Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson: Book Review

 

Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here, he saw infinity. A horizon that seemed impossibly far away. That not-sea, it…just. Kept. Going. Look through binoculars, and it was the same. A flat expanse, completely uninterrupted. Upward, he saw only darkness and blue streaks. Downward, that smoky depth.
Infinity in three shades. Each more unnerving than the one before.

Brandon Sanderson crafts the secret project Isles of the Emberdark with some of the elements that I most look for in any fiction/ fantasy - character sketches with depth and introspection, people driven plot where their decisions matter, layered world-building, touching writing, and at the core, a strong premise. This novel also includes most of the previously release novella Sixth of the Dusk in its first part, and so can be read as a standalone, as well as the latest installment of the Cosmere for the fans interested in its workings.

Instead, he kept paddling. One man. Two birds. Three kinds of infinity. And an entire world that, remarkably, still needed him.

Isles of the Emberdark follows Sixth of the Dusk as he tries to find a way offering his people leverage in the rapidly changing politics with more technologically advanced worlds, explore the dangerous beguiling realm of the cognitive, and reconcile the stories of his people with the truth of world around him, all while trying to remain relevant without sacrificing everything he stands for.

But he felt old. Old like a horse-drawn carriage. Old like cobblestones in a city full of cement. Old like a handwritten letter when everyone was learning to type.

Sixth of the Dusk is a remarkably well sketched character, starting out as a stoic man at the height of his survival skills in an incredibly dangerous environment, but reframing his ideology in doing everything he can to preserve his people's identity and fit in with the rapid technological advancement on their own terms. His amazing birds not only provide him with a magical advantage, but also keep him grounded, and it's lovely to see his bonds with them! His growth arc and introspection in learning to trust and work with other people to finding a crew draws the reader in,whereas his brief hunting stint inspired by Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is something to look out for!

Be better, he said. Soar, he challenged. Be amazing.

Starling's perspective with Firefly vibes is a breath of fresh air, especially for the people waiting to read a Cosmere dragon's story. Her crew of handpicked (mis)matches with their own cultures and histories play to their strengths in protecting each other and provides a great counterpoint to Dusk's journey. The plot is fast-paced given the scale of events happening, but the character growth and discoveries threaded in feel measured and considered.

“Most of the arcanists hate words like ‘wizard,’ as they reference people with magical knowledge. Most of them will insist nothing is ‘magic’ if you understand it.”

The world-building in this book is very Cosmere-aware and revelatory, easily going from the magic of discoveries to the science behind magic, blending aspects of traditional fantasy and science fiction. More than that, the themes of colonialism and cultural identity explored add depth to the history of the Cosmere, people interest stories to the vast machinations of power/ resource grabbing.

But when he spoke, they grew quiet. Words had their own economics, as sure as precious metals did. The ones in short supply were the ones that, secretly, everyone wanted.

The fantastic writing in this book, focused more on people, their actions and decisions more than on simply grand magic, beautifully wove the world-building, characters and plot together. As delightful as it was to read one Cosmere tidbit after another, it is the premise of the characters finding a niche for themselves without sacrificing their ideologies that stays with the reader at the end.

Recommended for all Cosmere and Brandon Sanderson fans!

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[3/4 for the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters and their growth; One star for the plot and themes; One star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 1/2 stars in total.]

Her master had warned her about this inclination to care for everyone she met. Apparently, it wasn’t an uncommon problem among the people he chose to work with. If you were going to travel the cosmere, you were going to find people with problems. If you got embroiled in their conflicts, you’d never get anything done.

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The Satisfaction Café by Kathy Wang: Book Review

 

The Satisfaction Café by Kathy Wang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes Joan wished there was a place she could visit to feel less alone: a restaurant with very friendly servers, perhaps , where she might order a bowl of spaghetti and casually surrender her insecurities . When she was little, she used to daydream of a place she named in her head the Satisfaction Café, which had friendly employees and nice food and pretty toys; even as a child, Joan’s imagination had not stretched to fantastic outcomes but, rather, a reasonable amount of happiness.

