Spoiler-free review of Isles of the Emberdark

My copy of Isles of the Emberdark came early, so I thought I would do a spoiler-free review of the book to judge how it sits amongst the pantheon of secret project books.

I liked Isles of the Emberdark overall. It is littered with deep Cosmere references and huge implications for future stories - I'll certainly be writing about that in the not too distant future. I will be posting this later officially, but I am sticking with the one month spoiler threshold for new books. For now, let's stick to broad strokes.

Beyond the plot, the book itself is gorgeous.

The black trim work on the pages and embossed cover look stunning in a way that I am not quite able to capture on film with my very amateur lighting. Again, not spoilers, but there is this page treatment about 1/3 of the way in to the book that really makes this a show piece vs. a daily driver for reading. I won't spoil the plot points, but think Tress moving from sea to sea. Gorgeous.

Touching upon to feel of the story overall, if you read any of the Skyward series, you'll feel right at home here. I won't go as far as to say that Isles of the Emberdark is YA, but it's close. It would take a greater literary mind than mine to pick up on the writing styles and nuances there, but the feel is very similar. It's most in the way that characters interact, and the descriptions of action and sci-fi things... it's hard to go in to details without getting in to the plot, so I'll leave it there.

In short - if you're well invested in the cosmere, and of course you are, obviously get and read Isles of the Emberdark. If you're new to the cosmere are still have books to go... I would hold off.