The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Defiant

Series: Skyward #4

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Spensa has made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts.

The Superiority didn’t stop in its fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa’s team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it’s only a matter of time until humanity–and the rest of the galaxy–falls.

Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: How far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself–and her friends–in the process.

The final book in the Skyward series will free humanity, or see it fall forever. – summary from Goodreads

Defiant was a thrilling conclusion to the Skyward series!

I really enjoyed this book! It tied back nicely to the first book in the series, while incorporating everything Spensa has learned and all of her experiences nicely.

Spensa finally returned to Detritus this book, and I loved seeing her interact with the rest of the Skyward Flight again. This book brought a conclusion to the lesson Spensa has been trying to learn since book one: she is not alone. I loved how her team has changed and grown, same as Spensa, but they kept a space for her and will do anything to help her join them again. It was incredibly moving.

Spensa is constantly going through character growth, and this book it all came to a head. She chose to finally stay with her people. She went through a great many struggles, but I loved this aspect of the story. I also loved all of her interactions with her friends: it shows how they have all grown but are still choosing each other.

Jorgen was a bigger part of this book! Jorgen is my favorite character, and I have missed him these last books! Jorgen is always there for Spensa, which I love, but he also stood up for himself this book which I liked. He also had some of the best lines in the whole book. Maybe I am biased because he’s my favorite, but I felt like he got all the best lines of the book.

Hesho was also a major part of the story, which was amazing! He becomes a samurai this book and takes the role of Spensa’s bodyguard. Their story’s actually parallel each other to a degree, and I liked seeing their interactions.

This book actually had a fair amount of violence which I wasn’t expecting. All of the books in this series have had violence, but I felt a little removed from it. This book it was a little more descriptive and personal, which mirrors Spensa’s growth, but was something I struggled with a little.

I don’t know how I feel about the Chet storyline. I loved Chet in the last book, and I enjoyed Spensa helping him to understand emotions and what it is to be alive in this book. However, and small spoiler ahead, I don’t think I love that they were melded together. Not only was it mentioned constantly, but it also just felt a little off.

Emotions were a really big part of the story. Spensa had to learn to live with her fear and anxiety over her friends, and Chet had to learn to live with grief. Both had to acknowledge that these feelings are a part of life and that ignoring that doesn’t make it better. A super impactful storyline, and one that was well done.

Overall, I really enjoyed how this ended. It was tense and engaging, as well as bringing together everything from the previous books. I also liked getting the small snippets of other characters perspectives, including Gran-Gran’s!

The way the slugs were incorporated into the storyline and how everything ended, especially with the Delvers was such a shock. I loved it! I have always really enjoyed the slugs, so them getting more of a storyline this book was nice.

Brade was also a key character in the book. Along with Spensa, I have wanted this character to change sides since I met her and am still a little disappointed, she didn’t. She did make a really good antagonist though, and her backstory was devastating.

My absolute favorite part of this entire book was the three-page chapter before the epilogue. I am a sucker for emotional reunions, or just people showing up for each other, so when every member of Skyward Flight (new and old) came together for Spensa during the last battle and did their rollcall while saying they were there for Spensa? I adored it so much!

Defiant is a thrilling conclusion to the Skyward series with emotion, character growth, new and old characters, and action!