Isles of the Emberdark – Sanderson Brandon (2026)

In this English-language standalone novel, Brandon Sanderson expands his novella “Sixth of the Dusk” into a mythic tale set across the seas and stars of the far-future Cosmere, illustrated by Esther Hi'ilani Candari. Sixth of the Dusk has spent his life trapping Aviar, the supernatural birds bonded with his people, on the deadly island of Patji. When invaders from the stars, known as the Ones Above, threaten to conquer and exploit the Aviar, Dusk tries to propel his people into a race to modernize. They are losing, however, and he fears they will lose themselves in the process. After discovering a way to sail through a mystical portal into the emberdark, Dusk sets out in a canoe with his birds and all the resourcefulness of a Patji trapper. Elsewhere, Starling is a young dragon bound in human form and a member of the starship Dynamic. Deep in debt and close to losing their freedom, she and her exiled crew seize the opportunity to find an ancient map leading to a hidden portal between the emberdark and the physical realm. These unlikely allies may hold the solution to each other's crises, but their search for independence brings perilous bargains, poisonous politics and the destructive echo of a dead god.