Book Review: Edgedancer Second Read-Through

This cover image was taken from Amazon.com for review purposes.

Spolier Free Summary: Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson is a novella featuring Lift, a character from the Stormlight Archive.  This was the second time I’d read this.  You can see my initial review here.  Lift is a girl who’s apparently been 10 for about three years. She goes from sneaking into a place to helping a friend become emperor. The only problem is Darkness. He’s an emotionless hunter who seems obsessed with Lift and her pet Voidbringer who may not actually be a Voidbringer. The only thing crazier than her situation, is her idea to actually track down Darkness and stop him before he kills more people. While the rest of Roshar frets over the Assassin in White and the Kings and Emperors he kills, Lift is fighting for those other people.  Those who might not otherwise be remembered.

Character:  Lift is a fun character. She’s witty and unpredictable. She’s super proactive and incredibly sympathetic. The thing that makes her most interesting is she doesn’t put things together the way others might. Her fresh perspective on a situation often turns out right. She almost feels like a YA version of Columbo. I don’t know where she fits on my “list of favorites,” but I’m always happy when she’s is.n the scene, so this novella based on her is charming.

Exposition:  Sanderson doesn’t beat the reader over the head with exposition. This book flows even more swiftly because of Lift’s quick wit. Honestly I know it had to be there (no book can have zero exposition), but I don’t remember any.

World building:  Sanderson calls this Stormlight Archive 2.5, and it first. There are some parts here that might lose a person if they’ve never been to Roshar before. I don’t know how big the impact would be because I read this in order even on my first read of the story, but looking at it another time though made it easier to see how one might get a tad lost. I don’t think it’s that big a deal as long as you can grasp a few of the details of the world.

This photo, by Nazrilof, was taken from Brandon Sanderson’s bio on his website.

Dialogue: There’s a particular amount of plot revealed in dialogue. There’s also some foreshadowing here that I’d recommend people note before other books in the series come out. It’s quick and smart, like most Sanderson books, but I’d recommend anyone read this book a few times because I’m certain some of the names thrown out and characters introduced will grow in importance.

Description: Sanderson is more passive in his description than some might like. I’m not among them. I enjoy a book that’s streamlined for content. It’s still effective. What Sanderson does in this book is hone in on the important details. He doesn’t spend much time on making everything detailed. Instead, he makes sure the details you need to see are vivid.

Overall: I’m always grateful for re-reading books like this because I miss details. In this story, some of the characters introduced and information passed slipped by me the first time. Then again, Sanderson’s books usually do get more rewarding the more times you read them.

Thanks for reading,

Matt