators.

Once again, I’ll split up this set of reviews into Spoiler-Free and Spoiler-Filled!

Spoiler-Free Review

Following the explosive ending of Oathbringer, and in the same vein as Edgedancer we have Dawnshard. Dawnshard is again a short novel that is once again localized – instead of following multiple characters sprawled out over a massive world, we are seeing a few characters that are in a small area and are all closely interacting. If you are only reading this section, I assume you are either A. Trying to decide whether or not Dawnshard is worth reading before Rhythm of War, the next novel in The Stormlight Archive, or B. Curious about this novel and the series it is attached to.

I’ll address B first. If you are here because you are curious about The Stormlight Archive, stop reading this, and start reading The Way of Kings. These books are a commitment, but they are hands-down some of the best literature I have ever read. Each one is a carefully woven masterpiece, and both Edgedancer and Dawnshard, companion novels to the main series, are excellent counterparts.

The Way of Kings is a bit overwhelming at first, but let the story breathe a little bit and you will find that its narrative is a straightforward and enjoyable introduction to this massive series.

Now to A. This is the big one. Is Dawnshard worth your time?

Yes.

Absolutely.

It’s hard to rank The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and Oathbringer. It’s even more difficult to decide how to rank Dawnshard and Edgedancer when discussing this. In the end, they are not going to go above the core books for me – I just love epic fantasy too much. That being said Dawnshard is still a very, very good book, and if it stood alone it would still be one of my favorites. I’ll talk about this more in the spoiler-filled review, as to not spoil the characters or vibe of the novel, but I love this genre of fiction, and wish that there was more good novels like this out there.

From a strict view of importance to the overall storyline, I have already began Rhythm of War, and the things that occur in Dawnshard have already been referenced and have paid off in small ways to show that even though it is not technically necessary, it is worthwhile to build the universe and understand the context of a few things that are mentioned early on in the novel. Don’t sleep on this one – it is a worthwhile addition to any reader’s collection!!

Spoiler-Filled Review

I mentioned in my review of Oathbringer that I was overwhelmed by reviewing that novel, so much so that I started the review, stopped, and did not finish it until a month later. Not so for Dawnshard. Full disclosure – I also finished this one a few weeks ago. However, it’s much easier to remember the events of Dawnshard than it is to remember where Oathbringer began, as the story is smaller in scope, and (more importantly) shorter.

Just a reminder that this article will contain spoilers for some content in the previous four novels. It will not contain any spoilers for Rhythm of War.

Edgedancer was a fun reprieve from the main series of novels, where the events are huge and the scale is massive. I very much enjoyed that novel, but I spent a significant percentage of it looking forward to the next novel. Dawnshard, though, captivated me from beginning to end. In the Spoiler-Free section, I mention that I love this type of literature (though I didn’t clarify for sake of spoilers). I thoroughly enjoy epic stories that take place on ships, specifically exploring mysteries in a fantastic world. Hence why Dawnshard is the kind of book that I immediately was excited about, and that I remained in love with from beginning to end. There’s something about the sea, the mystery, and the nautical vibe that I find engrossing (when executed well). All the way back from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader when I was younger, this genre has been one of my favorites. When I was older, Terra Incognita by Kevin J. Anderson was one of my favorite reads (I have no idea how this series holds up today – I’ve been meaning to reread it but I’ve spoiled epic fantasy for myself for a little bit by reading Sanderson). And, of course, Pirates of the Caribbean (the first three and to some extent the fourth) is one of my favorite film series of all time (spoilers for my series on my top 160 movies, the first three movies are in the top 60, and The Black Pearl is my tenth favorite movie of all time.

Dawnshard is an excellent and enjoyable entry into this slightly-less-common genre. One of its strengths from the forefront is that the two characters Sanderson uses to drive the plot are characters you already love. Rysn has already appeared in Words of Radiance as an interlude that was honestly more of a novella than a short story, with the audiobook clocking in at an hour. Her voice has been established, and she is exceptionally well-developed for what amounts to a minor character in a massive world.

The world of Roshar at this point feels very lived-in, and Sanderson uses this to his advantage with cameos and references that don’t feel like cameos or references, because of course Rysn would be dealing with Navani – she’s one of the most powerful people in Roshar. Of course the Radiants would be mentioned – they are a huge change in the world around Rysn. When Rysn starts her journey, it is mentioned that two Radiants would be joining her, and I was thrilled to see that one of them would be Lopen.

Thinking back on it, the choice was obvious. He is truly the best fit narratively for this story. But in the moment I wasn’t thinking about that, I was just thrilled to see that we were going to get some one-on-one time with him as a character, something we haven’t gotten much of throughout the story.

