Well that was unexpectedly wonderful. I was all set to dive into the behemoth that is Rhythm of War and then I noticed that there’s a 50k word ‘short’ to read before it. I loved Edgedancer, so let’s give this a try!

In the end, this I do not regret at all. Edgedancer is a story that could was too long to be an interlude and too different to be in the main storyline, but having read it is a story that every much needed to be told.

It’s the maritime adventures of Rysn, who we met previously in said interludes. She’s a trader who managed to paralyze her legs to make a deal and now has to deal with a world that just isn’t set up for people like that.

It’s the story of The Lopen. An eternally cheerful–and downright strange–new Knight Radiant who has a spren who he’s taught to flip people off and a whole slew of one armed Herdazian jokes and now lacks the ability to use them. But of course that won’t stop him.

It’s a story of discovery. Determining how aluminum changes everything and how that might just be the key to the ever advancing technology of Roshar.

It’s the story of the Sleepless. A completely bizarre race of hive minded, intelligent cremlings; something weirder than many things we’ve seen in the Cosmere (and that’s saying something).

It’s the story of a Dawnshard. A little bit of Cosmere lore, digging ever deeper into the history of this wild world Brandon Sanderson has gifted to us all.

All that in just over 50k words. It’s quite a story and well worth the read.