Skyward is officially available as of November 6th, which means that it’s now on shelves everywhere, even as as Brandon Sanderson flies around the country on tour. This also means that everyone can finally meet Spensa, the girl who has dreamed her whole life of being a pilot, just like her father. More than anything, she wants to prove herself brave and strong, and do her part to defend what’s left of the human race. When she was young, however, her father mysteriously deserted his team; his desertion cast a shadow over Spensa and left her chances of attending flight school uncertain.
Checking in again from Beta Flight to give a full mission briefing spoiler review are Darci Cole, callsign: Blue, and Deana Whitney, callsign: Braid. If you are not ready for spoilers yet, you can check out our non-spoiler review.
Eagerly anticipated by Sanderson fans, this story is a jet-fueled start to his newest YA series—join us as we launch Skyward!
As always, Sanderson’s writing style impresses with descriptions to rival the settings of any blockbuster action film. From epic starship battles to quiet underground cave systems, the world of Detritus is vivid and visceral. Between the characters, humor, technology, and story, there’s plenty to love, here—and even a little we’re meant to hate.
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Skyward
In working on the ideas that eventually became this novel, Sanderson was inspired to combine the concept of “a boy and his dragon” fantasy together with a flight school saga, of the kind we see in Top Gun and Ender’s Game. Thus, Skyward is, at its heart, a “girl and her starship” story. Spensa discovers her starship M-Bot by accident, hidden in a cave, safe from the dangerous debris that rains down on Detritus. She may call him “Massacre-Bot”, but we know he’s really “Mushroom-Bot” at his core. Their developing relationship is a real highlight of the book. And in tandem with M-Bot, let’s give a shout out to their pet, Doomslug! We are already developing Theories around the whistling slug; must learn more about Doomslug the Destroyer soon…
This world is not in the Cosmere. Sanderson has consistently kept Earth, its history, and any story related to it out of the Cosmere. (Sorry, Alcatraz and Rithmatist fans.) During his recent AMAs, Sanderson has opened up more about the short story that Skyward is linked with. The two worlds share technology, of which not much is known yet. A big salute to readers who pegged which story Skyward is tied to without help. (The link takes you directly to the story, if you’ve not read it yet.)
Now, let’s dig into the discussion!
Relationships
Braid: Early on, I was struck by Spensa’s seeming self-confidence in the face of the bullying she experiences; I felt that only a person who is loved at home could endure these challenges with her bravado. The strong relationships we’re shown with her living relatives made me happy. I want to hear more of Gran-Gran’s stories.
Blue: Gran-Gran is wonderful, and I really hope we hear more from her, too. For me, Spensa’s dramatic threats and over-the-top anger made her feel vulnerable. No one puts on that kind of show unless they’re trying to hide some pain, and that immediately resonated with me. She’s got fire in her, we can see that from the start. But it’s also very apparent that there’s some hidden fear beneath the appearance of confidence. I love that about her. Because the journey she goes on to gradually let that wall down and actually let people care about her? It’s my favorite part of the story.
Braid: Her fear of being seen as a coward made me hurt for her. The whole team addressed their personal fears at some point—it cut across all differences, which helped them bond as a group. I enjoy reading how teams form into units, like we see in Skyward.
Blue: Yes! Those friendships became so important. We talked in the non-spoiler review about how Sanderson finally gave our girl some female friends to hang out with, and I’m so glad he did. I loved Kimmalyn (Quirk), Hurl, FM, and Morningtide. Each of them teaches Spensa something, and I’d like to think they learned from her too.
Braid: I agree. Quirk is my new favorite supporting character in all of Sanderson’s writing. It might be the Southern girl mannerisms I see in both her and myself. Each member of Skyward Flight is different and has something that distinguishes them from the crowd.
Blue: By far my favorite character—and, by extension, relationship—was M-Bot. He’s a computer, so his motivation and goals are perfectly clear from the start, yet even he goes through a journey of change. Plus, he’s hilarious.
Braid: Right? I’m not sure I’ve seen such a funny spaceship in years. Their growing relationship was so full of highs and heartaching lows—they both needed hugs during the lows.
The Outcast/Spensa’s Journey
Blue: Spensa begins this story having spent her young life angrily defying those who call her coward, overcompensating for her fears, and shouting death threats at rats in the silence of her caverns. It felt like a genuine privilege to watch her shift from a determined but naive girl with walls around her heart into a young woman set on saving those she’s come to care about.
Braid: She does grow. In a very zig-zag pathway. She makes a few choices that have a “Hey, hold my drink and watch this!” feel to them, which obviously don’t turn out so well. Not that she’s alone in making less-than-logical choices. In the face of all the obstacles placed in her path, a few wince-worthy decisions are not a surprise.
Blue: We talked before about how Spensa is an outsider, but I would add that each of these characters is an outsider in their own way.
Braid: Among her team? Yes, from Cobb to his students, we meet a group of odd ducks. Cobb is a study in contrast to the cultural thinking. He’s one of the privileged First Citizens. Yet, because he teaches the kids light-lancing over dog-fighting, and teaches them to eject, he’s disrespected. It’s frustrating.
Worldbuilding
Braid: Sanderson slipped in some subtle worldbuilding by making all the Skyward Flight crew from different cavern groups. I appreciated the glimpses into the tensions between the common and deep cavern dwellers. Still, there’s plenty of information to learn in the future books.
