Review of “Starsight” by Brandon Sanderson

 

Review of “Starsight” by Brandon Sanderson

Because I loved reading the first book, “Skyward”, I was really looking forward to reading the second book, “Starsight”. While I still enjoy the series and the story, I wasn’t as gripped with the second book as I was with “Skyward”. The book picks up a few months after the ending of the first book, and we catch up with Spensa and the crew and their new mission.

I liked the opening of the story, learning about what the crew’s new mission is on top of the floating platforms in the sky. However, when an alien girl lands on their planet, the story takes a turn. Spensa goes to train with the Superiorty, which sounds like a fun adventure, but I wasn’t as enthralled as I wanted to be with the plotline. I do like getting more information about the Superiorty and seeing their station and how they operate. However, unlike the characters we met in the first book, I found most of the new characters to be either boring or forgettable.

I will say that I did enjoy meeting and learning about the other alien races, such as the Dione and the Kitsen. One of the new friends that Spensa makes is Morriumur, a Dione that is only a few months old. I like their friendship, and learning about Morriumur race, the Dione. Unlike the other new characters, Sanderson builds a fondness for Morriumur, which shows us that not all races and people of the Superiorty are enemies. It also gives us a reason to care about the ending of the book.

Another positive is that we learn more about Spensa’s cytonic powers, and the Delvers and the Superiorty. We even get a reveal about her pet Doomslug, which factors in greatly to the plot of the series. However, I think Sanderson did a poor job setting up the villains of the story, because their plan at the end of the book comes out of nowhere and doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Because most of this book follows Spensa and her trip to the Superiorty, we don’t get many of her friends and family back on her home planet of Detritus. But the scenes that we do get are well done, and we learn more about Jorgen and his own cytonic abilities.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first one, but I still loved being in this world, and learning more about what is going on with the overall plot. Spensa is still a fun character, along with her banter with M-Bot. The new characters aren’t great, but there is a lot of new worldbuilding being done that is exciting for the future of the series. Next up is the short story companion, “Sunreach”.

Review of “Skyward” by Brandon Sanderson

Review of “Skyward” by Brandon Sanderson

If “Fourth Wing” is one of the best YA fantasy novels I’ve read recently, then “Skyward” is the best YA science fiction novel I’ve read since “The Hunger Games”. While my husband is a big fan of author Brandon Sanderson, I have been a bit hesitant to read his works. I tried “The Way of Kings” and gave up halfway through. Epics are not for me. While I did overall enjoy “The Final Empire” the first in the Mistborn series, I found similar issues with his writing that I did with “The Way of Kings”. I tend to find his writing style to be too long winded, drawn out and dry. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just not for me. However, I’m pleased to say that I have found a book of his that I truly love.

“Skyward” is written with all the amazing worldbuilding and technicality that Sanderson is known for, but with a YA approach. The story focuses mainly on one character and follows her journey through flight academy. The story’s pacing flows well from scene to scene and there’s never a moment where it gets bogged down by inner monologues or exposition. The story takes place on a planet called Detritus where humans live deep underground because the atmosphere is covered in a layer of debris from old space stations. The flight academy is on the surface and the pilot fight an alien race known as the Krell.

One thing I like about this book is the story is not about the sci-fi aspects but rather about a girl, Spensa, trying to redeem her family name after her father was labeled a coward in battle when she was a little girl. There is also an interesting mystery about what really happened to her father, and it all becomes clear at the end.

Unlike most YA stories, Sanderson manages to resist the urge to give Spensa a love interest. While there is some tension between her and her flight leader Jorgen, it’s not some intense, semi-toxic, romance. It’s barely noticeable, but well developed. The dialogue is witty, and the characters have a good banter with each other.

Spensa is a fun, and brash character that makes for a good lead. I really enjoy the supporting characters as well, such as her flight instructor Cobb and her classmates, Jorgen and Kimmalyn. Each of their personalities are different and yet they all work well as an ensemble. One of the few criticisms that I have of the book, is that we don’t get to know Spensa’s mother and grandmother, as well as life in the underground caverns.

Overall, I really love this book, it’s got interesting characters, a cool sci-fi world and an interesting story about human’s vs aliens and intergalactic travel. I’m looking forward to continue reading this series.

If you like science fiction stories, check out my book, "The Chimera Prophecies and Other Short Stories". 

https://www.amazon.com/Chimera-Prophecies.../dp/B0C4QX4RZW/

"The Chimera Prophecies" consists of eight short science fiction/dark fantasy short stories. Themes of how reality and identity shape our journey and humanity.