A brilliant start to a series that I am now eagerly waiting to continue. Skyward introduces us to a fascinating world, and reveals just enough about the perilous situation of the human race to satisfy, whilst at the same time leaving enough mystery to keep my curiosity burning.

The fight action scenes are brilliantly written; something that is not all that common in Sci-Fi. They are engaging and easy to follow despite how much is going on. Spensa can be an infuriating protagonist, but she provides the perfect point of view and I adore her determination and single-mindedness. Great characters, great world, great plot. I'm hooked!

Highly recommended for Sci-Fi fans, young adult, adult and all!

Spensa’s world has been under attack by an alien race called the Krell for hundreds of years. Humanity are forced to take to the skies in defence of their lives, sacrificing pilots and cadets in the name of survival. Spensa has always dreamed of being a pilot, but since her father turned coward and deserted his team years ago, she hasn’t been able to escape from under his shadow. Finally, the opportunity arises for her to go to flight school, where she learns much more than just how to fly…

I haven’t read very many fantasies set in space – I usually prefer dragons and elves and other land-based fantasies – but I did really enjoy this one. Most of the plot unfolds in the air, while Spensa is flying or learning to fly, so in a way it was very similar to Star Wars, but with more of a YA feel.

The character growth in this book is very good. I really didn’t take to Spensa to begin with. She was annoying, whiny and aggressive, while her quirky violent outbursts felt very fake when put together with how insecure she was. However, as the plot developed, she changed. She became more confident and more thoughtful and considerate of others, and considerably more likeable.

Characters that I did absolutely love were Doomslug and M-bot. I also really liked Spensa’s flight mates. They were a witty and diverse group and *slight spoiler alert* the many deaths in this book are very sad.

This was my first Sanderson, and I would definitely read more.

Omg wow not sure why I never read this sooner ..... started to read it and finished it in a day i devoured it in one go coming up for a air every so often.

This is a must read for anyone who loves a book that they never want to end ... cant wait for the next one ....

This book was amazing. Like still awake at two in the morning finishing it amazing.

The story, the character, Spensa development. Just WOW. I want to go Skyward now! I would whole heartedly recommend this book. Can’t wait for the next instalment.

Wow, I loved this, Sanderson effortlessly combines moments of humour and sass alongside loss and reflection as a young woman’s determination to outrun her father’s shameful past thrusts her into the firing line of a high tech war humanity is starting to lose.

Spensa is an incredible lead, her journey from fearlessness to understanding is moving, and she has a hilariously dramatic way with words that resulted in a few chuckles. I especially adored Doomslug, a whistling, squishy sidekick to rival even the most adorable Disney character, and as for the talking ship....brilliant.

An incredible beginning to an exciting new space saga from the seemingly unstoppable Brandon Sanderson, with a big reveal at the end that will have you longing for book number two.

Brandon Sanderson’s new series - Skyward (the first instalment is of the same name) is set in space on a near barren planet where the remainder of humanity have been trapped. They are under constant attack by an alien race called the Krell. The teenager Spensa has spent her young life in the shadow of her father’s life. He was a fighter pilot and a hero until during one battle he fled was killed by his squadron and branded a coward. Spensa and her family suffered with the stigma of father’s cowardice yet she wants nothing more than to follow him into the skies. As luck turns out Spensa is given the opportunity to learn how to be a fighter pilot and prove her father wasn't a coward. When she discovers an abandoned ship buried in a cave she knows that this ship, a sentient ship no less, is her escape and her way to see the stars.

Sanderson’s fantastic imagination is evident in his description of the debris laden planet Detritus. He does borrow from human folklore, history and literature as a frame of reference for the teenage Spensa - she wants to be a warrior like Boudicca or Genghis Khan. She acts in almost every way like typical teenager - impulsive, quick to temper, a bit self-centered. I did have to keep reminding myself that Spensa was a teenager every time she did something impetuous or immature....which was quite often. I found her a bit irritating towards the end. While Skyward is aimed for the younger reader the pace was a bit slow in parts and it was quite long. At a guess 80% of the story sets up the last few chapters and that is why I felt it dragged along. While I am unlikely to continue with this series because of the pace I would still recommend it for young adults.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How and why did I wait so long to read this book?!

