Skyward: The First Skyward Novel (Skyward, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON BEHIND THE COSMERE

****

'We must not cower in the dark because we're afraid of the spark within us. The answer is not to put out the spark, but to learn to control it'

Spensa's world has been under attack for hundreds of years. An alien race called the Krell leads onslaught after onslaught from the sky in a never-ending campaign to destroy humankind. Humanity's only defense is to take to their ships and fight the enemy in the skies. Pilots have become the heroes of what's left of the human race.

Spensa has always dreamed of being one of them; of soaring above Earth and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father's - a pilot who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, placing Spensa's chances of attending flight school somewhere between slim and none.

No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, but she is still determined to fly. And the Krell just made that a possibility. They've doubled their fleet, making Spensa's world twice as dangerous . . . but their desperation to survive might just take her skyward . . .

****

SANDERSON IS AN EXCELLENT STORYTELLER:

'Thrills and snappy dialouge'
DAILY MAIL

'Episodic and fast-paced with surprises around every turn'
SCI FI NOW

'I loved this book. What else is there to say?'
PATRICK ROTHFUSS

'Epic in every sense'
GUARDIAN

• ISBN10: 1473217873
• ISBN13: 9781473217874
• Publish Date: 19 September 2019 (first published 6 November 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 528
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars

Uh, WOWWWWWW!

Sci-Fi novels are usually a hit or miss for me & this was most definitely a hit! This was my VERY FIRST Sanderson book, and it seems as good an introduction as any to his works!

The narrative was SO engaging & seemed so fluid / effortless, and READABLE!SO ADDICTIVE!

Total ‘If You Give A Mouse A Cookie’ situation for me. It was a good problem to have, though.

[nora]

I have a crush on this book, can someone give her my number?

I haven’t read a book so fast in a long time. Skyward was the kind of book I couldn’t put down once I started reading, I was hooked from chapter 1.

A sci fi about a girl trying to become a fighter pilot as she’s always dreamed, and to grow out of the shadow her fathers shame and cowardice cast over her. This book was engaging and exciting, I liked that even though Spensa was constantly angry with the world that she didn’t let that anger make her stupid, she continued to try and be better.

My favourite parts were when they were in their ships having to fight off the Krell, I could always see exactly what was happening in the chaos - it was great.

The writing was superb, the story was intriguing, the character had an arc and now I can’t wait to see what happens next.

[charlton]

Brandon Sanderson has done it again,he has done a great job with character creation and had the landscape a distant planet.

When kids reach a certain age they're allowed to join the space force and possibly help defend the planet.

The heroine of the story is the daughter of a coward of a previous battle so she is going to have a hard time advancing in her class.

This book is for teens but it made for an enjoyable read.:)

[Nessa Luna]

This was my first ever Sanderson book, and boy I think I chose right! I loved Spensa as a character, I loved the setting and I especially loved the reveal near the end. So I will definitely be picking up the sequel, though I have no idea when because I am terrible at finishing series, apparently. But yeah, if you love the Illuminae Files and/or Star Wars, I definitely recommend this book!

CAWPILE: 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | 7.5 (Avg: 7.71)

[HekArtemis]

Need to read more Sanderson. This was funnier than I was expecting, super enjoyable.

[KitsuneBae]

Yes. Another winner written by my fav writer

[dragononabook]

Holy wow, this was such a good read. I'm supposed to be studying for exams but somehow I ended up spending most of my free time reading this.

I loved the characters, I love how insightful the cut-aways to Ironsides were (still don't like her much though) and I loved all the epic spacey stuff that is going to leave me with a terrible book hangover for so long. There were so many little details that really brought this story to life (hi Doomslug!) and I honestly can't wait for more.

This was my first ever Brandon Sanderson novel, and I must admit, the writing style saved this novel for me. Normally, I would not pick up a novel about people fighting in space, it is just not for me. After the hype, and seeing this book in my library, I decided to pick it up and I really enjoyed it. I did not love it, but what else could I expect? This is normally not my cup of tea, and liking it this much is already a great accomplishment.

This book feels fast-paced, while I also believe it isn't. While we only see Spensa fighting and training to be the best pilot, and not a lot happens, it is still very entertaining. Don't get me wrong, I did not like Spensa at all in the beginning. Only after she started realizing that there was no need to be this particular way, she started to grow on me. I loved the character arc, and also the character arcs of the other persons we see in this book. While we do not follow their stories and see everything through Spensa, we are still really invested in them and it is nice to see them grow.

Oh, and M-Bot. I loved him so much. I also thought it was a nice addition that he kept repeating that he could not overwrite his programming since that is how it actually works. Often books about AI etcetera don't seem to realize that. Even though M-Bot eventually found a way around his programming. I liked the addition of that repeated phrase.

The only reason why this book did not obtain five out of five stars from me, is the simple fact that this is just not my cup of tea. It won't be any of my favorites, even though I will definitely continue the series, but it will always remain a book I highly enjoyed but did not love.

[Quirky Cat]

Skyward is the first novel in a new series by Brandon Sanderson. It’s a young adult science fiction novel, so it’s quite a bit different from everything else he’s done. Still, the novel sold like crazy back when it came out in the fall, and for good reason.
Sorry in advance if any of what I say next sounds a tiny bit robotic. I swear I wrote a review for this book months ago when I read it, but I can’t seem to find it. So I’m writing up another review, because it’s going to drive me nuts if I don’t.
Skyward is set on another planet, where the people living there are constantly besieged by an alien race that they’ve never actually seen before. The attacks forced them to live underground or in secure structures. Thus limiting where they can live and build. It also keeps them from leaving this relatively resource-limited planet.


Skyward was an absolutely brilliant read. I love seeing authors reach out of their comfort zones, and that’s exactly what Brandon Sanderson did. But he proved that he’s more than capable of writing an enchanting novel with a science fiction twist, and a young adult appeal.
The world these people live on sounds so painfully desolate. I can only imagine the desperation they must feel to get away, yet they don’t even have the option to do just that. It does seem like the upper class people live better lives than the poorer (who naturally live lower down in the earth), but I’m also not terribly surprised by that fact either. It just goes to show how much this civilization can stand to improve.
Spensa was the perfect main perspective for this novel. She’s driven, she’s strong, and she’s been through hell and back. And all of that before the novel even really got going. It was through her we saw the biggest differences between classes. Through her we saw the prejudice of her people. Through her we saw just how hard it is to make it when others drag you down.
There were times where Spensa’s situation truly made my eyes mist up a little bit for her sake. It’s hard not to feel for her, while seeing her get kicked down again and again. But she always got back up. It’s inspiring, actually.
As for the aliens…I’m intrigued by them. I sort of love that nobody had actually ever had the opportunity to study them, not even a corpse. It raised so many questions in my head, and those questions only gathered in number as time went on.
I think the AI in this novel was particularly iconic. They had so much personality, even if they were just a tiny bit broken from time to time. It probably didn’t help (or is it hurt?) that they were beign influenced by Spensa’s quirky nature.
Also, while I’m at it: they need to make a Doom Slug stuffed animal. Last I checked they had made pins and the like, but I want a stuffed animal. I’d totally buy one. Nobody else would get it, but that’s alright with me.
The final battle scene in this novel was what really got to me though. It was so well described, I could practically picture it happening. It was dramatic, gave Spensa a real chance to shine, and it even gave us answers. In short, it was perfect.
I can’t wait for news on the sequel. Right now I know it’s going to be called Starsight, but that’s about all I know for the moment. I’m afraid to go looking for too much information right now, as it’s just going to make me anxious for more.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks