Title: Edgedancer
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Collection: Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 170 of 831
Published: 2016, Tor Books
My Grade: 4 out of 5
Review Summary: You know when you hate a character? And you realize it’ because it is so well-written? Sanderson create magically annoying characters as well.

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older–a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can’t help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

MY REVIEW

I have to admit, I was not super excited about starting this “short” 40k story about Lift. She had one chapter in Words of Radiance, and she was so well-written as a ridiculously annoying personality that I instantly hated her. Honestly, even if there are grey characters so far in Stormlight, they are all fairly similar. But Lift, she sticks out with her childish and ignorant behavior. Compare it to Jack Gleeson in Game of Thrones. You hate his character Joffrey to your gut, because he gets into character so well. It’s obviously wrong that people hate Jack and not Joffrey, and not see the brilliance of his acting. I do see that difference, and I do that with Lift as well. I hate her because she is so well-written.

With that said though, at the end, I saw her in a completely different light, and in the postscript notes, I got excited when Sanderson said that this was like the prequel to her introduction into the series, when the main story is ready for her.

There are more explanations to the Heralds. The Assassin in White makes a small scene and there are new creatures introduced to the universe.

I enjoyed it, but wasn’t as wowed by it as by the first two full length novels so far. 4 out of 5.