Dawnshard From the Stormlight Archive

so cute loved how it was a break from the monster novels it’s sandwiched in between

the characters are so cute

This one felt so much more important than the other novella in the series. Loved the deep dive on the lore and the characters and demographics that we haven’t seen much of thus far

3+

Lopen in his main character arc

too short 😦

The character work in this one is so good. Lopen and Rysn were so fun to follow. Lopen’s growth through this one was so satisfying. The humour was really well done as well, the comedic writing in this series is just getting better and better, you can really see the improvements. The sleepless were so creepy and gross and cool and maaaaaannn so cool. Lots of interesting lore tidbits in this one that are massive reveals. Very fun spooky pirate side adventure.

It made me excited about the series again, I think I liked it more than The edgedancer because it was more connected to the overall plot of the series. Characters were mentioned along with the hints to the events that happened. Though the cosmere seems more complicated than ever

A phenomenal novella that expands the Stormlight books and cosmere. I enjoyed the addition of disability inclusion.

read

3.5 stars I enjoyed this much more than Edgedancer, but I'm still struggling with connecting to the story. I did like Rysn a lot and the names did feel more familiar to me. I'm sad that I'm burnt out on this series, tbh.

An excellent Novela, to continue the Stormlight archives. Very excited for the next book to see what happens next.

just a nice, little and light story. i love reading stormlight's short books and i liked dawnshard even more than edgedancer. it was nice seeing rysn again after her interludes and to be able to see a disabled woman as the main hero of the story. because, yes, at the end i think rysn is a hero. she solves the situation wonderfully, better than any other person could have done it. rysn had to face difficulties throughout the story, from earning the respect of the ship's crew she owns but doesn't feel that belongs to her, to the physical challenges that come with living and accepting her paraplegia. she wants to explore, and she's going to do it no matter what or who comes her way. i loved how she finds support in lopen, who we know (thanks to the main books of the series) was disabled before becoming a radiant. lopen's extremely positive personality and view of the world shine in dawnshard, but at the end we see there is more to this character. in the final conversation with his cousin, i can understand better why lopen is the way he is, there is a mature side making an appearence for the first time since he was introduced in the way of kings (view spoiler)[ and thanks to this his words are accepted, he makes the third ideal! i was so happy for him. i was expecting him to pronounce them, of course, since he was one of the main povs in this short story and it was the obvious thing for his development as character and radiant. but when he tries the first time and fails i found myself rooting for him even more (hide spoiler)]. lopen is sort of brigde four's comedic relief, and i'm so glad that we got to know him more deeply here because he's one of my favorite side characters. and, obviously, i loved the big revelation at the end and how the little pieces of the cosmere start to fall into place, giving answers to old questions while formulating new ones. there is so much content in this short book, finally exploring akinah and aimia. the whole concept of a mysterious group of islands being the original source of the soulcasters, hard to access, surrounded by myths and protected by the sleepless... it was so good.

Very good in-between story! It has lots of fun moments thanks to the great character but it's also super important and eye opening for the greater world and universe. Very enjoyable :)

I loved everything about this. My only complaint is that it wasn’t longer. It’s been a while since I read a book in under 24 hours, and I’m very tempted to just turn back to the beginning and start over. Before Dawnshard, I liked both Rysn and Lopen just fine. After Dawnshard, I pretty much adore them both. And Cord. And Chiri-Chiri. And Rushu. I needed a dose of powerful positivity in my life, and this book so delivered that exactly when I was thirsting for it the most. I love that Sanderson raised more questions about the interconnectivity of the Cosmere, and I can’t wait to see those answered. But most of all, I love the ways in which he broached the way a disability effects so much more than the body. It was beautiful and empathetic and moving, and Rysn might just be my new favorite. This “novella” did nothing but increase the hype for Rhythm of War, and I’m quite literally counting down the days!

Wasn’t sure what to expect as I didn’t much care for Edgedancer, but Dawnshard is so good from first to last page! Rysn and the Lopen are among my favorite characters and they shine here. Rysn especially.

** spoiler alert ** Happy to read this before going head deep into Rhythm of War Dawnshard gives the quick Brandon Sandersonexperience in this novella which is roughly about 10-15 % size of a regular sized storm light archive book. Dawnshard introduces a strong female lead and sends her off on a quest with one familiar Herzardian with too many cousins. Again, One can't have too many cousins This refreshing read adds yet another member to Roshar's famed fauna, the Larkin which reminds us of a familiar household feline but of course like anything on Roshar, very crustacean thus vastly different anatomically. Dawnshard is everything we love about Brandon Sanderson: the tension the pace and the happy ending. Strong parallels can be drawn to Sanderson's other novellas such as the The Emperor's Soul

The second half was so, SO GOOD. Might call a pet Chiri-Chiri someday in honour of this novella.

Hilarious and delightful. A perfect novella to fit into the series.

A quality addition to the Stormlight world. Also, any time I get to spend with Lopen is time well spent. Had a lot of fun with this one and burned right through it. Strong suggest for those that enjoy the series.

Super fun story and a great pre-read for the upcoming Rhythm of War. Between Mistborn: Secret History, Edgedancer, and now Dawnshard, these shorter novellas really allow Sanderson to flex the (constantly twitching) "side-story muscle" that is so clearly difficult for him to manage in the main series. That's not a criticism of his authorship either - the simultaneous depth and breadth of ideas floating around in his head is one of the things that makes his writing so great. But I personally find that the typical interludes are either too short to be satisfying, or just long enough to be a frustrating diversion from the main plot. These 20ish chapter novellas still feel digestible, but also include enough plot to be meaningful for both individual characters and the broader world (most interludes feel like they only give one or the other). The core idea of Wandersail is such an entertaining take on the typical seafaring adventure, and I love the juxtaposition between the lighthearted action/exploration and the much significantly weightier worldbuilding stakes that have been built up around Aimia and the Dawnshards. To the former, I think Rysn really shines as a PoV character - after 2 previous interludes (and a great cameo in Oathbringer), she's got a great character base, and I loved how her journey towards deeper autonomy and self-confidence weaves in and out with the broader fetch quest. The fact that the character development in this book isn't a straightforward line is excellent - Rysn has already had time to grapple with the lowest lows of her injury, and she's also found a great support community (the image of a spanreed group chat is almost immersion-breakingly modern, but charming enough that I'm willing to bite my tongue). We certainly get a lot of growth and internal learning from Rysn through the book, and it's particularly cool to see Rysn the merchant "surpass" Vstim in many ways, but I love that we're going from 60 to 80, rather than 0 to 100. It would be so easy to lean into stereotypical "inexperienced but strappy newcomer has to slowly build trust with a begrudging captain" storyline, but the added dimension of Rysn's physical abilities really adds depth and newness to the trope. (view spoiler)[ Moving into the climax and conclusion of the book, Rysn's differences in physical ability take on a whole new meaning. I really like that this character, who happens to be paraplegic, is now in possession of probably the strongest cosmere force/power that we've seen in a book thus far (perhaps even including the power of a shard). What's more, I *love* that this power is in no way, shape, or form related to this character's disability, but instead earned through individual worthiness (in this case, conferred through her relationship with Chirri Chirri). I'm super excited to see Rysn become a bigger player in the books to come, but with her vow to not become a Radiant, I'm also reassured that she's not going to become some overpowered Professor X-type character. That really ties to the broader set of reveals in the last quarter of this book, which all come quickly and with startling frankness. The reveal around as to what the Dawnshards are (and the lingering mystery over their true power and relationship to the 16 shards) is excellent, as is the info we get concerning the Sleepless and their non-Rosharan origins. Between the original humans + Heralds, the humans living in Shadesmar, and now the Sleepless, there's a great balance of existing answers and new mysteries that has me really excited to read more. (hide spoiler)] Last thing that I'd be remiss to mention is the way that Lopen, Huio, and Cord are handled throughout. Lopen is a great narrative foil to Rysn, and as someone who typically feels like his character is a little grating, I think I really came around to his narrative style and what he represents for the Windrunners/Knights Radiant. The conclusion of Lopen's character arc in this novella is fantastic, and feels like a cheeky poke at other readers who have expressed similar feelings about him in the past. It's always great to get other character's perspectives of the Knights Radiant and to see how this formerly mythological group is becoming more and more integrated with broader Rosharan society. As a "new" character, Cord is also instantly likeable but also deep enough to present some interesting ideas moving forward. It's hard not to empathize with Rock and his internal conflicts in the main book, but I'm excited to see how he'll interact with his newly powered-up daughter and her clear opposition to his cultural pacifism. I think it's fitting that this novella leaves me with as much excitement about what's to come as it did around what actually happened within... and we're definitely lucky to have the confidence that Sanderson will see those threads through. At the end of the day, I think that's what I love most about the Cosmere - the ability to experience as story that's really fractal-like, equally thoughtful and well-constructed for the smallest side character and the largest, cosmere-wide arc.