Blue: Absolutely. I loved the way he made sure that we learned a little bit about many different areas of the world. As in The Stormlight Archive, he’s built a world rich with differences, while still having the general human race and DDF as a central focal point for all of them, no matter where they live. The entire plot hinges on the tradition of bravery being good and cowardice being bad. Which, while different from our culture (mine, at least) was not too far a stretch for me to believe.
Braid: I can see where a military culture could develop the fear of the coward label. What disheartened me is how the word “coward” had morphed in meaning.
Blue: That was definitely one thing I had trouble wrapping my brain around, but in the end it worked for the story. The way pilots’ lives were thrown away as though they were valued no higher than the ships they flew, the way bravery and cowardice came to mean almost the exact opposite of what they mean to us… it was definitely frustrating to read.
Braid: I’m not sure about opposite meaning, but all nuance is lost when every self-doubt is seen as “being a coward.” It leads to a culture with kamikaze aspects—one I see as a pointless sacrifice, since often they aren’t dying to take out the enemy, just to save their ships. The way Ironsides runs the training and military was my biggest frustration with the story, which felt deliberate on Sanderson’s part. We learned much about the war, the economy, and the politics through her eyes and choices. Many of her policies are what I want to see die in flames, as I hinted at in the non-spoiler review.
First, her rules about Spensa not using the dorm were just petty. Second, we both agree sending student pilots up, on their first day of class, is beyond illogical. We just saw them crash in the simulator! Who gives untrained students access to the hard-to-replace technology people are dying to protect? Third, her fear of “the defect” in Spensa, something that multiple people might have, seems exaggerated to me. I hate Ironsides, but I see why she’s in the story.
Blue: Oh absolutely. Spensa needed someone to hold her back plot-wise, and based on the culture we’ve been introduced to, here (annoying though it might be), Ironside’s actions do make sense. I still don’t like her, but I can’t fault her logic. Even Cobb, at realizing Spensa is following her father’s path, becomes afraid and rather glad that she isn’t flying anymore (at that point at least). It’s just lucky Spensa finds a way to protect herself from the Krell in a way that her father couldn’t.
Braid: You know, we’ve not touched on the Krell. But I think they are better left as a RAFO. Even in a spoiler review a few things need to be discovered by the readers on their own. Enjoy the wild ride in part five!
Onto a happier topic to close…
Blue: Yes! As a lover of romance, I had my fingers crossed that we would see some in this book, but once we began reading it becomes obvious early on that we won’t—not yet, anyway. These kids have too much to worry about, Spensa in particular. Between having to walk to her cave every night, hunt for her own food, and stealing gathering parts for M-bot, she doesn’t have time to be falling in love. But personally, I see the seed of a romance beginning to sprout by the end of this book, so who knows what we’ll see in the sequels?
Braid: The seeds are there in Jorgen for sure. I appreciate that all the potential romances are being given time to develop. As you said, the team is busy learning and fighting a war. It was also refreshing to me that Rig and Spensa are siblings of the heart. I loved seeing their friendship’s role in how the story play out. My fingers are crossed for his romantic and plot-relevant future.
Blue: Amen. Above all else, Rig is a precious cinnamon roll and deserves happiness.
Signing out from Beta Flight. We hope you have enjoyed your Mission Briefing. We couldn’t cover all the awesome, so let us know about your favorite parts of Skyward in the comments!
Skyward is available from Delacorte Press.
Darci Cole—Callsign: Blue—is an aspiring author of fantasy, audiobook narrator, wandmaker, and Sanderson Beta Reader. After the hype of Skyward’s release, her next big exciting event will be The Crimes of Grindelwald midnight showing. M-Bot is still her patronus.
Deana Whitney—Callsign: Braid—is a Sanderson Beta reader, historian, and baker. She encourages anyone confused by Spin’s battle cries to read the Poetic Edda. She refuses to create any rat and algae wrap recipes, but does have a few ideas for mushrooms. Long live Doomslug!
So Doomslug // Seems like it is the engine to the Cytronic (sp?) drive. And would normally be housed in the empty panel Rig mentions at one point //
Hmmm…I might have to read this. I’m not totally sold but I like these types of books. Reading Neuromorph’s by Dennis Meredith, dennismeredith.com for his bio and book. It’s so good, I like Robots and tech!
Damn – I was guessing it was part of the Firstborn universe. *grumbles*
I’ve only read the publicly released first dozen or so chapters, so can’t look to closely at the details, but nice job on the book and on this recap as far as I can see.
@1 John, I’m not sure about being part of the drive, but I do think the mushrooms both Doomslug and Spins eats often help enhance certain abilities. Thus a plot reason for her not being able to eat in the dorms. Grumble…
@2, I do hope you give it a shot. I suspect there will be more robot and tech come book 2 of this series. But for now there is one loveable M-Bot.
@3, Rob – most of the Beta’s did too at first.
@@.-@ // While the mushrooms may factor into it all somehow, it would stand to reason that there would be some setup for traveling for people who didn’t have the Defect to use. Hence Doomslug who would seemingly fit into the mysteriously empty panel. Also, just thought of this, but what if Doomslug’s real name is Stock? //
The big thing I don’t understand about the end is how Cobb managed to get to M-Bot so quickly when he’s got a limp, and M-Bot can only move at brisk-walk speed without a pilot to activate boosters.
