“As our resident expert,” Nedd said, “I’d like to point out that the true coward’s weapon is a comfortable couch and a stack of mildly amusing novels.”
Wow. Never have I ever felt so attacked in my whole life.
Well, you can’t blame the readers, Nedd. Would you rather have us tossing the book aside because the characters are boring? Thank the Stars that’s not the case. This book is one hell of a ride and we’re here for it!
I’m assuming that you had finished the book before clicking this full review and were just checking if you share the same sentiments with someone else. If you’re not that type, I advise you to head back or check out my non-spoiler review because this is a spoiler zone.
FULL REVIEW:
The story revolves around Spensa, the daughter of Zeen “Chaser” Nightshade. She’d always wanted to fly and skim the sky as a pilot like her father. Tragically, the same day that her father took her out of the caverns to look up at the sky for the first time was also the last time that she’ll ever see her father alive. In her father’s mission to annihilate swarms of alien Krell ships in the sky, it turned out that he ran away from the battle, branding Spensa as the daughter of the Coward. Not only a, but the. The daughter of one and only infamous Chaser, the pilot who ran away.
Spensa’s bad reputation as the Coward’s daughter brought a lot of foul play and mischief in her life. It had put her to the brink of losing her dreams of being a pilot like her father. However, Spensa’s life took its turn when Cobb, Spensa’s father’s old wingmate, gave her a chance to prove herself by giving her a slot in his Flight School class where Spensa’s story took its wild ride.
I’ll be breaking down my rating based on key points that I’ve liked about this book.
⭐️ THE CHARACTERS
We’ve got to admit that we’ve all got a bit of Spensa in us, especially deep down where our hidden ambitious selves take its rest. That’s how relatable she is. Like Spensa, in one point or another, we’ve doubted that we’d be what we aspire to be; we’ve felt crushed by the forces that hinder us from taking a step toward our dreams; but like Spensa, we’ve got to be strong-willed and defiant to overcome all the sickening g-forces to be in control of our own flight. Spensa is the main character that we all need; a warrior in full armor with chinks in all the right places.
All the other supporting characters fit into the story like bits of puzzle pieces; one complements another to create the big picture. I really admire the character arc and their relationship development from stranger cynicism to I-would-die-for-my-flightmates. Their chemistry as a team was meticulously planned and crafted by the author, which is very much felt.
I’m also relieved that the silent competition between Spensa’s squad isn’t long-lived throughout the story and that they’d learned to cast feuds aside for the sake of teamwork. The best character arc in this story, in my opinion, is Jorgen’s. The jerk aura he’d radiated at first didn’t annoy me. Rather, I find it interesting. It gave the story an inexplicable spice; gave the lead character a push that she needed. Funny how Spensa “turning in” became Jorgen’s turning point from Jerkface to a respectable flightleader who puts the flight team first before some petty matter. Salutes!
“And yet, when you fly, you are amazing. You’re so determined, so skillful, so passionate. You’re a fire, Spin. When everyone else is calm, you’re a burning bonfire. Beautiful, like a newly forged blade.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m sort of relieved that there is no romantic relationship in this story except for M-Bot and his love for mushrooms. The lack of romance in the story’s leads makes this book stand out from the Sci-Fi clutter. Though for sure there’s got to be something budding between Spensa and Jorgen, we’ll find out about that in the second book.
The Saints say that Kimmalyn was the bubbly friend you’ve never thought you needed; Rig, the best friend for keeps; Nedd and Arturo the duo who takes pleasure whenever Spensa acts more of an Alpha than Jorgen but loyal to the bone to him; FM, the only character who stands against the Defiant culture and the false bravado that engulfs the sense of practicality which everyone else in the book is alarmingly obsessed with to the level of absurdity.
I love how the characters in this story break all the prejudices about them. The wealthy ones like Jorgen, Nedd, Arturo, and FM proved that not all rich people can freely do what they want and look down on people who were not as financially superior as them. Spensa proved that being the Coward’s daughter won’t make her a coward herself.