Generally speaking, sci-fi isn’t usually a genre I go towards but when it’s Brandon Sanderson there is no way of saying no.

Everything about this book was so enticing and exciting, the writing was of course wonderful. I want to particularly point out how much I enjoyed the writing of the setting, it was just enough to be able to picture and understand what was happening but too much to overwhelm.

Likes:
• Spensa was such a great main character- she was fiery and likeable from the beginning but her character development just made her better and better
• The friendships between the Skyward Flight team was so great- I could read about their team radio all day
• *what is hopefully* the beginning of a hate to love trope
• I love Doomslug

Dislikes:
• Personally would have liked a little more of the political content, I wanted more talk about the construct of society, specifically the class system, but hopefully this will be expanded on in later books?
• I wanted to see more of Rig!

Highlights

Sass

The world

The slug

M-Bot 

Overall

I didn’t like Spensa (callsign: Spin) in the beginning. I found her annoying and a know-it-all. But she grew on me and she also became humbler at around 20% in. From there I couldn’t but enjoy the book. I mean the sass is great and the epic destructive speeches from Spin was great, but when M-Bot starts doing it, it is a whole other level and I lived for it! 

The Story

The story follows Spin as she struggles to live up to her father’s wishes while living in a society who regards him as a coward. Her father was an amazing pilot who ended up leaving in the middle of the biggest fight in their history and getting shot down by friendly fire and therefore named a coward. Spin has forever been referred to as a coward’s daughter and has built up an attitude accordingly. She works herself through pilot school and finds that not everything is as how she thought they were. As her society is still fighting against the horrible Krell, not only does she have to get through flight school, she must fight real fights and lose friends, and she must deal with the way people regard her as a coward’s daughter and her limits in her new surroundings. 

World Building

World building is very well done as with all Brandon Sanderson’s books. We start off with an introduction to the current place as we follow Spin as a child and her father during their last ascent to the surface. The prologue really gives you a lot of information without telling you the information. I always admired Brandon Sanderson’s writing and his teaching. After watching some of his teaching videos online I have become even more aware of how he writes. It's very fascinating.

The world is a place with lost ancestry and lost history. They don’t know much from beyond three generations back. They don’t know why they are where they are. They don't even know who the Krell is. 

Magic System / Science

There is no magic but there is something else going on. I'm not sure what it is yet. I hope it will become clearer in the next book.

The science in this book is focused on the spaceship and the way they fly. Due to the limited knowledge of their ancestry, they have lost a lot of science and technology. M-Bot provides us with that information early on and proves just how big the distance really is between the old and new. It's an interesting though; how would information survive if you got cut off from everyone else? 

The Characters

Spin, the MC, is a big fan of the dramatic stories and always has a dramatic line or two she can quote to others. She grew up looking up to her dad and when he did what he did during the war Spin finds it difficult to handle it and doesn't believe it. Being a coward’s daughter has been Spins life. Becoming a pilot is her only idea of fixing her future and her dad's reputation. In the beginning, Spin is headstrong and clearly known everything. Throughout the book, Spin evolves into someone more normal or more realistic. During her experiences at the flight school, she matures and gains insight into the world and her abilities. I like Spin, not in the beginning but definitely at the end. I’m not sure if she grew on me or if she just grew in the book.

I really liked the name of the slug she spends her time with; Doomslug the Destroyer  It's also a very fascinating creature that isn’t really giving the story anything but adds some informal attitude and humour and makes Spin feel less of a lonely character in her cave.

Other characters include;

Rig – Spin’s best friend. I liked him, but we don’t see as much of his as I would have liked. Maybe next book.

Cobb – Spin’s teacher and her father's wingmate. Yeah liked him too. He is like a father figure for Spin during her lessons and in the air.

