Published by Dragonsteel Entertainment.
A fascinating new novella in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere, the universe shared by his Mistborn series and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive.
Sixth of the Dusk, set in a never-before-seen world, showcases a society on the brink of technological change. On the deadly island of Patji, where birds grant people magical talents and predators can sense the thoughts of their prey, a solitary trapper discovers that the island is not the only thing out to kill him. When he begins to see his own corpse at every turn, does this spell danger for his entire culture?
Time to read: 57 min
Better than Shadows for Silence, not as good as the emperor's soul. It's an interesting setting but I probably actually like the magic stuff less than Shadows for Silence, it's just got more interesting thematic stuff to me, and I like how it hints towards the larger Cosmere world building. Probably will never think about this book again.
I love it when Sanderson creates a world with its own ecology and species. It's impressive how he could draft a new one compressed only in 50 pages!
On the other hand, this novella is too short for a decent characterization and I could not connect to the characters and the story as much as I wanted. I hope we can get more of it in a fully structured novel.
A classic Sanderson novella that can build a world, introduce characters and have conflict come and go in under 100 pages.
I enjoyed this more than Perfect States but as far as novella's go Emperor's Soul is the best. Having Sixth of the Dusk set in the Cosmere does pose some interesting questions and understanding how this world fits in to the larger picture may be worth a a re-read and increasing the star rating. Specifically how Aviar obtain the abilities and what implications that has for the Stormlight Archive series.
This is a short novella with only a handful of characters and a straightforward plot. Despite this, Sanderson manages to create a sense of mystery to the Aviar, the islands, and the Ones Above that drives the story. As always, Sanderson is a master of magic and he provides some partial, yet fulfilling, answers to how the magic of this world works. The book ends rather open-ended, letting the reader imagine what will happen in the future. Some of the secrets also spark my curiosity (ie, why Aviar and not humans?). I hope that Sanderson revisits the First of the Sun world as it sounds very cool (a distinct Polynesian vibe) and feels like the magic could be more fleshed out.
A full, but still short, review can be found in my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-review-sixth-of-dusk-by-brandon.html