Also, conservation of energy–it seems there is no sun outside the debris field, hence the need for artificial daylight, but then where does the energy to power the giant lights and defense systems come from? They’ve been running for centuries and some things are starting to fall out of orbit, but what’s the basic fuel? Furthermore, the generator for a sports car has enough horsepower to run a starfighter with heavy duty ECM suite and weapons? The boosters are engines, but engines need fuel or other energy sources. I’m a mechanical engineer, I need to know these things!
I did love the lampshade moment when the AI is contained in a “black box” that nobody is allowed to touch.
The mushroom theories are interesting, that would explain why studying them would be part of the mission.
@6 Cobb could presumably grab a vehicle (or owns one) and ride out to the crevice pretty quickly. He is a first citizen afterall.
Also, M-bot appears to be vastly superior technology overall and would be more energy efficient then Jerkface’s car. (and M-bot didn’t have weapons perhaps the energy from that battery would not have been sufficient if M-bot did)
@6 it could be inferred that Cobb used a vehicle to get to the cave, as for the power source, I left it up to “magic” technology, basically technology so out there, it might as well be magic. We are not told if there is a star the planet is orbiting or not, we cannot really tell considering the Dyson Sphere is in the way, but I would hazard a guess that there is one. (maybe that’s where the Dyson Sphere gets its power? solar, or maybe Force awakens sun harvesting on a small scale?) Your remark about the car generator does raise some questions, how could such important tech be used in a car, rather than be kept for military purposes?
@8 The batteries aren’t really the most precious resource that would be those rings for flying. No sense in the military hoarding all the batteries when they only have a limited number of jets.
@9 that’s true, I probably got it mixed up into thinking both were precious resources. On another note, what must the Krell have thought when Spin’s father /turned traitor and attacked his fellow humans? / do they know about the Eyes?
@10 I thought it was pretty clear that they wilfully and deliberately caused that, and they were trying to do it again. Also, they are the Eyes.
@7 he had the EMP and light Lance, just no Disruptors. Oh, and really strong shields, which should be big energy hogs.
@10 // There is a communication, in the last main chapter, from the space station, to the krell ships, that they had incapacitated Spin and were altering her vision. Presumably this is what happened to her father and the Krell were aware that he was being controlled and sent back. (i’m not sure what the deal with the eyes is.) //
@12 // See, it thought that the Krell were just communicating using the other dimension, and Spin was able to “hear” the commands. Later when she goes into the other place, and when she goes into space, it is described something like ” a thousand eyes turned toward her, and saw her, and they were hateful” and the Eyes were responsible for what happened to her father. but when she encounters the actual Krell in space, they don’t sound like eldrich evil beings, they were scared of her, I may be wrong, but i thought the Krell and the Eyes were different. //
I think there is more to the eyes, and you get hints about what they might be if you read the other short story in the universe. These cytonic powers can do more than just fold space.
Favourite Part?
“Oh, scud. That is how I sound, isn’t it?”
I thought it was first born universe as well, but yes @15 definitely my favorite line.
Well I was leaning towards HARRE at first with AI being such an important thing but the lack of knowledge about how interstellar travel worked made me suspicious in the right direction.
Does anybody else hear Alan Tudyk when reading M-Bot?
I thought it was a very fun read! Though, one part that wasn’t mentioned that was well done was with the relationships – and Spensa’s relentless focus on being a pilot.
That focus really bends everything around what she does and think – and for most readers, going through (at least I did, binge reading). But it’s not actually the case for everyone else. Eg, to Spensa it seems to feel like every cadet who drops out is basically gone forever – not much different than dead. It was a huge shock when they all went and sat down in a restaurant even *without* being flight buddies anymore, and I appreciated the glimpse of normalcy the others got to enjoy.
I also liked the change of relationships there. Jorgen’s the most obvious one, of course – and Sanderson’s switching use of Jorgen/Jerface was something I noted. Early on in one of the first battle’s it begins, but is pretty limited in the sea of Jerkface. By then end it’s flipped, and it’s a good way to show Spensa’s own evolution as well.
Also, if you’re anything like me – reading parts of this at night make it much more enjoyable. The eyes felt a lot more jarring to me that way – kind of like how when I read Asimov’s “Nightfall” at night it felt a lot different than reading it in full daylight.
@14: Oh indeed. I’m already egger for book 2 to learn more about the eyes – I hope.
@15: Rob – “Oh, scud. That is how I sound, isn’t it?”
A great Laugh out Loud moment.
Along with Quirk’s “Bless your stars, whoever you are.” Warm fuzzies.
@18: M-Bot as Alan Tudyk – Yes! I’m trying to pull images together for a “fantasy casting” of this book as a movie. I totally have Alan Tudyk listed for M-Bot.
While I’m enjoying the audio book – I’m not really digging Suzy Jackson’s M-Bot voice. I’m sort of self editing it in my head.
@19: I love both the “girl’s night” chapter talk and the “let’s eat together” chapter. A show of normal and real friendships. She did not get much of that. Then after being granted the dorm’s space, we didn’t get to see it.