The Satisfaction Café follows Joan as she settles down in California, through her difficulties in the first few years including a divorce, to her life as a rich white older man's wife, slowly moulding her life around her children and her house, until she starts creating something new based on a childhood wish.

Yes, Joan was fortunate. But she knew this only meant danger, because eventually good luck turned to bad. And really, there was so much to go wrong in a life: you could cross the street and be hit by a car; a random bubble might travel into your brain and then, well, you needn’t worry about anything anymore.

The slow plot focuses on Joan's introspection more than even her misfortunes, finding her feet again after the death of her husband and her house burning down, and throwing herself into raising her children. The character sketch of Joan is very well done, showing incredible fortitude and a sense of practicality through her troubles, but more importantly in how she goes against this inertia to create something new - opening The Satisfaction Café in her later years.

More than just a simple café serving coffee and pastries, Joan builds around a beautiful concept, simple yet not easy to create - an ambience of contentment and conversation. Kathy Wang does a brilliant job in weaving the beautiful premise, Joan's practical character arc and her stately writing to tell this story.

Youth didn’t understand, however, how much luck played into it, that loneliness wasn’t always a choice. Whereas at Joan’s age, you knew it was always somewhere ahead, waiting. It could happen to anyone.

The secondary characters are all also quite vivid, some a little too vivid and caricatures of the rich and privileged. While most of Joan's reactions to events resonated, there were some aspects of the story, like her life in Taiwan with her parents ending in cutting off contact, and the circumstances behind her adoption of her daughter Lee felt a bit too far fetched. However, as a whole, the novel is a quietly impactful read, recommended for anyone interested in an introspective story of shaking off inertia and trying something new for contentment.

For now that she was a widow with children, Joan felt she understood with real clarity the cycle of life— the ultimate end and all that currently lay in between and the eternal problem that there didn’t seem to be enough there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Scribner publishing group for an ARC, the review is entirely honest.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
[One star for the premise and the whole book; One star for the characters and their arcs; Half a star for the plot and themes; 3/4 star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 stars in total.]

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The Vengeance by Emma Newman - Book Review

 

The Vengeance by Emma Newman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If she had known that it was the last hour of her mother’s life, Morgane would have done things differently. But that was the thing about a life at sea such as they had; there was no way to tell where death would come from.

The aptly named The Vengeance follows Morgane after the death of her mother (the captain of her pirate ship) as she leaves her life at sea and everything she knows to go to France hoping for vengeance. Dealing with several surprises coming up during her quest - chief of which is that she uncovers letters from her birth mother pleading for rescue, and a father who has been searching for her, she finds France and life on land very different from the life she led until then.

Morgane felt horribly awkward. Why did everyone care about being a man or a woman so much in France? On The Vengeance, the only thing that mattered was skill. But perhaps her aunt’s ship really had been an exception.

The interesting plot, action based but event driven, is the foundation of this book, and held my attention. Morgane is a great character, her strengths and weaknesses outcomes of growing up on a ship in a late medieval world. The overall duration of the book doesn't see a lot of change in Morgane's character, but she is pretty strong and street smart to start with.

“Nah.” Morgane sheathed the knife. “Any problem involving a man can always be solved with violence. Violence or gold, to be fair.”

A few good themes like gender-based expectations and rule of aristocracy came up, and meshed well with the other lead and secondary characters. The world-building contains some supernatural entities in addition to the medieval descriptions (as can be seen from the name of the series), but this wasn't explored as much as I'd like. Another quibble was that the plot progression didn't actually allow Morgane to spend much time with each of her parents, except for the mother who raised her, or actually see them in each other's company - which could have added to her character arc.

On the whole, The Vengeance is a fun read, and I'll keep an eye out for the sequel and more books by Emma Newman.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion publishers for an ARC, the review is entirely honest.

🌟🌟🌟
[3/4 star for the premise and the whole book; Half a star for the characters; 3/4 star for the plot and themes; Half a star for the world-building; Half a star for the writing - 3 stars in total.]

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