M-Bot – Artificial Intelligence in a broken spaceship she finds. Loved him! Especially in the end. Thought the mushroom obsession is weird but still funny.

LGBT+?

None

Writing

I love Brandon’s writing. It's rich and simple at the same time.

Considering this is YA, the writing was intricate and typical Brandon in comparison to other YA which tend to simplify the language to accommodate for a younger audience. Brandon’s writing doesn’t. It's standard older YA/adult without being over-complicated and intricate. 

Summary

I really enjoyed it, but I had minor issues getting into the book and had sometimes no interest in picking up the book. When I did pick up the book, I could read for hours but I wasn’t entirely consumed.

I highly recommend this book to any fan of Brandon Sanderson’s books, and to anyone who wants to get into Sci-Fi books but feel the adult ones are a bit daunting. 

Favourite quote:

"Just for that, I shall hunt your firstborn and laugh with glee as I tell them of your death in terrible detail, with many unpleasant adjectives!”

- M-Bot after taking a few hits from another ship and continues with;

"A pox of unique human diseases - many of which cause an uncomfortable swelling - come upon you!"

An exceptional book. True scifi with a great story, fast paced, interesting, and unusual, and extremely addictive because i couldnt stop reading it.

5/5

I wasn't able to finish this book as I found the way that Sanderson wrote teenagers to be incredibly annoying and jarring. The plot took forever to get going and I wasn't hooked.

Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

So I have a bit of thing with sci-fi novels. For some reason, I just can't seem to get into them - and I say that as someone who was raised on and loves sci-fi tv and film. But, if anyone could write one that I could get into, it would be Brandon Sanderson. And he did not disappoint.

Skyward started off kind of strangely. We're thrown into this community of people trapped underground while being ambushed by aliens in the skies, but the community feels so... well, stilted. It's conservative to the point of doubting its realism since everyone seems to settle into it so neatly - which, especially in recent years, is a strange thing to imagine. The idea of a 'coward', held up by pretty much everyone, is incredibly one-dimensional, and the class system is so secure that you wonder how people don't question it. The fundamental concepts and ideas are very familiar and scarily relevant to modern readers, but it was taken a bit too stiffly. Of course, because it's exaggerated so much, it's there for a purpose, and Sanderson builds it up neatly enough that when he breaks the rules later his point is very clear. Which did pay off, undoubtedly. But going through the arc of the characters rising above their ignorance/fear/whatever you want to call it was hard to swallow to begin with because everyone was so self-assured in their very-obviously-backwards society.

What I really liked was that it took the Father's Legacy storyline in a new direction. I will admit that narratives that focus around a character coming to terms with what a parent (usually the father) did before their time make me automatically sceptical because aren't we all tired of pre-determined fates set out for us by our parents? But, while Spensa's initial kick into her ambition was helped along by her father, she is undoubtedly driven by her own passion and motivation, and the story doesn't obsess over her desire to clear her family name.

The use of classism really helped this too because, while not being derived from her relationship to her father, the prejudices the academy have towards her are influenced by her class status as well; you wouldn't find them having as much of a go at the daughter of a coward who was far richer. In general, I think the politics between individuals of different statuses was nicely done, and it's not all to do with money. Cowardice, wealth, piloting prowess all determined the assumptions that were made about people (and not just Spensa) and made the world that much richer. It is, first and foremost, about fighting aliens, and that was great. It doesn't have to be solely about these other complex concepts to feature and explore them.

Spensa - or Spin - is the beating heart of this novel. But she was sometimes a bit much. Following the same sort of trend as the storyline, she starts off way too exaggerated - or aggressive, I suppose. (While I appreciate the character Sanderson was aiming for in Spin, I think the balance of femininity while still being able to show those more 'masculine' qualities was a bit unbalanced). But, also following the story trend, by the end of the book she was really solid because we got to see her whole arc. It helped that she had several things to overcome; her goal to be a pilot, but also how she managed friends, her relationship with the academy and all the different dynamics that came with it. Kudos to the variety of characters and dynamics in this book, because it really kept everything interesting.

