Novella
Sixth of the Dusk
Sixth of the Dusk is an odd little story. It manages to include Polynesian-inspired culture, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure/survival story elements all in its 18,000 word length.
The titular character, Sixth of the Dusk, is an islander who works as a trapper on the sacred islands known as The Pantheon. He visits Patji, the largest of the islands, to find and bring an Aviar, a bird with strange psychic properties, back to the mainland. When he arrives, he finds where a group of mainlanders attempted to hunt on Patji themselves, only to have had a sea monster destroy them all. Or, not quite all of them.
Sixth of the Dusk must find this lone survivor, survive the dangers of his beloved island, and prevent a catastrophe the likes of which can only be caused by people rushing headlong toward progress without stopping to try to understand it first.
This is a fascinating novella, especially when you go into it realizing that it is quite a bit further down the timeline for the Cosmere. This raises a question: Are the Ones Above, a space-faring people from another planet with advanced technology who trade with the people on First of the Sun, from a planet we have seen elsewhere in the Cosmere? Or are they a yet-unknown group?
While not my favorite of the Cosmere novellas, it is a nice addition to this universe. I would love to explore these islands and the magic of the Aviars further.
Sixth of the Dusk was first published as a standalone novella. It is also included in Arcanum Unbounded, Sanderson’s collection of Cosmere-related short fiction.
After First of the Sun, the only planet in the Cosmere left that has been a setting for a piece of Sanderson’s fiction is Taldain, home to the White Sand graphic novel series. I have only read the exerpt of that series included in Arcanum Unbounded, but once I do read it, I will add an entry for Taldain to this series.
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