In my review of Oathbringer, I mentioned that one of the most significant themes has been mental illness, which was surprising to me. In this book, Sanderson puts physical disability on the forefront, which proved to be an excellent addition. I went into this novel with the knowledge that Rysn was the main character, and I truly thought that she would become Radiant sometime during her arc. However, the audiobook I was reading contained the Acknowledgements section, and I happened to listen through it. In it, he mentioned that he had brought in assistance in order to personify someone with a physical disability, and from that moment I knew that Rysn would not be cured. That wasn’t the point – a condition like Rysn’s in the world today does not have an easy fix. It is something that must be lived with, adapted to. In order to portray Rysn’s pain and her struggle, Sanderson did not choose to belittle it with an easy fix. In fact, according to the rules he has set into place for his story, Rysn will never recover her ability to use her legs.

This focus creates an extremely meaningful component to the story – we see disability awareness on display through the perspective of someone who needs significant accommodations to live a normal life. This is done successfully, and reflects both the excitement of getting accommodations to make life better and the frustration that the focus of technology is often in other areas first.

With this context as the backdrop, Dawnshard ends up bringing us on a whirlwind adventure with an engrossing mystery that keeps you invested, wanting to see the truth. Which, in true Sanderson style, is extremely satisfying. The Wandersail, Rysn’s ship, is headed to a mysterious island shrouded by a strange storm. This island is the ancestral home of her pet, Chiri-Chiri, who is sick and must return in order to be healed. The setup is fascinating, the travel to the island is an enjoyable voyage, and the deception and intrigue on the island itself is remarkable.

This is one of those Sanderson tales where something happens and my first reaction is Oh no, I need to go reread that. There is an interesting interlude in Oathbringer that is very relevant to the content here, and because of rereading that interlude, it is easy to guess who aboard the crew is the traitor (a very sad realization because it was a character I liked a lot!).

One of the must unexpected parts of this story, though, was the massive lore drop that accompanied it. I’m not sure when we met the first one, but Sanderson has teased these strange bug creatures that take human form and interact with the characters. One of the most notable of these was in Edgedancer, when Lift comes face-to-face with one of these beings. Usually, they have shown up in interludes, and have made for fascinating curiosities. Well, now we know what they are and have gotten a ton of information about them.

This is also the second time we have been told that creatures from other worlds have come to Roshar, posing huge questions about how the Cosmere functions and what its history has been. The humans on Roshar are not native to the planet, so somehow they transferred over to this planet from another one – a pretty insane tidbit to just throw into the midst of an already packed novel (this revelation occurred in Oathbringer). Now, we learn that these creatures, known as The Sleepless, are also not from this world – they are here to guard a powerful piece of history: The Dawnshard, which has a ton of lore attached to it that Sanderson barely scratches the surface of.

This “Dawnshard” was apparently used in the creation of the universe itself, and is one of four of its kind. These have great power, and many seek to steal them and use them to their own advantage. The Sleepless protect this with a utilitarian drive – they kill a few to save billions. They don’t like death, they seek to prevent it, but they do kill when necessary. This revelation, and the lore that Sanderson builds into the small, seemingly insignificant chapter in The Stormlight Archive, is mind-blowing and incredibly satisfying.

Sanderson’s character voices continue to be very strong in this novel – Rysn is an engaging character with a ton of complexity. Literature where the protagonist is struggling with something like Rysn’s paralysis often tend to make the character’s disability their defining trait, which I would posit is not only inaccurate but potentially harmful to one of the end goals of this theme – raising awareness. Sanderson tackles this with grace, raising awareness of the struggles of those with physical disabilities while telling a captivating, engaging, and meaningful stories.

Seeing Rysn’s growth from her original interlude here was amazing – her negotiating successfully with The Sleepless was a tense, enthralling sequence with a payoff that makes the whole novel shine brighter. Lopen as a character voice added a flair of humor to the novel that fit noticeably well – Lopen is so much fun to read about, and having him as a main character was a treat that I hope we get to experience again.

Final Thoughts

Dawnshard is a novel I will likely return to whenever I am craving this flavor of literature – one I will be much more likely to pick up than others. It showcases Sanderson’s mastery in character development and creation, one of the best parts of The Stormlight Archive. I look forward to digging into Rhythm of War, the next chapter in this incredible series. I can’t believe that I’m almost at the end of the published material in this series (though my timing is perfect, as Wind and Truth, the fifth book in The Stormlight Archive, releases in a month – about the time I will likely be finishing Rhythm of War). When I finish this series, I know it is going to leave a taste in my mouth that will have spoiled me for this style of fiction for a little while. But even though I am almost (a relative word in this context) done with Stormlight, I am planning to return to Mistborn and beyond to finally experience all that the Cosmere has to offer. I don’t intend to stop this series of articles until I have dug into all this world has to offer (though there may be some pauses along the way).

This novel is a worthwhile addition to the Cosmere, and justifies its existence superbly. Hopefully the next full Stormlight review will be a bit less overwhelming to write, though with the scope and magnitude of this series, I doubt it. And that, in my opinion, is a very, very good thing.

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