@1 that theory is also supported by how Doomslug seems to move like a Weeping Angel, really fast when nobody is looking at it Also, I don’t recall seeing any other of that species anywhere else but around M-Bot. I’d think with the mimicry, others would keep one as a pet if they were common.
Further conjecture, that may explain how the ship got to Cobb so fast, though the fact that M-Bot is equally confused by Spin’s first jump probably rules that out.
@10, 12, and 13 – This IS a full-spoiler discussion…
I suppose that sending out the cadets is supposed to be akin to Sadeas ‘using’ bridgemen. Take the heat off your experienced, fully trained soldiers using expendable untrained ones (indoctrinated to put their equipment before their own lives).
Edgar Cantero’s This Body’s Not Big Enough for Both of Us is about a chimera — two embryos that have combined into one body — weird, funny, the ultimate sibling rivalry
The Krell – Does anyone remember Forbidden Planet?
Still reading the book so I won’t read this article. But posting to make part of my conversations.
Defending Elysium Audiobook download!
I have bad eyesight. I loved the American version audiobook for Skyward (the UK version just might be better) and when I heard the word Cytonic I knew that from another audiobook from Brandon. It’s from his short story Defending Elysium which I listen to while falling asleep all the time.
It’s at Starship Sofa podcast #339. Free download and streaming. Great Cytonic fight scenes. More about the Eyes. The Phone Company rules the Earth and the Galactic Alliance!
http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2014/05/28/starshipsofa-no-339-brandon-sanderson/
Rig’s progression in the book was enjoyable for me to follow. It reminded me of my own way through my education and career paths. At the beginning we see him doing very well in the knowledge and facts of being a pilot, then later we see him learning what a pilot does and has to go through. This is a tipping point for Rig and he decides that being a pilot is something he does not want to do. He does not need to follow his friend’s dream. They (Rig and Spensa) can be, and still are, very good friends even without the same interests. Rig finds something that he is passionate about and finds his own happiness doing it.
So, after reading Defending Elysium again, I have a big question about it, and its relationship to Skyward. In the short story, it is said how Technologically advanced earth is compared to aliens, how then did earth lose? Were the aliens able to overcome the large difference is technology and just overwhelm the human Empire by sheer numbers?
@10, @11, @12, @13
(Unconcealed spoilers below)
It was my understanding that the Eyes were the “danger” that Spin mentioned near the end of the book. She said something about how they “communicated” through the nothing, and then something along the lines of “didn’t they know about the thing that lived there” – something like that.
It also seemed to me like the Krell were the drones – not an actual species. The aliens controlled the Krell. The communication between the aliens and each other, as well as the eyes, and the mind control used by the Krell’s masters, and the FTL travel, and (I believe it was mentioned) the method that AIs used to think super fast was all done via using the nothingness somehow.
I’m curious what your thoughts were on this, as it seems like we all have significant differences in opinion.
@29 smaugthemagnicifent – we don’t actually know that the rest of humanity is suppressed and defeated – only the crew of Defiant and their descendants. It will be interesting to see what’s happening in the rest of the universe once the Defiants escape Detritus.
@iguacufalls I went back and looked over the end of the book, it says that humanity had lost the war, and all ships had to be handed over to the aliens, but the Defiant fleet believed themselves to be neutral in the conflict and thought that didn’t apply to them, so that’s when they got chased. @Stroniax the Krell are an alien species, one of many, and seem to respond to orders form the other aliens, they are guards though, not a military. The aliens use their psionic abilities to try to obscure Spins vision, so the only thing I can think the eyes could be, would be the “inner eye” of the Psionic beings who hate humanity.
@@@@@ Samug: I’m a little puzzled by how the Krell won too. For now we don’t know how far about the two stories are in timeline.
I’ll also admit to being uncomfortable with the idea that Humans are the most aggressive and dangerous lifeform in the universe. Too many years of the Star Treck concept of the universe I guess. Yes, I know humans can suck in how we treat each other. But I’m having a hard time believing that there is not another lifeform that is equally or more aggressive.
Based on what we’ve learned, I have so many questions about how the Krell won. But maybe when they escape back into space we will find other humans and learn more of the story. At least, that’s my personal theory of what will happen in future books. Along with thinking Rig will be the one to figure out how to build the ship that will let them all escape.
@brad-tug the krell are only just one alien species, it was the whole alien coalition, and as for humans being the only aggressive species, I think the short story implied that not everything was all sunshine and rainbows with the other aliens, and there authoritarian view on controlling humanity shows that. The perfect world was falling apart on the alien governments, do to humans, StarFlight (I think thats what the next book is called, i forgot) can’t come soon enough.
@Braid_Tug: Be sure to check out Defending Elysium, the short story set in this universe. You can read it for free on Brandon’s website: https://brandonsanderson.com/defending-elysium/ . It is one of his earliest published works. His annotations are worth reading too: https://brandonsanderson.com/annotation-Recent-Short-Stories-Defending-Elysium/ .
I view that story as the one that sets everything in motion for Skyward. There are still a lot of things that need explaining though.
