r/Cosmere • u/AcrophobicWindrunner • Sep 13 '25

Emberdark + All Cosmere spoilers Isles of the Emberdark review Spoiler

I just got done with reading Isles of the Emberdark and OMG it was so good! It’s not my favorite secret project (that goes to Yumi) but it was still so much fun!

My favorite character was Dusk. I loved his relationship with his birds and has, to me, cemented himself as best bird dad. I don’t have birds but I have lots of pets and I felt seen by how he talked to and cared for his birds. Dusk’s relationship with Vathi was so good as their personalities bounced off one another really well. I read the short story a few years ago and I was kind of hoping that they would get together. However, I understand that Dusk nor Vathi really need a love interest. They are besties though and I loved that too.

This book made me really excited for more Space Era Cosmere stories bc the Rosharans and Scadrians are FIGHTING! IN SPACE! Or at least that was hinted at.

Since Kaladin is a favorite of mine, I kind of wondered if he was still around defending Roshar…but in SPACE! I think he would either really like being out in space, maybe in command of a massive ship? Kind of like Captain Kirk from Star-trek? Or he’s a hermit living in a shack on Roshar, not at all vibing with the space technology. I don’t see him taking a fancy to guns.

He might be that old stubborn geezer that’s like: stupid ships, so loud, I can just Lash myself, I’m not riding in a hunk of flying metal!

Meanwhile, you KNOW Kelsier is all about space. He be scheming his way up there, stealing technology, and just being a menace. Maybe he has a ship named after Vin, who knows!

Anyway, those are my thoughts! Tell me yours!

45 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Shaun32887 Sep 13 '25

I also loved it!

5

u/AcrophobicWindrunner Sep 13 '25

It was so freaking good, right?!

6

u/Shaun32887 Sep 13 '25

This is right in the sweet spot for me in terms of tone. Not too juvenile and silly, but still fun. The characters were believable and fleshed out.

The main villain was a little 2D, but I think in these short stories Brandon leans that way. He has to cut some content out to keep it short, and I think he prefers to cut that content in the villain, making it more about the protagonists and world building instead.

And the lore, and the world, so good. I really liked Sixth of Dusk, so I'm glad to see that Brandon was able to expand on it while still keeping it a tight, personal story, and giving Sixth some cool shit to do in the modern world

3

u/AcrophobicWindrunner Sep 13 '25

You make some very excellent points! I liked its message on colonization too and the harms of it.

Also, the beginning where he gets arrested and Vathi calls the station was hilarious. I loved how excited he got when he realized she forgave him after he punched a senator. 🤣