The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Cytonic

Series: Skyward #3

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Rating: 4.75 stars

Review:

Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary. She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell—the enigmatic alien species that has been holding them captive for decades. What’s more, she traveled light-years from home as an undercover spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home.

Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa has seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.

Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy.

The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return.

To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying. – summary from Goodreads

Cytonic is a wonderful, adventurous addition to the Skyward universe!

I’ll start out with pirates! I have always loved pirates, and so I was so happy at finding pirates in this book! The pirates were a lot of fun and I enjoyed how they were redone to fit into the genre. They are also pirates in the Nowhere, so I really liked how the typical pirate adventures were changed to fit into this space.

Spensa was amazing throughout this book! I feel like I say this in every review, but it holds true: she goes through some amazing character growth in this book! She really starts to expand her understanding of her world and who she is. She goes through so much throughout the book, and her decision to keep fighting was so moving and admirable.

I really enjoyed the new characters, especially Chet! I’ll always love the adventurous, wacky characters and that is exactly what Chet is! He was so much fun, and the twist pertaining to his character was genuinely shocking!

The setting for this book was unique. The Nowhere is such an interesting place and it allowed us to see a new side of Spensa, and this world. It also allowed us to finally understand the delvers.

I will say that I was a little disappointed that my theory of the delvers was wrong. I did like how it all turned out, but it also wasn’t my favorite twist.

I miss the Skyward Flight! I love found family and this found family is so great. The last time we really had everyone together was the first book, but we also saw a lot of them in Skyward Flight: The Collection which made me want to see all the characters even more. We did get snippets of Jorgen, which I enjoyed. I do wish we had more of those moments, though.

I do love Jorgen and Spensa’s relationship. It is so cute and they balance each other nicely. Even though we didn’t get a lot of moments between these two characters, the snippets we did get were amazing!

Cytonic is a fantastic addition to the Skyward universe with pirates, a unique setting, and character growth!