michael_gallipo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
phaedruus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
amber_lea84's review against another edition
3.0
The first 150 pages of this book aren't great. It's kinda slow and boring and Spensa is a somewhat obnoxious protagonist that felt flat. But once M-bot was introduced the story really took off. Somewhere around 200 pages in the pace picked up, the characters stop feeling like cardboard, and the plot got really interesting. By the end I was having a great time. If the first 150 pages of this book were better this would easily be a 4 or 5 star book.
withadventure's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think I'm going to need a minute to recover after reading Skyward.
Is it weird that I kinda wanna go down in a blaze of glory fighting the krell just so Spensa can come give me a hero's funeral?
I love Sanderson's books so much. He's truly a master of storytelling. He's a world-builder at heart and he weaves details into a plot in a way that feels so effortless. All of these tiny, unassuming details stack on top of each other until you have this entire world with customs and ideas - you start to find yourself being able to anticipate reactions based on a shared history that you now know about, and he does that without going into long monologues on history or making it feel laborious to read.
And his characters are so lovable. Spensa is no different. I absolutely fell in love with her and doomslug. He has a way of making characters relatable even if you don't really have anything in common with them. It's not about the commonality, it's about telling the story in a way that makes you understand a character's reactions and even come to sympathize with them (even when they're wrong.) It makes the tough times hit harder and it makes you become invested in the outcome.
This is the most epic spin on the boy-and-his-dragon trope I've ever read and I'm fantastically in love with it. I'm just ashamed I didn't read this when I got it in a book subscription box a few years ago right after it was published.
Is it weird that I kinda wanna go down in a blaze of glory fighting the krell just so Spensa can come give me a hero's funeral?
I love Sanderson's books so much. He's truly a master of storytelling. He's a world-builder at heart and he weaves details into a plot in a way that feels so effortless. All of these tiny, unassuming details stack on top of each other until you have this entire world with customs and ideas - you start to find yourself being able to anticipate reactions based on a shared history that you now know about, and he does that without going into long monologues on history or making it feel laborious to read.
And his characters are so lovable. Spensa is no different. I absolutely fell in love with her and doomslug. He has a way of making characters relatable even if you don't really have anything in common with them. It's not about the commonality, it's about telling the story in a way that makes you understand a character's reactions and even come to sympathize with them (even when they're wrong.) It makes the tough times hit harder and it makes you become invested in the outcome.
This is the most epic spin on the boy-and-his-dragon trope I've ever read and I'm fantastically in love with it. I'm just ashamed I didn't read this when I got it in a book subscription box a few years ago right after it was published.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, War, Death, and Death of parent
This entire book is about a young girl flying a spaceship and fighting against an enemy force. They are actively at war. Main characters die, the young girl and several other characters process their grief and guilt on page, and there are somewhat graphic descriptions of violence, hazing, and bullying.bleubythecover_'s review against another edition
5.0
Nothing but chills.
I have so much to say yet I don’t know what or how.
I loved being immersed in this world. I felt the anger, pain, loss and bravery Spensa felt throughout the whole book. Brandon Sanderson did a great job at making me care about every single one of his characters and at keeping me fully engaged with the story.
The audiobook was absolutely exquisite and I highly appreciated the acknowledgments being narrated as they almost made me cry.
Even my husband (who’s not a big reader due to lack of time and energy) was tuning into the story every time I had the audiobook playing and he very well enjoyed it. I call that a success.
It is very hard for me to understand or try to picture fight scenes, otherworldly machines and civilizations. I definitely appreciated the maps, ship designs and flight patterns pictured in the book. But besides that, my understanding of the world and being able to somewhat picture it might’ve just been Brandon Sanderson’s writing or the fact that this book is YA. Either way, I’m excited to continue this series.
Claim the stars.
Callsign “SkyBleu” out.
I have so much to say yet I don’t know what or how.
I loved being immersed in this world. I felt the anger, pain, loss and bravery Spensa felt throughout the whole book. Brandon Sanderson did a great job at making me care about every single one of his characters and at keeping me fully engaged with the story.
The audiobook was absolutely exquisite and I highly appreciated the acknowledgments being narrated as they almost made me cry.
Even my husband (who’s not a big reader due to lack of time and energy) was tuning into the story every time I had the audiobook playing and he very well enjoyed it. I call that a success.
It is very hard for me to understand or try to picture fight scenes, otherworldly machines and civilizations. I definitely appreciated the maps, ship designs and flight patterns pictured in the book. But besides that, my understanding of the world and being able to somewhat picture it might’ve just been Brandon Sanderson’s writing or the fact that this book is YA. Either way, I’m excited to continue this series.
