Skyward (The Skyward Series)

Claim. The. Stars. Man, that was fun.

I have only read a small portion of Sanderson's non-Cosmere work (Legion, Steelheart), but this is by far the best of them. I feel that I'm not alone in being reluctant to dive in to some of his other work (mostly this is just because of how much I love the Cosmere) but I want anyone reading this review to know that this is a must read for Sanderson fans. It stands head and shoulders above what I've come to expect from a non-Cosmere Brandon Sanderson novel.

Skyward is the story of Spensa Nightshade, a human with lineage that traces back all the way to Old Earth. She is not alone however. All the residents of the United Defiant Caverns claim this heritage. 80 years ago, their space cruiser crash-landed on the planet Detritus; a harsh planet, made even harsher by the alien Krell that patrol its skies. Most citizens spend their lives underground, avoiding the Krell threat while the bravest among them take to the skies and combat that threat directly, the Defiant pilots. Spensa's father is one such pilot; but when he does the unthinkable, turning coward and fleeing during the Battle for Alta base, Spensa and the rest of her family are branded as cowards themselves. This is the story of Spenda's redemption. Her mission: to claim the stars, and clear her father's name.

Skyward has that oh so touchy and hard to define label firmly attached to it. You know the one. YA. Hours have been spent attempting to nail down exactly what is and isn't young adult fiction; what does and doesn't deserve that distinction. I'm not going to try to define it one way or the other, but I will say this; do not let something like a two-letter label steer you away from trying this book. Is the protagonist a teen? Yup. Is the plot straightforward? Yeah, it is. But it's damn good, and it's a hell of a lot of fun. And make no mistake; Detritus is a dangerous place. The pilots of Alta base are put in real danger; and not everyone makes it out alive..

Reading this now, after the verbose and intensely philosophical Steven Erikson, was perfect. It was an excellent read to just wind down with, letting Brandon weave me through the plot at will. Not to mention the fact that I could barely put it down. Reader's familiar with his other work will find a lot that's familiar here (right down to the characters using their own goofy swear word - 'scud' in this case). Tight plotting, excellent pace, an interesting world, and breadcrumbs everywhere that hint at mysteries to come. I also think Brandon has improved his character dialogue, noticeably so, which is nice to see. Skyward actually made me feel very similar to the way I felt when I read the first Mistborn book. I felt there was a perfect balance between giving me a good story now and also setting up for future installments; it felt like the beginning of something much bigger, something that will grow. I believe Brandon has promised two more books, possibly a third; and with the sequel due out in around a year, I'm already eager for more.

Not much more to say other than recommending it to anyone looking for a fun read. Skyward strikes a good balance between my two favorite genres, meeting in the middle at what is most commonly referred to as science fantasy. I've heard it described as Top Gun meets How To Train Your Dragon (you'll see why when you read it), and that's pretty accurate, as long as you acknowledge that it's gone through the Sanderbot protocol. The man has done it again. Can't wait for Starsight.

'"Sometimes, the answers we need don't match the questions we're asking." He looked up at me. "And sometimes, the coward makes fools of wiser men."'

Wonderful character and plot development. I cared about the characters and was easily able to suspend disbelief with regard to the plot.

I am currently most of the way through this extremely well written and conceived young adult science fiction novel by Brandon Sanderson. He is an author new to me but whose other books I will definitely check out. I’m finding it to be a real page-turner, primarily because I care so much about the protagonist, a young girl called Spin, who is on the brink of womanhood. I think it would be fare to compare this novel to Star Wars, in that it is about a remnant of human civilization that is fighting heavy odds to survive against what appears to be an evil, and in this case mysterious alien enemy called the Krell, that is seeking to destroy it. The now young woman, Spin, can be compared to Luke Skywalker, except that she’s struggling, against powerful forces that have labeled her as a coward, to become the pilot of a star fighter craft in the struggle against the Krell, and to prove that that her father who was a crack pilot was not a coward.

An important theme in this novel is how the word “Coward” is used as a weapon to manipulate, abuse and dehumanize. How often, for example, are integrity and/or good sense confused with cowardice? I have long found the word “Coward” to be no more than another epithet that is used by those who feel strong or are connected to power to manipulate and/or diminish those whom they wish to label as worthless. The use of the word is verbal spit that is designed to humiliate and degrade. It is a word that is devoid of understanding, empathy, compassion or even humane, munch less well considered, analysis.

