Synopsis
From #1 bestselling author Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson comes the first of three Skyward series novellas, each told from the perspective of a different member of the team back on Detritus. Read FM’s story between Starsight and Cytonic.
When 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.
The forces of the Galactic Superiority will be back—and if the Defiant Defense Force can’t figure out a way to escape the planet, humanity’s destruction is only a matter of time. Spensa’s mission to infiltrate the Superiority unveiled the secret to their hyperdrives—a cytonic slug species called the Taynix. Now FM’s flightleader, Jorgen, has found a large group of Taynix hiding in the caverns far below Detritus’s surface.
FM and Jorgen must work together with the engineer Rig to awaken the mysterious alien Alanik and unlock the powers of the Taynix, or humanity will be trapped. With Spensa’s friend Minister Cuna of the Superiority stranded at the outpost of Sunreach, they need to figure out how to rescue her—or the Superiority government will be in the sole clutches of those who want to wipe out Detritus once and for all.
Review
Note: It is recommended that you read Skyreach after Starsight and before Cytonic (to be released) as it’s not just another PoV novella, but furthers the plot in a meaningfully too.
It’s a delightful little novella set after Starsight and before the yet to be released Cytonic. It provides an alternate perspective from the view of the humans on the planet Detritus esp FM and Jorgen and bits from others sprinkled in.
The initial segments of the novel happens in sync with the battle above Detritus when the Delver first appears. FM and others participate in the battle with a real and personal stake only to realize that events have bloomed to huge proportions and as expected their friend and flightmate, Spensa is smack down in the middle of it all. We see the humans in Detritus trying to grapple with the effects of Spensa’s revelation as to the secret of Hyperspace travel and trying to put together the hints to make it into a a effective means to turn the tide of the war.
The macro-world effects from the delver incidents has repercussions politically, not just in Starsight (Winzik vs Cuna) and in Detritus (Jorgen’s Mom vs Admiral Cobb) but also across the spectrum of the galaxy (Alanik and her people) as events escalate fanning the unrest all through the galaxy.
We see good character development for Jorgen and FM. Jorgen grapples to come to terms with the scope and limit of his powers and FM trying to unravel the secret of Taynix slugs. There is a little bit of too much “scudding” happening for my personal taste plus the added slow burn beginnings of romance doesn’t add too much to plot or pacing. Fortunately, they also don’t deter much, so I found the book palatable overall.
At just short of 200 pages, this is a must read novella for those who are interested in continuing to explore the Skyward universe with Sanderson, and now Patterson.
Leave a Reply