I really damn enjoyed Skyward, I didn't want to put it down. I read it in a really busy period (here's to writing dissertations) and it made me want to carve out time just to sit down with it. If you want the comparisons, it's like Ender Game meets Star Wars IV with a modern kick. I can't wait to read the next one.

This was my first Brandon Sanderson book and I loved it. The writing style was very easy to get on with. Story was engaging and very interesting. Characters were well developed and unique. Loved the whole package and cannot wait for more.

I read this at a time when I was struggling to get into any books, and it had me totally immersed, which is already a point in its favour. I stayed up until 1.30am two nights in a row to get it finished (it's a pretty chunky book, although I'm a fast reader), and had very few regrets.

First up, it's Brandon Sanderson, which means the worldbuilding is insanely detailed. This time it's sci-fi rather than fantasy, so it's technology rather than magic we're getting our head around. Most of it is possibly less weird and original than some of his other books (the magic system in Mistborn is bonkers, ngl), but I managed not to drown in details despite being completely unscientifically minded, so that's something. Most of the detail was dedicated to flying, and how learning to fly worked, since the main character is in training to be a pilot like her father. Her father the traitor, who fired on his own side and disgraced their whole family. Yeah, that one's a sticking point.

So Spensa has a lot to prove. She doesn't believe her father was a traitor or a coward, but it's a label that she's been more or less permanently branded with, and it's difficult to prove yourself when nobody will actually give you a chance to do so. Everyone assumes she'll turn out like her father -- which means although she just about finds a way to train as a pilot, they won't let her live on-site. She ends up living in a cave on her own. Enter Doomslug.

Okay, Doomslug isn't actually that big a deal. It's a weird slug-like beastie that she nicknames Doomslug, and talks to because she has no one else to talk to. But it's funny, and I like it, and it's one of the things I tell people about when I'm recommending them this book: "By the way, there's an alien creature called Doomslug." You know, as you do.

The humour is one of the things I enjoyed most about this book, to be honest. I mean, there's a sentient spaceship that believes its sole purpose in life is to collect mushrooms, despite being very evidently a warship. Is that a spoiler? I don't think that's a spoiler, but sorry if it is. This spaceship has been alone underground for a really long time, and has more or less gone insane in that time, leading to some very weird pronouncements and evasive remarks.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi that *isn't* funny, because when you ask me for recommendations, all the titles that come to mind are ones with a big humour element. This one isn't purely light-hearted, though; there are definitely some sombre moments, and you're never left to feel like there are no stakes. The danger is real, and so are the losses, some of which made me pretty emotional.

The one complaint I'd have about this book is that there were hints of Unnecessary Heterosexuality and, like, it didn't exactly go anywhere in the course of this book, but I feel like it's gonna develop in the sequels, and it's gonna be annoying and unnecessary, and it's gonna put me off. You know when you can just smell the Straight Romantic Subplot from a mile off? Yeah. At least it has a redeeming feature of being slowburn (gives me time to get invested rather than irritated), since like I said, it hasn't gone anywhere yet, and who knows, maybe Sanderson will surprise me. But... it's there.

Other than that, I had a great time with this one. It's funny, exciting, and emotional. The end is... kind of bonkers, and maybe happened a bit too fast given how comparatively slowly everything built up beforehand, but it was fairly satisfying nonetheless, and left me wanting to know where on earth it's gonna go from here.

Also, given my terrible memory, the fact that I'm writing this review more than two full months after reading the book, EVEN THOUGH I read it late at night, and can still remember anything approximating details? That's a pretty good sign that it's memorable and original, because I can't remember anything. I have a sieve instead of a brain, I swear.

(This review is on Goodreads, but I'll try and cross-post to my blog at some point. I also used my early access to this book to promote it at the bookshop where I work, though we don't have a large sci-fi readership in the area, and have recommended it to several people in person.)

