Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson - My Review

I discovered author Brandon Sanderson through a series of Youtube videos containing his lectures on how to write fantasy. This was at the very early stages of me deciding to write my own fantasy novel, so I wasn't quite sure what to look for in terms of research and book recommendations. In general, I was fairly content with the information he was teaching, so I decided it might make sense to start my reading journey with a book of his.

Sanderson is best known for his books from the Stormlight Archives, taking place in a fantasy world of his own creation. He has set up a magic system, political environment, various races and worlds, etc. While I wasn't quite ready to dive into an entire series, I spotted this little novella in his section of my local bookstore. As someone who hadn't read much for pleasure up until this point, I figured the small size of the book might be a good start. This book, Edgedancer, is considered book 2.5 of the Stormlight Archives. It's a bit of a little side story to set up the books that follow.

Synopsis

The story follows a young girl named Lift. She is snarky, blunt, and alone--save her one worrisome friend named Wyndle, a Cultivationspren with the ability to slip in and out of the physical and cognitive realms. Lift is unique in that she is able to touch and communicate with Wyndle--which should be imposible for a human--and also possesses an ability she calls "awesomeness." This "awesomeness" is her term for the magical ability to move quickly and lightly, but only works when fueled by food. This leads Lift to resort to stealing any bit of food she can get her hands on.

A man called Darkness is after Lift and others like her. She is an "Edgedancer", although she doesn't know it. Darkness is a mysterious character who almost acts as though he's an officer of the law, yet he is also terrifying and deadly. Lift must stay away from him.

My thoughts

Characters

Lift is an...acquired taste. She's blunt and rude and often fends for herself on her own volition. If she had to choose between working with a group or going alone, she'd probably go alone. Of course, she's a homeless orphan who has a hard time finding food because, frankly, the villagers don't take kindly to beggars. It's perfectly understandable that she'd be a little bitter. However, she is honestly extremely annoying anyway. Not only is she constantly unpleasant to Wyndle, but she is very disrespectful to almost everyone she comes in contact with. This was also met with a very jarring statement she would say anytime someone was hurt or taken advantage of: "I will remember those who have been forgotten." While this statement of compassion should have made me think she had some sort of empathy, it just felt out of place compared to all her otherwise rude behavior.

Wyndle is an interesting character, but not because of his personality. He is constantly anxious and worried, which I don't have a problem with, but some of his statements seem overly obvious and unnecessary. Perhaps that's part of his personality though, sort of like C-3PO in Star Wars. He says the most obvious things, but that's part of his nervous demeanor. The concept of being a Cultivationspren, however, is quite intriguing. He travels by growing forward while the part he left dwindles away. He can travel between realms unseen by the human eye. His origin is interesting, but not so much his personality.

Darkness is confusing. Is he a villain? Is he just a regular guy that only Lift is scared of? Is he human or not? The descriptions are very sporadic and I had a hard time envisioning who this character is supposed to be. While I'm all for complex villains (I prefer them), he's just...confusing. That's the only word I can think of.

Unfortunately I can't get into the other characters, because honestly, I don't remember them. They just weren't impactful to me.

Plot

I'm not sure I can say much about this without linking it in with my thoughts on the pacing. Overall, I was a little unsure of what the plot was supposed to be. The [very long] prologue had an interesting hook that engaged me, immediately starting with a chase scene in a royal setting. But after the prologue, the next chapters were disorienting. Of course, I know the prologue is often used to set up what will come later in a story, then the first few chapters are a bit calmer in a different setting. But the prologue and actual chapters felt like two completely different stories! Actually, I'm still not sure if the prologue takes place before or after the first few chapters. I had an extremely hard time understanding what the purpose of this story was.

Pacing

Oh boy, the pacing. I'm not sure if it was just because this was the first novel[la] I'd read in a long time, or if it was actually this dreadful. By the time I was halfway through the book, barely any time in the story had passed! The majority of what I had read by that point were chase scenes, Lift stealing food, and Wyndle complaining. It felt like a never ending action scene without any internal dialogue or character growth. As I mentioned previously, the prologue felt overly long due to another chase scene as well. While I understand these scenes were meant to exemplify her "awesomeness" abilities as an Edgedancer, they were just too long for me. I would be exhausted from reading after two pages.

Conclusion

Overall, this novella did not keep my interest. I wanted so badly to enjoy it, especially since Sanderson has said Lift is one of his most favorite characters and he loved writing her story. Perhaps I would've appreciated it a little more if I had read the previous Stormlight Archives books. I didn't have a hard time understanding the magic and political systems within the story, but the story itself was just too bland. I often dreaded reading whenever I'd pick up the book, and it made me sad that I felt that way. I ended up DNFing* the book after about halfway through.

I think Lift could've been a good character, had her backstory been revealed a lot sooner. I ended up DNFing before I reached that part, so I don't know if it ever even happens. The jarring, empathetic quote she would give to those who had been wronged hinted at her past struggles, but those struggles remained secret as I read on. I believe Wyndle asks Lift at some point why she says that phrase, but she ignores him. While these are all good character building aspects in theory, it was simply drawn out far too long.

I'm disappointed that I disliked this story so much, as many Goodreads reviews have great things to say about it. However, I checked the review range similar to mine, and others expressed the same points I have mentioned. Thankfully I'm not alone there! I feel bad for DNFing but I really tried. There were a few days where I debated pushing through or just stopping, because I didn't know if that considered me a quitter to just stop. But I decided it was the best choice for now. Perhaps I'll revisit it in the future and try to read it again.

Overall Rating: 2 stars | ★★☆☆☆

Thanks for reading, I hope this was insightful in one way or another! I'm only just getting started with reviews like this so please allow me time to get in a good rhythm with it.

Talk to you next time,
Zayla

*DNF - Did Not Finish