The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Skyward Flight: The Collection

Series: Skyward #2.5

Author: Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

Genre: Young Adult, Story Collection, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

In Sunreach, after a planet-destroying Delver suddenly appears in the sky of Detritus and vanishes just as suddenly, FM knows that the last free human society got lucky. Her Skyward Flight companion Spensa figured out how to draw this Delver away, but it won’t be so easy next time. Humanity has to be prepared . . . and when FM’s flight leader Jorgen finds a large group of Taynix – the space slugs then enable hyperdrives – they may have found their chance, if FM, Jorgen, the engineer Rig and the mysterious alien Alanik, can unlock the secrets in time . . . .
In ReDawn, Alanik has recovered from the shock of answering a distress call and finding a planet of humans making a stand against the Superiority, only to be dismayed to discover they’re considering a peace overture from their enemy. Worse, when she returns to her home planet of ReDawn, she find her own people falling into exactly the same trap. With her mentor captured, she turns to her new friends to help: can Alanik, FM, Jorgen and Rig coax an ancient technology into life in time to save both their planets from disaster?

And in Evershore, the government of Detritus is still in disarray following Superiority treachery, and no word has come from Spensa, on her mission deep in the Nowhere, leaving Alanik, Jorgen, FM and Rig to pick up the pieces. So when the Kitsen send word from the planet Evershore, saying they have some humans and wish to return them, they have to decide if the strange message can be trusted . . . all while Jorgen struggles to master his new cytonic powers which threaten to spin out of control . . . -summary from Goodreads

Skyward Flight is an absolutely amazing collection of short stories that further the Skyward world and expand on the Skyward Flight!

There were three short stories in this book: Sunreach, ReDawn, and Evershore.

Sunreach follows FM and her learning about the powers of the slugs. It turns out that the slugs that I loved so much are incredibly important in this universe. I loved this addition. Anytime a pet can be added to a story, I am there for it.

It was really interesting seeing a new perspective on the events that surround this universe. Spensa has a very distinctive voice and has strong opinions. FM loved her flight mates, but disagrees with a lot of what they have to do. I loved this exploration and this confliction we saw within FM about wanting to fight for her friends but also wanting something different. It was very different from Spensa, and I loved this new perspective.

I also loved how well FM worked with the slugs. She really bonded with them and made it her mission to care for them. I resonated with that, because in her situation, it’s what I would be doing too.

FM is a wonderful character, and I loved seeing her perspective and getting a little bit of her story!

ReDawn follows Alanik, the alien Spensa impersonated in Starsight. We saw Alanik on her home world, fighting a civil war that would determine if her people join the Superiority or not.

Alanik joined with the humans to try to help her world and faction, which gave us a new look at the peoples of this universe. The UrDail people are very interesting, and I enjoyed getting to know them more.

This was a nice short story, where we got to see new perspectives and the humans making more alliances. There was also a lot of the Skyward Flight which I really enjoyed! We got to see more of Arturo, which I loved! I am obsessed with this group of people, so seeing them all together is my favorite.

Through this story we got a better understanding of how cytonics work. There is a rich history there, and I liked diving into this and seeing how it affected the different peoples of this universe.

This short story did end with a tragedy, which leads us into the next short story: Evershore.

Evershore follows my favorite character, Jorgen! I love Jorgen so much, and Jorgen has been a main character in the other two stories, but now we get his perspective!

A small spoiler: this short story begins with Jorgen’s parents, and half the National Assembly, dying. Because of this Jorgen deals with grief and pressure throughout the story. We also get a deeper look at why he is always so uptight and strict.

I loved the interactions he has with FM throughout the course of the three stories. It cumulated in this story, though. I really liked their conversations and how much they care and understand each other! I love this friendship!

I love how much Jorgen cares about and thinks of Spensa. Their romance is very much a background story, but I love the small moments showing how much he cares about her!

Jorgen is such a kind, strong, caring leader! I can’t wait to see what else his story has to offer.

We also get to see more of the Skyward Flight and in a whole new light, because we see how Jorgen organizes everything. It was interesting to see from a leader’s perspective on how these events are happening. There is a lot of military structure in this story, so it was really interesting seeing how the characters adapted when things changed.

Getting to see the Skyward Flight all working together again was my favorite part of this book. Like I mentioned before, I love this group so much, and I loved these different perspectives of each character!

This book is also about the humans’ making alliances, though this alliance is being made with the kitsen. I love the kitsen- they are just so much fun to read! Through the kitsen Jorgen really comes into his cytonic powers, as well, which is a fascinating aspect to the story.

I’m not sure I love how Jorgen’s story ended. He gets a new position in the military structure. The more I think about it, the more I like it, but I also struggle with him not being part of the group as much.

This takes place in between Starsight and Cytonic. I just started Cytonic, but I think it is important to have the information in this book when reading Cytonic. It just helps things make a little more sense.

These books need to be read in order, and they take place immediately after the events of the previous short story. This collection is also very long- it’s just under six hundred pages. But it is so worth it!

I adored this short story collection so much! Skyward Flight: The Collection offers three new perspectives, growing alliances, and deepening world-building through three short stories narrated by beloved and new characters!

Quotes:

“‘We’re all here because we believe in what we’re doing. And we all trust you with our lives because we know that at the end of the day, Jorgen Weight is going to do the right thing. Sometimes you lose sight of that. Sometimes you get so bogged down in the rules that you lose track of what’s right for a minute. But when it comes down to the decisions you make with our lives, you do the right thing every time.’”

“Spensa flies among the stars. But you build things up from the ground. She is a warrior, and you are a defender It’s a different kind of story.

I can’t protect them all.

You can’t. We all have our own burdens, even if we carry them differently.“