On the other hand, Ironsides's point is taken. I get what she believes in but I don't think she's an evil woman. She's just a character who can't accept her miscalculations and mistakes; one who doesn't want to set her pride a notch lower. Cobb deserves to be given credit for conflicting head-on with Ironsides, the Admiral, just to give a bit of ease to Spensa. Cobb's truly the heroine's hero.
⭐️ ONE STAR FOR THE SHIP WITH A SOUL
I give one star to M-Bot alone because this ship and its snarky but witty remarks can carry the book alone and still make it fascinating. I can’t wait until M-Bot is fully operating. I guess it will be armed with clever comebacks twice as bomb than he had in the first book, serving us the entertainment that we deserve. I also completely adore Doomslug, Spensa's mascot and M-Bot's constant companion, whenever it immitates Spensa by making flute-like trills. I hope to see more of this slug in the second book.
⭐️THE WORLD BUILD-UP
Scud.
That’s the book’s official cuss word, by the way.
As I was reading Skyward, it felt like I’d left Earth for some faraway cavern and a sky full of space debris. Not a fancy-looking planet like those futuristic clichè Sci-Fi settings, but definitely a significant place that offers challenges for perfectly developing hard-honed defiant characters.
Detritus being under attack by aliens called Krell and humans battling them with starfighter ships is just a scudding solid concept. It makes me want it to be real, get my own Poco ship, learn how to fly it, and blast some Krell. I feel the adrenaline rush just by reading it. This world made me feel nostalgic about those old 8-bit star ship games and get this Star Wars vibes.
Making the history of a made-up planet and building it from scratch is no joke. In this case, though, everything seems believable. Everything’s connected and knitted into place. There are still some mysteries that are yet to be decoded which further builds up my anticipation for the second book.
⭐️ BLUEPRINTS
Honestly, sometimes I get the feeling that maybe I was conjuring the wrong images in my mind whenever the adjectives overwhelm me. One of those times is the part when the starfighters we're being described. I’d watched many Sci-Fi films featuring space ships of different types and classes which caused a bit of bewilderment on my part. Good thing there were blueprints of how the author accurately imagines the different ships that were mentioned in the book, even an illustration of the way it steers and does its movements in the air. Plus star for that.
⭐️ THE WRITING
This book made me a whole new person. For a moment, I'm not a writer wannabe who’s obsessing over Sci-Fi books and Netflix anymore. I'm a pilot, in control of the cockpit, light-lancing over falling debris to maneuver and lose the Krell that's tailing me.
The amount of effort in research and insight gathering won't go unappreciated. Brandon Sanderson did a really great job using or creating terminologies that complete the feel of this book. Professionally speaking, he’s not a pilot himself, but he got ideas from real-life pilots to know what it's like flying a plane (obviously not a ship) which allows the readers to imaginatively experience being in a pilot’s jumpsuit just by reading.
“You get to choose who you are. Legacy, memories of the past, can serve us well. But we cannot let them define us. When heritage becomes a box instead of an inspiration, it has gone too far.”
CHEW A LEAF AT THE WISDOM TREE
Spensa had taught us not to be swayed by what people think about us because it doesn't define who we really are. The best thing that we can do about people’s prejudices is to convert it into something that may benefit us instead of consuming us. There's nothing sweeter than revenge by proving them wrong.
Figuratively speaking, her story also taught us that we can't accuse someone of a crime just because of the blood on his or her ancestors’ hands. We can't justify it by assuming that the fruit hasn't fallen far from the tree because everybody has free will, everybody can choose who they want to be. That's why we need to stop false judgments; the poison that leads to illogical corruption.
Looking at the bright side, my most favorite moral lesson in this book is Chaser’s advice to Spensa, ”Set your sights on something higher.”
