Review: Starsight (Skyward #2) by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 8.0/10

Synopsis

All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing.

Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars–and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.

But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself–and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

Review

Starsight is a blast – the thrill of Skyward with a new mix of intrigue, deception, and otherworldly threats.

Maybe humanity is doomed. Or maybe humans are just misunderstood. Either way, humanity has been confined to the dead planet Detritus. Spensa is now a seasoned DDF pilot, possibly the best one humanity has on their side against their oppressors, the Krell. Spensa and her Skyward flight, along with some help from the quasi-human AI M-Bot, have defended humanity against total annihilation, but that’s even not the half of it.

The stars are speaking to Spensa. She can hear them calling her, but what are they saying? Does she dare explore her cytonic power, her ability to commune with ships, the stars, and the otherworldly eyes that keep watching her? The answer might just save everyone she cares about.

I can’t reveal much about the plot of Starsight. There’s a huge change in plot just a little bit of the way in. What I will say is that things are looking grim for the humans. There is a strange visitor to Detritus, one that presents a unique opportunity for Spensa to discover the secrets of the Superiority, the government of aliens who have entrapped humanity for a hundred years.

Brandon Sanderson’s ideology is very present in this book. To me, Starsight’s message is not to be afraid of people that you don’t understand. Through the story, Spensa is presented with a multitude of viewpoints different than her own, each valid in its own way. Spensa is challenged by her friends’ different viewpoints. Driven so much by blood and glory, she has to put the brakes on a bit and consider whether the preconcieved notions she has of the world around her are actually true or not. It’s great stuff and makes for a fun read, especially for someone as occasionally ruthless as Spensa.

I’m still not spoiling anything, but I’ll say that Brando Sando took some risks with the ending. You get the usual Sanderson Avalanche at the end which, quite honestly, is always a ton of fun to read. But damn, that one trick at the end of the book kicked my butt.

It definitely bears mentioning that Suzy Jackson does a tremendous job with the audiobook. She killed it yet again.

Overall, my expectations with Starsight were definitely subverted. You can’t blindly guess where this story is going to go. You’ll see a ton of the galaxy in Spensa’s universe and you’ll meet a lot of new, interesting characters. What is for sure, though, is you’ll have a fun time doing it.