I’ll admit it, I have never read a Brandon Sanderson book. I know, I know he’s one of the biggest fantasy authors and I’ve had Mistborn on my bookshelf for what feels like forever, but I just haven’t quite gotten around to it. And considering Skyward is a sci-fi book AKA one of the genres I feel a bit meh about, I wasn’t sure if I should be reading it, because I was worried I was going to not like it and then judge his fantasy books based on his sci-fi. But also, when you get the chance to read a book by a big name author before it is released (I got the book a week before release and then got tied up with other reading) you usually take it.

And I needn’t have worried. Skyward was funny, exciting and a quick read. The protagonist, Spensa is very quirky in a bit of a sometimes Luna Lovegood kind of way, but I liked her a lot and it was easy to sympathise with her. You know it’s going to be a good book when you get a strong sense of the character from the very first pages. She’s a well-developed character, with enough flaws that she felt like a real person. And although I don’t quite get the whole honour before staying alive mindset most people have in this book, I did understand where it stemmed from. The whole society is built upon honour and bravery, so seeing how this impacts on both the culture and the individual characters was really interesting to watch unfold.

Obviously, as a Sanderson novel, the world building was brilliant. I have watched a bunch of his lectures and talks, and I expected the very best. Again, I wasn’t disappointed. As I’ve already said, I liked how the society was built so firmly on a set of values and that a lot of the tension throughout Skyward came from the friction of these two different concepts colliding. The main character is the daughter of a traitor (not a spoiler since it is in several synopses I’ve read) and so she’s automatically an outcast. Her way at coping with this is very understandable, but what I liked most is that Sanderson manages to expertly balance the story and character here. She’s complex because she frequently changes her opinions and her mind on things. She develops on the page as the story goes on, and in turn this forces the reader to question the so-called truths she’s been told, and the values this society holds.

There’s also a decent amount of twists and turns in this book. I think there were two in all (if I remember rightly). One which I guessed at, and one which was so out there that it was a true punch to the gut kind of twist. If you guess it, you must be a genius.

Overall, I really enjoyed Skyward and would give it an 8.5/10 stars. I know a lot of people out there who read YA are not so certain on sci-fi, but I think this is a pretty good book for people who don’t like their sci-fi too dense. There’s a bit of jargon in there, but honestly it is not a hard book to wrap your head around, and I’d be happy to recommend it to friends in the future.

There are a lot of things to like about this book: a great set of characters, a realistic look into a military operation and the no-win aspect of the situation. Plot-wise, it was a great plot and there were just enough clues throughout to hint at the twist, though I did feel that the pacing was a bit rushed at the end (I was definitely looking at the number of pages left and thinking 'there aren't enough pages to resolve everything!'). For the characters, the ensemble cast works really well, with enough of them fleshed out to feel really like a team rather than cutout supporting characters.

My main problem is that the MC, Spin, is <i>so darn unlikeable</i> for the first half! I stuck with it because I had confidence that Sanderson would build in some character development but man, I was tempted to drop this a fair few times!

It might come as a surprise to some, but I have been a fan of Sanderson for roughly ten years now & the moment I learned about his new young adult novel, I knew I have to read it. Because I already had a pretty good idea of what I can expect: incredibly real & lovable characters, interesting worldbuilding, extraordinary plot twists, and most importantly - an emotional roller-coaster.

I got all that and more.

Skyward takes place in the future and in space, on a planet called Detritus, where the remains of the humankind are basically trapped and caught in an neverending war with the Krell. That means they are always in need of more pilots and so almost every young person tries to become one. Like our main character Spensa and all the friends she will make in the flight school.

Spensa is special and somewhat famous, because her late father - also a pilot - turned out to be a coward in the most important battle in the planet's history. So she has all those prejudices to overcome, when trying to navigate the world & relationships with other people, but at the same time - she has to fight the ideas about herself she believed to be true her whole life. She's a wonderfully complicated character and her journey from a headless girl who only thinks about flying and hero stories to an actual hero is beautiful & heartbreaking.