Coward is used by the peers of young people to manipulate them into playing chicken on railroad tracks, or take addictive drugs, or compromise themselves in any of a thousand ways. It is used to coerce young men and women into signing up to become fighters in wars that are too often immoral and lead to tragic and/or devastating destruction of life.

Coward is a word used by politicians, crime bosses and corporate CEO’s alike to manipulate men and women of weak moral fabric or poor judgment to become complicit in undertakings that are immoral and/or illegal.

It is used as well as an insult. Politicians use it improperly to describe the misguided and perhaps brainwashed actions of terrorists who blow themselves up in order to create chaos and a sense of helplessness against perceived enemies. The purpose of such use is to stop us from thinking about social and political realities that lead people to a willingness to uselessly sacrifice their lives.

This “name calling epithet”, Coward, is used again and again in the novel to, it seems, urge the reader to think more deeply about what this word means and to realize how abusive, confusing and manipulative an epithet it is, equally for the one who calls another “Coward” and for the one that is the target of this hateful name calling.

The years I spent living among Mennonites who are committed by their faith to non-violence taught me that it is at least as often the case that those who join into the cause of violent conflict do so because of fear of condemnation by their peers, and that the motives for choosing violence or non-violence are as complex as are human beings. On the other hand it is virtually always the case that neither the political or religious establishment wishes their adherents to think so deeply as to realize that no person is purely a coward, no person is purely a hero and no person is purely a saint. But is anyone purely evil? I must confess that there are movements and individuals throughout history that give me cause to wonder.

***“That music the water makes,” she said. “Isn’t it the most wonderful sound ever?” “The most wonderful sound ever is the lamentations of my enemies, screaming my name toward the heavens with ragged, dying voices.” ***

Bless My Stars this was fantastic! You know how you are going along in your life thinking that most of the stuff you are reading is good, and it is, but then you read something and it makes everything else seem dull by comparison. Skyward (most Brandon Sanderson books actually) was like that for me.

Let me tell you that this book has absolutely no kissing in it, like none and I still LOVED it. Not liked, but thought if it has more romance it would be better, no I LOVED this book and thought that everything about it was perfect. Sure, I’m hoping long term we are warming up and there will be a romance but SCUD it, I’ll be okay if there isn’t one, you can gasp in amazement now.

So you probably want to know why this is in my TOP 3 books for 2018 at the moment. First there is the MC Spensa a.k.a. spin. She is just this wonderfully fun character so full of anger, bravado and temper. Plus she has a great imagination and I love every single time that she tells someone off, it is hilarious and slightly barbaric. She even gets a doomslug for her mascot and finds and incredibly funny talking ship along the way.

“Is my father why I’m such a mess of anger, bravado, and temper? Is the fact that they call him a coward the reason I walk around with my sword in hand, screaming that I’ll make a pile of everyone’s skulls, then stand on that to help me behead the people who were too tall for me to reach?” Kimmalyn smiled fondly. “Bless my stars?” I asked her. “Every single one of them, Spensa. Every single bouncing star.”

Second is the mystery of this world. Why are the humans even fighting the Krell, how come the Krell never field more than 100 ships, what is the truth behind the death of Spensa’s father, what is the history of these people and how they came to this planet, where did M-bot come from etc, etc. Sanderson always does a great job of surprising me and this book had some big surprises in it.

Third is the side characters. Spensa’s flight school classmates make up a wide blend of different characters and it is so much fun to watch them go from a disjointed collection of kids to a group of friends and team mates. Alas this is a dangerous place and not all the kids are going to make it to graduation. The danger is real and I felt every second of the suspense in each battle wondering who wouldn’t be coming back. Still I loved getting to know all of them and each brought something special to the story.

Fourth is M-bot, I know I mentioned him above (talking ship) but I think that I highlighted almost everything M-bot said in this book. He was hilarious and brought some much-needed comic relief to the story. Truly my favorite side character in the story.

“You have large twin destructor emitters on each wing, along with a light-lance turret underneath. That’s as much firepower as our larger ships. You’re a warship.” “Clearly not,” M-Bot said. “I’m here to categorize fungi. Didn’t you listen to my last orders? I am not supposed to get into fights.” “Then why do you have guns?” “For shooting large and dangerous beasts who might be threatening my fungus specimens,” M-Bot said. “Obviously.”

