#23 in Science fiction
Isles of the Emberdark
- 496
- Pages
- about 9 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Isles of the Emberdark” is dependable Sanderson: an island adventure of trappers, bonded birds and invaders from the stars. It delivers what his regulars come for, and the earlier novella about its hero is folded in as flashbacks, so nothing is lost by coming to him fresh. Some readers find the book too safe, and some would have liked its links to the wider Cosmere less openly signposted.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a legendary standalone novel that navigates the seas and the stars of a far-future Cosmere. Illustrated by Esther Hi’ilani Candari. All his life, Sixth of the Dusk has been a traditional trapper of Aviar—the supernatural birds his people bond with—on the deadly island of Patji. Then one fateful night he propels his people into a race to modernize before they can be conquered by the Ones Above, invaders from the stars who want to exploit the Aviar. But it’s a race they’re losing, and Dusk fears his people will lose themselves in the effort. When a chance comes to sail into the expanse of the emberdark beyond a mystical portal, Dusk sets off to find his people’s salvation with only a canoe, his birds, and all the grit and canniness of a Patji trapper. Elsewhere in the emberdark is a young dragon chained in human form: Starling of the starship Dynamic. She and her ragtag crew of exiles are deep in debt and on the brink of losing their freedom. So when she finds an ancient map to a hidden portal between the emberdark and the physical realm, she seizes the chance at a lucrative discovery. These unlikely allies might just be the solution to each other’s crisis. In their search for independence, Dusk and Starling face perilous bargains, poisonous politics, and the destructive echo of a dead god.
Reading order · Secret Projects
Full order & progress →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.9 across 481 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 77% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 8.7 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 8.9 | 481 | 100% |
Frequently asked
How long is Isles of the Emberdark?
It has 496 pages — shorter than 59% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 8.5 and 8.8, closest to this book.