Like I mentioned, Skyward has a vast array of characters & Sanderson's extraordinary skills in crafting them mean that you will fall in love with every single one. This is truly the found family trope done in the best way! Even the people who are merely support characters, are fleshed out, have background stories, all those little details that will catch your attention. But this is still very much a Sanderson Book™ and you have to remember that at its core this is a story about war (& survival & hope), so you need to be emotionally prepared to deal with the consequences of that. You know, just a little heads-up...

Skyward is a fast-paced novel, full of action & mind-boggling turns of events, despite technically taking place in a flight school. There are flying battles with aliens, ancient ships that talk & gather mushrooms, a heroin who gives (totally unprompted!!) the most dramatic speeches anyone has ever heard, and beneath this all: love and faith. And that's what binds the whole story together and what makes the ending even possible at all.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group, Gollancz and the author, Brandon Sanderson, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Skyward in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
What can I say. It's a Sanderson. I did find the beginning a bit tedious and ordinarily predictable. But, I should have known better hey.
The storyline was well thought out and written I really enjoyed it. Definitely will be reading more in this series.

This book was so good omg. I'm finding I'm getting more into Sci-fi lately especially when more books like this come out.

I've always been a fan of Brandon Sanderson so of course I was going to pick this up. The characters are all fantastic and we all know that Spensa x Jorgen is going to happen! The humour is on point and I absolutely love M-Bot! Seriously. My fave character without a doubt.

The only thing I would say about this is that I feel some of the characters act older than their ages. I mean, not EVERY SINGLE PERSON (teen) is going to spout big words into sentences. I read other reviews saying people felt they couldn't connect to Spensa's character, and after reading, I get it, she isn't that relateable, but I still like her and still believe her character is written well.

That ending got me excited for the next book though, so I'm ready!!

So by about 30-40% through the book I was ready to write a bit of a scathing review of this one.

The thing with Brandon Sanderson is that, for anything he writes, my expectations are HIGH. For the first part of the story I couldn't help but feel like this was a really unoriginal done-to-death Enders Game wannabe. Complete with typical YA tropes such as "poor girl is kind of a genius who ends up making it big" and "two opposite sex characters from different worlds hate each other but actually end up liking each other". I just felt so disappointed that an author who is SO well known for his original and unique stories would write something so predictable.

HOWEVER.

Then things began to get interesting. Our characters begin to become more developed, our plot begins to thicken, and we are introduced to M-Bot. Perhaps the shining star of this book. Other than Doomslug of course. Doomslug is QUEEN.

A major theme throughout the story is that of what it means to be a "coward" and the damage that the term can do. Our characters have grown up in a society where to be a coward is the worst thing that a person can be. That to eject from a crashing skyship to save your own life means an end to your career as a pilot. The exploration of this idea is one of my favourite aspects of the book.

Another favourite part of the story is the relationship between the members of Skyward flight. Getting to know each of the members of the team and their chemistry with each other was a real pleasure. Although, I do kind of wish the book was written with multiple points of view like a number of Sanderson's adult novels.

Overall, despite a slightly challenged beginning, the second half of this book is brilliant and I will most certainly be picking up the next one!

Thank you very much to Negalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review

A young girl, Spensa (call sign: Spin), wants to escape her life and follow in her father’s footsteps into the Defiance Defense Force. Except her father died in terrible circumstances - he was killed by his own people in a battle against their enemies, the Krell. He has been labelled a coward, the stigma of which has stuck with the whole family. Spensa doesn’t believe it, and wants to restore his reputation. Those in charge of admission to the flight school believe she carries the same ‘defect’ as her father, and set out to make it extremely difficult for her to attend. She isn’t allowed to stay at the school to sleep or eat, and so she finds a cave nearby, where she sleeps, eats and discovers an old spaceship. She goes about repairing the ship, and finds that it has an AI called M-Bot. Something which those on Detritus have no access to.
The beginning of the book was a bit ‘teenage-angsty’, but it did develop into a really good book, with dog fights galore (think Top Gun with space ships!). And M-Bot really made it for me. After THAT ending, I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!