Just finished the book. It was a fun ride! I agree though, that the M-bot voice was the main weakness in the audio book. I enjoyed the other voices. My understanding of Defending Elysium is that the other aliens are so “peaceful” because they are willing to brutally suppress all their deviants. Their definition of becoming a “Prime Intelligence” and thus fit for full integration into galactic civilization is that society takes any who are overtly aggressive, unlawful, dissonant, or defiant and put them in mind prisons. Thus, when the PC releases the advanced technology to humanity before they have reached “Prime Intelligence” the stage is set for these “uncivilized” humans to use their vastly superior weapons technology to attack the galaxy. Heck, they may have even viewed it as justified as the galactic society seems to be super oppressive by our standards and it could be seen as a war for freedom. Anyway, I could see the rest of the galaxy, after being initially driven back by our onslaught being able to build up their war machine enough to counter humanity.
Defending Elysium was a great short story. I was very happy when I stumbled on it.
So I basically binge read this on Friday… and one thing that seemed sort of.. off? was Cobb’s age and the feel of the length of the war. It felt like it had been going on (in the air, with fighters) for 20-30 years, not the nine and a half of the actual time jump. Part of this could just be me as I imagine Spin’s father as in his late 20s – 30s when he died, but both Ironsides and Cobb are described as/feel much older. I think Spin says Cobb is in his 50s. They, of course could have been older when the battle of Alta happened, but In my head they were all similar ages.
I just finished this last night and freaking loved it!
Spensa is fantastic and her character progression was both believable and refreshing.
I love that Sanderson is able to make such vivid scenes. None of the training or flying was ever boring and it was easy to imagine what was going on.
I do have to admit I was thinking of Snapshot when reading, what with the hologram recreation of actual events.
I guess I will reread Defending Elysium. I remember liking it.
@several – Yeah, I’m pretty sure that the Krell themselves didn’t beat the humans in the earlier war. They’re just the guards on this planet – the military police, if you will – representing the coalition of species who fought against the humans. What little we know, though, leaves leagues of room for speculation!
Re: the age of the older generation – We aren’t given a lot of detail, but there’s no reason to think that back in earlier days, the flights were made up of people all the same age. Right now, we see the cadet flights all made up of 17-year-olds, but since no flight ever makes it through without losses of one sort or another, once they graduate they’ll be slotted into flights with more experienced pilots of varying ages. So there’s no real reason Zeen couldn’t have been 30 years old and Cobb 40 at the time of the Battle of Alta. Friendships between adults with a ten-year age difference aren’t really all that unusual.
@@@@@ 39 yeah one of my best friends is 30+ years older than me! :)
Maybe part of it was when Spin looks at the first citizen statues she says how young Cobb is, and in my head the statue would look like him at the time of the battle of alta. On the other hand 10 years of the kind of stress he’s been under would age him considerably. I can see both parts of it, it just struck me as not quite synced.
What do you guys think of the origin of M-Bot? It’s weird to have an older ship so far advanced from what they can produce. M-Bot seemed to suggest his previous owner was human. That should be an interesting angle to pursue in the future.
AtiumDealer @@@@@ 41 – M-bot is advanced because the humans before being stranded in that planet are spacefaring. It’s not really surprising for M-bot to be very advanced. And a ship with AI should be commonplace. It’s advance design and capabilities should be normal for humans when M-bot was manufactured.
@41: the human survivors lost AI. Spin is totally surprised by the ship talking to her.
Therefore the current DDF ships don’t have any type of talking AI. So our cell phones have more in the way of those systems, then their fighter jets .
Could be the mechanical systems on the planet can’t do programming. Therefore after the crash , they were left with what people know and their archives . The archives that were destroyed along with most of the senior officers of all areas.
I can see people losing the ability to code advanced AI in that combo of events. Some of it was probably automated by then. But with the lost of the archives, the coding was lost too.
One of the things that bothers me is Ironsides belief “I am the DDF. ” Yet she feels like a terrible leader . She is. One indication of a good leader is having and training subordinates who could replace you or be better than yourself.
BT@33 Keep in mind that Scalzi’s Old Man’s War universe follows the same pattern of humans being singled out for being aggressive and dangerous by the vast majority of alien cultures….
@RonM, I’ve not read the series.
I know other series make humans the most aggressive. Yet every time I encounter the thought, I don’t like it. Star Trek is my foundational series. I’ve absorbed that world view. I believe that humans as a whole are not greedy aggressive jerks. That we can be better. That there is always someone who is more aggressive than us out in the universe.
That’s why reader bisas is a thing. We all bring our own interpretations to reading a book. Doesn’t make it right or wrong, just shows our reactions .
So, I have finally finished reading Skyward! As I was busy reading another series, it took me some time to start reading Skyward: I toyed with the idea of taking a break within my other reads to tackle it, but I ended up choosing against it. Hence it was, a week before Christmas, I picked up Skyward for the first time. I hadn’t read the preview chapters either. All I knew what this book was about a teenage girl finding a wreckage and going to flight school or not going, I wasn’t sure.
I loved this book.
I timely finished it on Christmas Eve… My family wouldn’t stop asking me: “What’s taking so long in the bathroom? Didn’t you say you were taking your shower, how come the water is not running?” or “What? You haven’t started your hair yet? What have you been doing in the room for so long?”…
Yeah… well… there was a big battle and Spensa’s lone ship was raising in front of 13 enemy ships. I couldn’t stop right here, now couldn’t I? Christmas Eve or not… Right? So, I did finish the book while expertly drying my hair and single-handily wrapping up the last gifts, right one time for Christmas.
