SKYWARD BRANDON SANDERSON
*****
Spensa dreams of flying amongst the stars and fighting the mysterious Krell but with an unfortunate family legacy she will have to prove herself to get there.
Where Skyward triumphs so much for me is in the main character Spensa. Spensa is a strong and determined female protagonist but is also refreshingly human. She’s no Katniss with a bow or Hermione with her books, Spensa has always dreamed of seeing the stars as a pilot but she finds flight school challenging and even crashes on her first training mission! She has anger issues, says the wrong things at times and makes silly decisions and this all works to make her both relatable and admirable at the same time.
The other cast of characters are just as strong, although there are a lot of new faces which may feel a little overwhelming at first, by the end you get to know their unique personalities much better. M-Bot, a ship’s AI was one of my favourites and provided a lot of humour throughout.
I also enjoyed that although the book is part of a series and you are left wanting to know more about what is about the happen, the story itself answers a lot of questions you had by the end and also has a nice through-line that makes it almost a stand-alone piece. That said I am eagerly awaiting the next one!
My only negative would be in my kindle copy I couldn’t see any of the drawings and illustrations at the end of the chapters – pictures of enemy ships and battles etc which I would have liked to have seen. I only had an ARC copy however, so this may have been corrected now.
Easily one of my favourite books of 2018, I heavily recommend Skyward to anyone and everyone – get reading! Thank you to NetGalley & Orion Publishing Group – Gollancz for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skyward-Brand-New-Brandon-Sanderson-ebook/dp/B0789Z2QJM/