Review of “Defiant” by Brandon Sanderson

 

Review of “Defiant” by Brandon Sanderson

The fourth and last book in the Skyward series goes out with a bang! I have enjoyed this series so far but was worried how it was going to end. There are bittersweet moments in this book, and it’s not a definitive ending for the main character of Spensa.

The book starts with Spensa having returned to her home planet and reuniting with her flight crew. What I love most about his book is the interactions with Spensa and her friends. I love Spens and her boyfriend Jorgen, they are such a cute couple, that are opposites but understand each other in a way that works for them. Spensa goes on a personal journey of growth. She learns to see things from other people’s perspective and consider their opinions and orders. By the end of the book Spensa isn’t the naïve girl that wants to be a warrior like the old stories. She still seeks adventure but now how a better understanding and compassion for other races and people. When she gets the big chance to duel with her nemesis Braid, she realizes that she no longer seeks that need to prove herself. It’s a great character journey for Spensa. Overall, this book does a great job of bringing Spensa’s story full circle. We get more developments in her relationship with Jorgen and her friends.

The one thing that I will say this book, and series overall, has lacked are the creatures known as the Delvers. These beings are antagonists that seem to work with the villains, The Superiority. The third book reveals what the delvers really are, and why they hate humans. However, I don’t feel like it’s explained in a way that makes the Delvers, crucial or important to the actual story of Spensa vs The Superiority. The creation of the delvers only ties into the powers of the cytonics and the Nowhere universe; however the slugs are revealed to have the same cytonic powers, so it seems redundant.

Speaking of The Superiority, there is a big twist that happens and reveals who the real villain is and why. As much as I like the reveal, I also don’t like it for several reasons. Mostly because we’ve built this one character as the main bad guy in control, only to quickly dismiss him and switch to a new villain that has been in the background until this book. The motivations for this twist are basic, tragic backstory tropes that should have been more developed up until this point.

So, while I think the series has done a weak job developing all the villains and antagonists, the strengths lie with Spensa and her crew of characters. The reason I keep coming back to these books and novellas is because I love spending time with these characters. I also enjoy the world and the powers, and the slugs are adorable. This is a fantastic science fiction series that fans of the genre should definitely check out.

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