5 stars out of 5
The Stormlight Archive books are planned to be a huge epic fantasy. There are a lot of underlying plot lines and character developments. And Brandon Sanderson is writing them as quick as he can. But sometimes that means he has to leave a backstory behind and not write it into the main books. But thankfully, mini-stories are a thing and Edgedancer is the one for Lift.
Never Grow Up
Lift is briefly introduced in Words of Radiance, the second in the series. But Edgedancer really gets into her character development. Lift is an orphan and a thief by choice. She refuses to get tied down and wanders from place to place stealing meals. Food seems to be Lift’s only goal in life, but her actions deny her words and it is clear that Lift is trying in her own way to help the world.
Lift is definitely a whimsical character and is constantly trying to show how childish she can be. She refuses to accept that she is growing up and I admire her for her effort. Children are more blunt, honest, and can see the important things in life. Growing up can cause people to get their priorities mixed up and lose sight of who they are. My hope is that Lift will keep that innocence while gaining in intelligence and will be able to help the other characters in the book simplify their problems.
The Importance of the Individual
I can definitely see Lift becoming an adult who is always challenging traditions and is more focused on what is right. The fact that I can clearly see what kind of person Lift may become shows how real she is written. And the story is still unpredictable because I don’t know how she will get there.
Edgedancer’s plot isn’t nearly as important as the character and I am not disappointed. Readers connect with the characters first and this only shows to me that I should put more emphasis on creating well-rounded individuals first.
I would definitely suggest reading Edgedancer, although you should probably read the other Stormlight Archive books first. At least the first two. The magic system will make more sense to you then as it is not explained in this book. Yes, they are lengthy books, and Edgedancer itself is a long short story, but they are all worth it.
Edgedancer can be found within the Arcanum Unbounded or as an individual book on Amazon.