So I loved this book. Spensa was a great protagonist. I enjoyed reading how, despite being called a coward’s daughter, she kept her head high. Sure, there was a lot of false bravado and grand talking mixed in there, but it yielded a character I had genuine fun following. I’ll admit I was convinced she wouldn’t make it to flight school… I thought she would ended up taking this job in sanitation, exploring tunnels, thus finding M-Bot, I was primed for the sanitation work and well, turns out she made it.
Flight school was a great read even if Spensa being forced to hike to her cave every evening prevented her from bonding with her flight-mates. Still, I enjoyed how Brandon managed to have it happen anyway. Friendship was a strong theme in this book and it was refreshing. Of course, we all guess more will happen with Jorgen/Jerkface, right? That one was written in the stars now, wasn’t it? Am I the only one who’s hoping to see more of Jorgen’s world going into the next book? All of those parties and official functions he is forced to go to… They sound pretty mysterious… Ah next book!
Speaking of Jerkface, I really loved how he finally came to adopt this awful callsign Spensa gives him on their first day, making it his own. This was a great moment, the sight, the acceptance and Nightmare’s flight leader sharing the pain of such a bad call sign.
Going back to Spensa, she was great. How her fears of secretly being a coward, how the DDF depiction of Chaser didn’t line up with her own knowledge of her father, how it made her bolder. The scene where she flies through the crashing wreckage trying to get Nedd out of it, not knowing those were his brothers he was flying after (we knew it was, right?), oh that was a good one. And bittersweet. And sad just as every death. Just as knowing how cadet’s life were being toyed with, the anger of Ironsides for doing it up until I came to realize she had not so many other alternatives… Alta is fighting a losing battle. And the scene where Ironsides stays strong in the face of death, ordering what’s left of her fighters to save Igneous, well, it helped redeemed her character too. Oh and knowing, as far as she could tell, Chaser turned traitor, she defended him, protected him and he tried to kill them… So sad.
Which brings me to my next point… My only critic, the epilogue was on the short side. I wanted to read Spin tell Ironsides and Cobb how Chaser didn’t betray them. How Chaser was every bit the hero Spin said he was. How it was the fact she flew in M-Bot she got to figure it all out. I also wanted to hear if Nedd and Quirk made it to full pilots. What a nice girl, this Quirk. Of course. she got to do the desperate shooting. I felt the ending could have wrapped in the emotional response a bit tighter, but overall this book was a great ride.
Oh and I forgot M-Bot… What a fun ship. Collecting mushroom, clearly a scout trying to catalog life forms on Detritus, right? He has a black box, we all know what this means, right? Black box record everything, they’ll figure it out within the next book, we’ll find out what was M-Bot’s mission. Love the scene where he chooses another pilot.
My favorite sentence: Fight Command, this is Skyward Eleven, reporting for battle. Callsign: Spin. Loved it!
So a great Christmas read. I can’t wait for the sequel. I forgot to check the release schedule, but I think Brandon’s done with it, so it shouldn’t be too long.
There seems to be some disagreement as to the eyes in this discussion. When I finished the book I thought the eyes were the peoples of the general alien community who had just fought a war against humanity and did not welcome humanity back into that space (or whatever you want to call it) that Spensa was using to travel quick distances. They were hostile because they saw a human using that space to travel and I’m guessing it is forbidden to humans now. That was my take when I finished it.
@several re: humans as the “most aggressive species” – you REALLY need to read Defending Elysium. There’s a bit near the end that reveals a lot about the history of the other species. Spoilers whited out: Basically, most of the other species enforced “socially acceptable attitudes” by killing any member of their species who didn’t agree; humanity (at least at that point) refused to do so. That sets up humans in this universe to be … not really more aggressive than other species, but less willing to accept group-think rules and force them on all humans. You’ve essentially got humans as the only species who believes in individual liberty, and that’s unacceptable to the other species in the universe.
Gepeto @46 – You had me laughing so hard. “What’s taking so long in the bathroom?!” I’m not the only one who uses that hiding place to read… :D And you and I seem to be wholly on the same wavelength in the things we liked. No real surprise there. I feel like one of the few people who came to like Ironsides – or at least understand her position. She’s stuck being in charge, not because she’s a good fit for the job, but because she’s all they’ve got. She knows she’s not really good at it, and she knows she’s made a million mistakes, but at the same time there just aren’t very many options, and she’s doing the best she can. It’s kind of funny to see the similarities between Spin and Ironsides – they both put on a front that covers up a lot of insecurities. But Spin has M-Bot; like you, I want to be assured in the next book that she has told Cobb & Ironsides what actually happened to Chaser, and that without M-Bot it would have happened to her too.
APTimes2 @47 – There’s more to the Eyes than that, but we’ll have to RAFO.
@46 – Book two in Fall 2019.
@48: LOL! No you aren’t the only one… My family are all too familiar with my “trips” to the bathroom as they know perfectly well what I am doing in there ;-) It’s become a running joke over here… You should have seen their face when I apologized saying there was a flying airplanes battle against aliens which was why it was taking some time… Sigh. Really, I’ve got to work on getting them to see it from my perspective.