THE VERDICT
I suppose you'd already summed up all the stars by now. It's a whopping 5/5 stars: MEGAmorphosis.
This was my first time reading a work of Brandon Sanderson and I have to say that I was hooked by the first book. From now on, I’m looking forward to reading more of his books. So Skyward fans like me should brace for the collision when book two, Starsight, comes out this November because I already anticipate that it's going to be a bang!
INSTAGRAM Q&A WITH BRANDON SANDERSON:
Fans had the opportunity to ask the author about Skyward on his Instagram account and he'd answered it via images on his Instagram stories. If you've missed this, don't worry because Book Larva got it transcribed for you.
Q: Are Spensa's purple eyes important?
A: Only in that it's distinctive. I chose purple for her as a theme and the artist ran with that.
Q: Please tell me, is there a romance?
A: There is a LITTLE romance, but that's not the main thing on Spensa's mind in this book.
Q: Should I brace myself for any love triangles?
A: Nope.
Q: If "Evil Superheroes" was the hook for The Reckoners series, what is the hook for Skyward?
A: How To Train Your Dragon-- but with spaceships.
Q: Will Rig ever fly again?
A: I can't answer this without going into spoilers... so you'll have to wait and see.
Q: Is the whole story going to be told through Spensa's perspective?
A: 95% her viewpoint, but there are three brief chapters sprinkled through the books from another character's viewpoint.
Q: Will we see more animals like that strange slug?
A: You will indeed see more of both Doomslug and creatures like her.
Q: Will Jorgen keep the callsign "Jerkface"?
A: He hopes not.
Q: Which character is the hardest to write and to which one do you relate the most?
A: They're the same person. There's a character named Jorgen who was both the hardest to get right, but also the most like me, which may sound a bit odd!
Q: How long have you had the idea for Skyward?
A: The first ideas-- about Spensa's character-- started around 2012. It wasn't until I decided to put her in this setting that it came together.
Q: Is there anything in particular that majorly influenced the part that Skyward took at any point?
A: There's a big reveal at the ending that, once I came up with, made me really excited to write the book-- but you'll have to read to find out.
Q: Is their planet purple?
A: More blue-grey.
Q: What inspired Skyward?
A: It might seem strange for a Sci-Fi story, but my major inspirations were dragon stories like How To Train Your Dragon, Dragonflight, and Eragon.
Q: What made you choose the title "Skyward" for your book?
A: I loved the idea if what it implied about looking up toward the sky and reaching for the stars.
Q: What's the word count in Skyward?
A: 137,293
Q: Do you ever base characters on people you know?
A: I often do-- but it's usually just one aspect of them, taken and spun into a different character.
Q: Do you have anything else in mind for this world, besides Skyward trilogy?
A: I always know where a story would go after I finish, but my focus right now is on making these books the best they can be.
Q: What was Skyward inspired by and how long have you been working on it?
A: I've been working on it since about 2012, on and off. It was inspired by my love of stories about kids finding dragon eggs.
Q: Is Spin based off of someone you know?
A: There's nobody specific I based her on, except maybe the side of me that really loves pulp action.
Q: What Skyward-inspired cosplay are you most excited to see at upcoming cons?
A: Doomslug the Destroyer, obviously.
Q: Can the ships go backwards at all while airborne?
A: Very slowly with maneuvering thrusters.
Q: Will we be seeing more of Spensa's mom?
A: Yes, you will.
Q: Is there a romance planned?
A: You'll have to wait and see! This is an action/adventure story first and a character study second. So know that if there's romance, it won't be a focus.
BOOK INFO:
Title: Skyward
Series: Cytonic series
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publish date: November 6, 2018
Page count: 528
Genre: Sci-Fi
Literary Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2018)
ISBN: 9780399555794
9781473217867
9781978682849
9780399555787
9781409167389
9781721387366
9781473217874
9788417347284
9780399555770
9788417347277
9781473217881
9781473217850
9780399555800
9780525707950
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