Claim the stars.
Callsign “SkyBleu” out.
pavram's review
4.0
U svom prvom klasičnom sf naslovu, koji je uzgred i YA, Sanderson gotovo pa briljira. Da napomenem, nije ovo jedan od onih sf-ova koji svojim temama obećava da će se neko, negde, potući u raspravi o raznim spekulativnonaučno-etičkim aspektima romana – ovo je sf po kojem će se snimiti film, sf koji više duguje Top Ganu nego Odiseji. Ali i kao takav, dao mi je daleko više nego što sam od njega tražio.
Prvo – Sanderson je ovde napisao svog, pa, možda i prvog poštenog ženskog lika. I to protagonist(kinj)u! I to u prvom licu! Ako mu je karakterizacija do sad bila Ahilova peta, karakterizacija ženskih likova je bila automatski crveni karton i pre no udješ na teren, uz sve sočno „mrš napolje“ i „čibe džukelo“. Medjutim, ne samo da je Spensa njegov najbolji ženski lik kojeg je ikad napisao, možda je i najbolji lik generalno. Njen ark me je iznenadio, dotakavši neke delikatne teme bez gotovo ikakve patetike. I devojka je zlaboga simpatična, bez da je tzv. Meri Su. Pored toga, povlači Sanderson ovde mnoge tangente koje od njega nisam očekivao, kritikujući vojsku, autoritarni režim, ideju „hrabrosti“, pa čak i neke klasne razlike (doduše više ih je dodirnuo trokilometarskim štapom). Nauku ne uzima toliko u usta, a YA deo izvodi gracioznije nego bilo ko na koga sam naleteo, makar u sff krugu. E sad, na sve to treba da se nakači potpuno spektakularna akcija, tradicionalno fantastičan setting, i sporedni likovi koji su mi već sad medju najdražim, ma koliko se drže nekih tipičnih, ustaljenih obrazaca. Prženica sam na neke klišee koji se ovde provlače, šta ću. Jedino što zameram romanu, a što je ispostavlja se dovoljno da ukrade peticu, jeste za Sandersona atipični infodamping u epilogu, tipični krindži humor i moja blaga skeptičnost ka smeru koji serijal uzima. Ali da je bilo zabavno, jeste. Da ostavlja utisak, ostavlja. Da je Sanderson, jeste. Ali za mene to nikad nije ni bila loša stvar.
4+
Prvo – Sanderson je ovde napisao svog, pa, možda i prvog poštenog ženskog lika. I to protagonist(kinj)u! I to u prvom licu! Ako mu je karakterizacija do sad bila Ahilova peta, karakterizacija ženskih likova je bila automatski crveni karton i pre no udješ na teren, uz sve sočno „mrš napolje“ i „čibe džukelo“. Medjutim, ne samo da je Spensa njegov najbolji ženski lik kojeg je ikad napisao, možda je i najbolji lik generalno. Njen ark me je iznenadio, dotakavši neke delikatne teme bez gotovo ikakve patetike. I devojka je zlaboga simpatična, bez da je tzv. Meri Su. Pored toga, povlači Sanderson ovde mnoge tangente koje od njega nisam očekivao, kritikujući vojsku, autoritarni režim, ideju „hrabrosti“, pa čak i neke klasne razlike (doduše više ih je dodirnuo trokilometarskim štapom). Nauku ne uzima toliko u usta, a YA deo izvodi gracioznije nego bilo ko na koga sam naleteo, makar u sff krugu. E sad, na sve to treba da se nakači potpuno spektakularna akcija, tradicionalno fantastičan setting, i sporedni likovi koji su mi već sad medju najdražim, ma koliko se drže nekih tipičnih, ustaljenih obrazaca. Prženica sam na neke klišee koji se ovde provlače, šta ću. Jedino što zameram romanu, a što je ispostavlja se dovoljno da ukrade peticu, jeste za Sandersona atipični infodamping u epilogu, tipični krindži humor i moja blaga skeptičnost ka smeru koji serijal uzima. Ali da je bilo zabavno, jeste. Da ostavlja utisak, ostavlja. Da je Sanderson, jeste. Ali za mene to nikad nije ni bila loša stvar.
4+
ladyfriday's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
xbri47's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
thebartbenjamin's review against another edition
5.0
I think I need a new range of stars. Skyward is one of these books that are 5 stars, and I consider it not enough for them. If anyone would like to see how fantasy/sci-fi YA fiction should look like, this book is the best example.
Therefore, new year, new scale - 6 out of 5 stars.
Therefore, new year, new scale - 6 out of 5 stars.