Another Cosmere secret project to take you into the wider universe.
Sanderson has a habit of revealing secrets. A while back he wrote 4 secret project books in Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Surviving Medieval England and The Sunlit Man. We figured this was it for secret projects and Brandon would head back to his headline franchises of Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive and Elantris.
Instead, it turns out that he was secretly working on another secret project covering another world outside of his core series, and that was Isles of the Emberdark. We know a little about the protagonist from the short story Sixth of the Dusk in Arcanum Unbounded and Isles of the Emberdark hugely fleshes out this story. I actually considered Sixth of the Dusk one of the less interesting stories in that compendium which made my nervous for how Isles would pan out. Fortunately, I can report that it did not disappoint.
What you need to know about Isles of the Emberdark
| Length | 416 pages |
| Series | Cosmere |
| Number in series | 1/1 |
| Author | Brandon Sanderson |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
| Publication date | 3rd February 2026 |
| Target Age | Adult/young adult |
| Genre | Sci-fi/fantasy |
| Themes | Unusual worlds, survival, exploration, technological advancement |
| Complexity | Sanderson has a fairly straightforward tone of writing. Much of his complexity comes from detailed plots and broad world-building. Isles of the Emberdark is not overly complex, but it does make reference to a lot of the wider Cosmere from other books which may confuse readers that are less well-versed in the wider Cosmere. |
| Spice (out of 5) | 🌶️ – There is no kind of intimacy or romance to be found in this book. Relationships are all platonic. |
| Potential trigger warnings | The main character sees his dead body around him, warning him of potential dangers. People are killed, but never in gruesome or detailed ways. People are imprisoned but are otherwise treated hospitably. One character is an alien composed of many bugs that creates a human appearance. |
What should I read before Isles of the Emberdark?
The Cosmere is a vast universe of books with different series tackling different worlds and characters. While each series tends to be fairly self-contained, some of the secret projects do rely a little on knowledge from previous books.
Isles of the Emberdark occurs quite late in the Cosmere timeline. It occurs after all the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive books as well as Tress of the Emerald Sea. It’s not essential to have read every Cosmere book so far before you read Isles of the Emberdark, but I do think it would make sense to have read at least the following before reading Isles of the Emberdark:
- Mistborn era 1
- Mistborn era 2
- Tress of the Emerald Sea
While not essential reading, I’d also consider reading Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (a short story from Arcanum Unbounded), The Sunlit Man and at least some of the Stormlight Archive books too. Doing so may allow some other wider Cosmere references to make more sense but it’s not essential to enjoying the story.
What’s it about?
Isles of the Emberdark is a story focused on a trapper known as Sixth of the Dusk. While the world around him revolutionises and develops technology, he clings to his training as a trapper. This training makes him capable of surviving the phenomenally hostile island of Patji where one wrong step will leave you dead.
It’s these very skills, as well as his magical bond to his aviar, that uniquely prepare him for contact with offworlders known as the ones above and the pressure and manipulation they begin to exert. At its core, Isles of the Emberdark is a story of how a relatively primitive planet is able to hold its own against the much greater powers of the wider Cosmere.
Sixth of the Dusk has a brilliant inner monologue
I mentioned that I hadn’t really vibed with the short story that forms the basis of this book and in reading that, I didn’t really gain an appreciation for Sixth of the Dusk and his own manner and plight. Isles of the Emberdark has completely won me over on him though.
Dusk is a very literal and dry individual. He’s used to being alone, is weary of the overly-conversational nature of others and has a dry retort in his mind for every unnecessary social interaction. He’s kind of a grumpy old (actually middle-aged) man who is sort of a relic of a more simple era. Writing a protagonist who is by nature, anti-social, can be challenging but Sanderson delivers the very dry tone wonderfully.
There aren’t any gotcha moments in Dusk’s dialogue. Instead, you find his inner-monologue being incredibly astute and scathing of the attempts of much more powerful individuals. Dusk often doesn’t express these critiques, instead he quietly gets on with being extremely competent without the need for advanced technology.
High stakes for a relatively small story
As a trapper, Dusk is often in danger. This naturally raises the stakes of the story and keeps momentum and the tensity of situations nice and high. But Isles of the Emberdark also excels at creating high political stakes with fairly minimal setup. It’s in these scenarios where Sixth is ill equipped, that some of the tension rises further.
Yet at its heart, Isles of the Emberdark is also a book about showing how you can be prepared for things in ways you didn’t expect. It also shows how sometimes the unlikeliest skillsets are the ones we need. the book has a fair bit of heart, with characters punching above their weight and stepping out of their comfort zone.
Starling and her crew improve with time
Isles of the Emberdark has another point of view character in Starling, a dragon trapped in her human form. She leads a ship of misfits from around the Cosmere and at first, the interactions between this crew are jilted. It feels unnatural and the dialogue of the characters feels a bit stiff. It was easy to forget who was who and what their character traits were. I instantly took a liking to Nazh, a sort of ghost entity from Threnody, and Starling grew on me with time. The rest of the crew I struggled with, though that did improve a little with time.
Sadly, while I think Sanderson hoped to get more Wayne vibes with this crew, it just didn’t quite land right and I always felt myself looking forward to reading more chapters from Dusk’s point of view.
Conclusion
Isles of the Emberdark is a plucky little (by Sanderson’s standards) story that has a fair bit of heart. It expands the Cosmere to new planets and characters and gives us our first/most concrete look at Silverlight, the planet of the dragons. It also draws together a lot of pieces Sanderson’s been pulling in for the space age of the Cosmere, teasing wider politics and struggles. It’s a fitting solo story that I hope (and he certainly teases) we’ll see more of in the future.
8/10