I wouldn’t say I like Ironsides, I definitely spent most of the book disliking her. After all, her grudge against Spensa seemed unwarranted and irrational. It doesn’t help, up until Spensa got to see the recording, I was convinced Chaser had been framed, I was convinced he had been executed for having opposing views to Ironsides. Oh the truth was painful… I felt for Spensa as, really, it was worst than anything else I had imagined. Her father was a traitor and by labeling him a coward, they were doing HER a favor. They protected her in their own twisted misguided ways, so yes, in the end, I felt sympathy for Ironsides. All of her friends have been killed by Chaser except Cobb who disagrees with her on the “defect”.
I mean, Ironsides has vouched for Chaser despite knowing he had the defect, she had trusted him and, as far as she could tell, he betrayed her. She didn’t have the required to data to figure out Chaser wasn’t acting on his own volition, that Chaser wasn’t trying to kill his friends: he was avenging them. He was protecting them, a Defiant until the end. I really hope to read Chaser’s name being redeemed within the next book, his statue being raised with the other First Citizens.
Also, I’ve got to respect the woman who faces death with such… dignity. In those moments, it became clear she wants what is best for Alta and Igneous, but she is fallible. She made mistakes. She knows it, but in the end, she makes the right call. And she genuinely seemed not to enjoy how she believed she has been forced to treat Spin and I think Spin understands. I am looking forward for those two characters to bound… in an odd way: I think they can learn a lot one from another. Things will not be easy, but I think both characters are able to see where each other is coming from, right here at the end.
Oh and I also enjoy Cobb taking up M-Bot to save Spensa. That was sweet. I enjoyed this.
My prediction are Nedd and Quirk will be made full pilots for their bravery and for having stuck out for Alta when no one else would. Together with Jerkface, FM, Spin and Arturo (who’ll go and be a pilot even if his mother doesn’t want him to) will form up Skyward flight. I guess a few others may join them.
I have no idea what the Eyes are, something to do with how those with the defects can make travel faster then light speed happen. I’m OK to RAFO, but I am expecting some more travelling. I mean, what’s the point of telling us Spin can help them escape from Detritus if they don’t actually do it? So huh, Skyward Flight is likely to be at the hear of it, with their new improved ships designed by Rig.
Oh and well, Jorgen and Spensa, well, that’s a ship. I’m pretty sure of it.
@49: Great! I’ll be fun to read the sequel.
Yeah, it’s hard to like Ironsides, because Sanderson spent the whole book making her unlikable, but I certainly came to understand her position. As you say, she and Cobb really did Spensa a favor by only telling the world part of the story; she was merely “the daughter of a coward” instead of the daughter of a traitor and murderer. While it was frustrating to see the kinds of things Ironsides used to try to make Spensa quit, you eventually realize that she was entirely justified in doing everything she legally could to make sure Spensa couldn’t damage the dwindling human fleet the way her father had. If she hadn’t had M-Bot to shield her mind, Spin would have done the exact same thing Chaser had – returned to Detritus seeing all the Defiant ships as Krell to be destroyed.
@51: With a much different result as one of the reasons she dared fly up to the stars was the fact M-Bot didn’t have working destroyers. She knew, if worst comes to worst, she wouldn’t be shooting down her friends. She knew it was relatively safe for them which is, I think, part of the reason she took the risk. Yes, she had to know, she had to understand, but she was not so foolhardy to think the same wouldn’t happened to her.
I was actually touched by the scene where Ironsides urges Spensa to fly back to Alta, to not seek the stars, to not do the same as Chaser… You are right, all of her endeavors to force Spensa to quit: she genuinely believe pilots with the defect were likely to turn traitor for reasons yet unknown, but could she risk it? And more importantly, had I been her, what would I have done? Wouldn’t I think the best possible outcome was for Spin to wash out of flight school with honor? Knowing I didn’t ruin her life, knowing she’d be able to get a good job without endangering the fleet? What would I have really done differently? Well, one thing is certain, I might have told her the truth, but I understand why she didn’t.
And really, they don’t understand the defect all that well… Not everyone agrees on what it means. Cobb was affirmative human beings had free will and having the defect didn’t allow anyone to make the foregone conclusion Spin would do the same as Chaser. Other high ranked families are descendant from families having had the defect, they do not want to jeopardize their status for it. It made me want to see what is happening within those families which is why I am hoping to read, within the next book, the behind the scenes with Jorgen’s family.
I think there was no easy answer and I felt Spensa’s character captured exactly how complicated the dilemma is both for her and for others. She went from being afraid of secretly being a coward, to being afraid the “defect” would make her a traitor. This being said, one thing I was angry at the DDF for was using Chaser as a means to prevent kids from ejecting out of crashing ships. This absurd fear of being labeled a coward, of being another “Chaser” is basically what caused Hurl’s death. And it is being used by other teachers to ingrained within a bunch of impressionable teenagers heads ejecting is a bad, bad thing. What’s with throwing out of flight school kids who eject? I figured it might have been because if you crash your ship, then you have no more ship to fly, so you become a reservist…. Still, if they are desperate for pilots, the whole strategy makes little sense. So that’s one point against the DDF and Ironsides.