And lastly was the Son of a Supernova ‘Jerkface’ himself. I love when your perceptions of someone can be changed over the course of a story. I pretty much hated him at the beginning but by the end I guess I could say that a ‘ship’ might be in my future for this series. I could definitely get on board a Spensa/Jerkface ship in the long run.

I haven’t read a lot of space opera’s but I think that this book has something in it for every fantasy lover and most readers. It was entertaining, emotional and had just about everything I want in a book (I mentioned the no kissing already). I have over 230+ highlights and can’t wait to reread it sometime in the near future, probably right before the next book comes out. So if you didn’t get that I’m very enthusiastic about this book let me say 3 final words. READ THIS NOW!!!

Narration - I have never been disappointed with a narrator for a Sanderson book and the streak still holds. Suzy Jackson was fantastic. She performed this book splendidly and I always knew who was talking. Her portrayal of Spensa was great and M-bot so funny. I haven’t listened to anything she narrated before but I’ll definitely look through her catalogue to see what else I might like. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.

Although the world building and the plot are primary, I found myself recollecting how the heroine, Spensa, reminded me of an employee I once had in my bakery. Spensa is charismatic and manufactured from a wonderful assortment of vim and vigor. If you’re her best friend, you need fear nothing. She is a character that will have readers screaming for more.

POV: First person.

BLUSH FACTOR: No worries here. Suitable for all ages and genders.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING? The main story of this volume is complete. It is clear, though, by the ending that more, much more is to come. In other words, if you read to the end of this novel, you will crave for the next.

ADVENTURE: YES, with exclamation points.

THE WRITING AND EDITING is professional throughout. I found it nearly difficult to take a break while racing through this tale. Having stated the positives, I need to balance it with my single concern that, other than the hero, or heroine, being female, much of this story did seem just a touch too familiar. Oh, and I would like to have seen more of the weak points of young Spensa, to balance her character.

EXCERPT

‘…About ten minutes before the start of class, three young men walked in together. They were obviously friends, as they were talking and joking softly. I didn’t recognize two of them, but the one at the front—with brown skin and short curly hair—was distinctive in a kind of baby-faced, pretty-boy way.

The guy from the test, I realized. The son of a First Citizen who had gotten free admission.

Great. We were saddled with a useless aristocrat, someone who lived in the lowest—and safest—of the Defiant caverns. He’d be in flight school not because of any skill or aptitude, but because he wanted to sport a cadet’s pin and feel important. Judging by the way the other two talked, I instantly pegged them as his cronies. I’d have bet anything that all of them had gotten in without taking the test, so our cadet group had three people who didn’t deserve to be there.

The tall, baby-faced guy walked to the center of the ring of seats. How could a boy have a face that was so extremely punchable? He cleared his throat, then clapped his hands sharply. “Get to attention, cadets! Is this how we want to present ourselves to our instructor? Lounging about, making idle chitchat? Line up!”

Kimmalyn, bless her stars, jumped up and stood at a kind of sloppy attention. His two cronies stepped over and fell into step as well, doing a much better impression of real soldiers. Everyone else just kind of

looked at him.

“What gives you the right to order us around?” asked Hudiya, the athletic girl from my own cavern. She stood leaning against the wall, arms folded.

“I want to make a good first impression on the instructor, cadet,” Jerkface said. “Think how inspiring it will be when he comes in to find us all waiting at attention.”

Hudiya snorted. “Inspiring? We’d look like a bunch of suck-ups.”

Jerkface ignored her, instead inspecting his line of three cadets. He shook his head at Kimmalyn, whose version of “attention” involved standing on the tips of her toes and saluting with both hands. It was ridiculous.

“You look ridiculous,” Jerkface said to her.

The girl’s face fell, and she slumped. I felt an immediate burst of protective anger. I mean…he was right, but he didn’t have to belt it out like that.

“Who taught you to stand at attention?” Jerkface asked. “You’re going to embarrass us. I can’t have that.”

“Yeah,” I said. “She’d be stealing…’

Sanderson, Brandon. Skyward (pp. 62-63). Random House Children's Books. Kindle Edition.

BOTTOM LINE

Unlike so many other Kindle books, the Audible Edition is not discounted. In fact, it is quite spendy, so I did not purchase the audiobook yet.

Four stars out of five.

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