Skyward

My thoughts reading this went from "cute" to "whoa." As an MC, Spensa can feel a bit "much;" maybe Sanderson meant for me to roll my eyes at times, but she was a bit larger-than-life. The world, while detailed and thorough, felt less subtle than I've come to expect from Sanderson as well, but it still oozed creativity, from the pilot training to the slums. The plot is easily the strongest aspect of the story, with mysterious aliens and a lovable, if exasperating, main character. While the side characters and antagonists could do with some fleshing out, the rest of the novel more than makes up for this weakness.

Storyline and characters

this is centered around the concept of bravery, and written for young adults

i feel like young adults don't need 500+ pages to realize that being brave means you have to be scared first

the heroine is constantly bragging about not being scared of everything, because her father famously abandoned his flight mates in a battle against aliens and nearly destroyed the remainder of humanity

this childish bragging is pretty annoying until she starts to make friends in flight school and realize the stakes she's up against

it leads to an interesting conclusion in terms of plot, but there's not a lot to be gained in terms of wisdom about bravery and cowardice

****5.0****

RTC

Brandon Sanderson has cemented his place as my favorite author of all time.

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of sci-fi. I don't know what it is about space travel and technology that makes me say "meh, I'll pass," but I could probably count on one hand the number of sci-fi books that I've thoroughly enjoyed. "Skyward" is without a doubt counted in that number now.

I think what makes Sanderson's books so incredible (aside from his intricately thought-out plots and gorgeous worldbuilding) is his ability to make the reader care for his characters within moments of opening one of his books. In the beginning, Spensa's character reminded me very much of the Marvel character Thor. Her brash confidence started out mildly annoying, but I soon found her taunts and boasts to be funny and endearing more than anything. She goes through a lot of changes throughout the book, but always, she always remains a character that the reader can love.

Spensa is an incredible character and immensely engaging to read, but the extended cast of characters as well is nothing to scoff at. Every single person that we come into contact with as the reader is worthy of being in the book, whether they are viewed as a "bad guy" or a "good guy". Ironsides, for an example, is given a few chapters written from her POV, and it makes her a much better character, with depth and emotions that we are unable to see through Spensa's eyes alone. Another great character (my favorite, is I'm being honest) is M-Bot. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won't say more about his character. Suffice to say that he is unique in a way that will leave you unalterably attached to him.

To conclude my review, I would like to express my feelings on being subjected to waiting for the next book in a series written by an author who ALREADY has AT LEAST three unfinished series...

WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME, SANDERSON?! WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO MAKE ME LOVE ANOTHER SET OF CHARACTERS WHEN I DON'T EVEN HAVE CLOSURE FROM THE OTHER ONES? !@#$%^ & !@#

...........................*quiet sobbing*

2021 Review:

“Their heads are heads of rock, their hearts set upon rock. Set your sights on something higher.”

This book is so stinking good! Highly recommended for anyone who is even vaguely interested in sci-fi.

Review from First Read:

I loved it. Great story, characters, and writing. No unnecessary love stories. An overall excellent blend of post-apocalyptic sci-fi and Top Gun that wasn’t overly grim or self-serious. Can’t wait to start the sequel!

As this is the first Sanderson novel I've read, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting to be so intrigued by a book (so long!) that I stayed awake far later than any responsible adult had any reason to, for several nights in a row, to finish this.

There is not a dull moment in this book (which seems almost impossible given the length)--the entire thing seems to move at breakneck speed.

The highlight of this story is Sanderson's amazing character building. I was won over by Skip and her insane way of speaking from the beginning, but I wasn't expecting to see her grow in such profound ways. It would have been easy to make her and her quirks into a caricature, but she instead explored some pretty deep themes as she journeyed along her character arc.

There is an excellent cast of supporting characters, as well--from a slug to an artificial intelligence bot to Jerkface himself. All of them feel intensely real, and their dialogue is (at times, when appropriate) genuinely hilarious, and had me actually laughing out loud.

Sanderson's prose is, as expected, sparse. It gets the job done. That said, I love beautiful language, so the plainness of his writing is one reason this isn't a five star review.

The other reason is the plot--specifically, the beginning. I found some elements (the first battle being the most significant) that felt so incredibly unbelievable that it took me out of the story. I very nearly put the book down after a few unbelievably convenient plot turns.

Of course, I'm happy I didn't--this was a wonderful read, and I can't wait for the sequel's release.

My favorite part is how this book sets up red herring plotlines. If the book has not hinted at any plan B, then we know plan A is going to work. This book sets up lots of plan B's, but only uses them sometimes. It keeps you on the edge and guessing where the book will really go.

Another excellent entry by Brandon Sanderson. Good character development and very entertaining story. I'm eagerly awaiting the next entry.