Yeah, I momentarily forgot about the lack of destructors, so she couldn’t have come blazing in and destroyed the DDF the same way Chaser did. But who knows what she’d have done – she’s a pretty amazing pilot.
Ironsides explained the thing about not ejecting, but I still think she’s wrong (as a character, not the writing). Her reasoning is that as long as they have more pilots than they do acclivity rings, the pilots are the more expendable resource, and they should risk their lives to try to land a damaged fighter if the ring is still functional. Given that she feels responsible for the entirety of the human race, not merely the fighting forces, I can see her point. I just disagree with it. Of course, I also disagree with the teachers who fail to teach their students good maneuvering and strategy, and with the whole idea of sending them into combat when they can barely fly, but… those are some of the flawed decisions that the people making them feel are forced by circumstance.
The worst part about Hurl is that “don’t eject” had become such a hard rule that she followed it despite the fact that there was no acclivity ring left to save, so her death was completely pointless. :(
@53: It is true she had her light lance and she’s pretty deadly with that… still the narrative says the DDF didn’t take any chances when she emerged. They were ready to deal with her shall she try to turn rogue, hence Ironsides’s warning felt more genuine. She wouldn’t be caught twice, but it doesn’t change the fact she didn’t want to see it happening to Spensa.
I also agree on how wrong it is to ingrained within young pilots their acclivity ring matters more than their life. While I understand the concept of trying to salvage one’s ship, I felt the cadets were needlessly being scared for it. The whole “I will not be labeled a coward” was just awful and yeah, it made Hurl’s death completely pointless. On a narrative point of view though, the readers needed to see someone carry on those absurd orders to the end and Hurl was the perfect character for it.
As for the teachers, I think they taught what they knew. Spin says most pilots didn’t last five years and those who did usually retire after this time frame. The teachers, they must be very young too. Almost everyone who was at the battle of Alta died except for Ironsides and Cobb, so who was there to teach the new generation? Did they even have any military experience? The crew on the Defiant, they weren’t soldiers nor military people, so they had to make it up with a bunch of stories they seem to be unable to grasp never happened.
Also, Cobb ejected, so it gave him a different perspective. Hopefully now things will start to change.
The death toll among the pilot is ridiculous, it is a wonder there still are kids who want to be pilot. They had to make it a thing of honor, to give it grand titles. It made sense, but to us it was downright awful. It puts a grand lampshade on what is needed to win wars, on the human cost and how, within many battles, general ordered many soldiers to just sacrifice their life to win a few feet of mud. Pointless, but very real.
Hi…I was reading this book and then I came to that coward thing and dream to become a pilot…I was really afraid…because I dont like bullies and I would be really depressed…I still did not finished Oathbringer…when Kaladin is depressed…I am nearly dying…so I needed first to know how it will end…so thank you all for enthusiasm..I will continue reading…I think there will be bullying, but she looks like character who can deal with it…maybe I get some assertiveness too :-)
I just finished this. It’s the third Sanderson YA novel I’ve started and the only one I’ve finished. Despite usually being categorically uninterested in battles or futuristic technology, I found my attention held by its exceptional emotional punch, a uniquely hostile environment of the kind Sanderson excells at portraying, and the top-quality Sandereon Snarking that had me laughing aloud. Too bad Detritus isn’t in the cosmere; it might be able to field a Snark Team to rival Roshar’s.
Though my mom’s dog is named Poco, like the type of ship flown by the cadets, so I got distracted every time the word was used.
Just finished and really liked the book.
Trying to figure out what the story was with the planet that they crashed on. My theory was that it was the home base of the human war building effort. They built a massive barrier around the planet to protect it and “dry docks” in space to launch from. Maybe the whole thing was shut down and evacuated when they lost the war.
Thoughts?
Took me a while to get around to it as I’ve had the book since release day but now that I’ve finished I really enjoyed it. Haven’t read Defending Elysium yet but certainly will for a history lesson.
Sanderson did it again with an immersive world and relatable flawed characters. Doomslug is certainly the key to unlocking the FTL mystery. I hope that comes out in the next book but I kinda assume it will happen in book three and be one of the final revelations that gets them off the planet for good.
If M-Bot was so much better that the Pocos how he was outfitted I CAN NOT WAIT for the scenes when he has all three boosters installed and a full weapons package. Our little Spensa will be racking up the kills next book. I also like how Sanderson set up different specialties for each member of the flight, sniping, dodging, and that Jorgen would be a good fit for a Largo class ship. I look forward to seeing this pan out.
On completely different note:
I am not a writer myself but I would like to make a pitch to those who do Fan Fic…
Untitled: A Sander-verse Novella
In which….
Hoid tells (vocally and magically) the story of that one time Wayne & Lift grabbed Nightblood and took a ride in M-Bot to slay some evil. I need this dialog in my life.
I got $5 on the kickstarter right now if anyone will write it. :)
@vestedinvestiture you know of course that it’s an absolute given that all the slots will be filled, memory corruption fixed, 80% off the history revealed only in the very last book, just in time for the biggest invasion ever seen, while Spin is locked in the brig, somebody needs to break her out, and at just barely the last minute when all hope seems lost, here comes Mighty Mouse to save the day, but too late, her mentor already died trying to save them all. Because that’s how YA fiction always works
We can only hope Brandon will somehow save us from a fate so predictable.